Read Aloud: 

Materials:

• Natural materials you find outside
• Camera (optional)
• An adult or someone in your family to help

What to do:

• Celebrate the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year by creating a nature mandala.
• A mandala is a circular structure with a design that radiates out symmetrically from a unifying center.
• Head outside on a walk and see if you can find mandalas that occur naturally in nature.听 You might find this pattern on flowers, tree rings, spider webs, among others.
• Next, gather materials that you would like to make your own mandala with.听 These materials could be things like pine cones, flower petals, blades of grass, stones and anything else that you can find!
• Then, find a special place that you would like to build your mandala.
• Start by placing one of your materials in the center and build from the center, radiating outwards from here.
• Take a picture when you are finished and share it to spread joy to others!
• You may want to cover your mandala to protect it from the weather, or you can leave it as is.
• Post pictures of your nature mandala on Facebook and tag us @黑料不打烊.VT!

Resource for parents:

— Examples of mandalas

The post Build a Nature Mandala appeared first on 黑料不打烊.

Read Aloud: 

Materials:

• White sheet (or something similar)
• Something to hang your sheet on such as a clothesline
• Light (porch light, bright flashlight, etc.)
• Science journal or blank paper
• Pencil
• Camera (optional)
• Colored pencils (optional)
• Clipboard or something hard to write on outside (optional)
• Internet or other field guides (optional)
• An adult or someone in your family to help

What to do:

• Head outside and find a place where you want to attract moths.听 This could be on your front porch or somewhere else.
• Hang up your white sheet and aim your light at the sheet.听 Hang your sheet near your porch light if you are using that.
• Wait for the moths to become attracted to the light and then see if you can identify them!
• Take pictures or draw what you find in your Science Journal and use the internet or a field guide to see if you can identify them.
• Post pictures of your Science Journal on Facebook and tag us @黑料不打烊.VT!

Resource for parents:

• You can also take a picture and upload to to get help with the identification

The post Finding Moths appeared first on 黑料不打烊.

Read Aloud: 

Materials:

• Spoon
• Yogurt container (or something similar, ice cube trays work well; preferably white)
• Tub (preferably white) filled with some water
• Onion bag or other mesh bag听
• 尝别补惫别蝉听
• Science journal or blank paper
• Pencil
• Magnifying glass (optional)
• Bug box (optional)
• Colored pencils (optional)
• Clipboard or something hard to write on outside (optional)
• Internet or other field guides (optional)
• An adult or someone in your family to help

What to do:

• You are going to go on a macroinvertebrate scavenger hunt!
• Head outside and find a water source with easy and safe access.
• Place some water from the stream into your tub and yogurt container and set aside.听 Keep them close by.
• Where the water is moving over rocks, turn some over to see if you can find any insects, clinging to the underside.听 Be patient, look closely and watch for movement , they will be small!
• Carefully place the insects into your yogurt container.听 If you walk around the stream, take this with you.听 As you collect them, come back to your starting point and place all of the insects you find into your tub of water.
• Once you collected some, you can use the to see what you have found.
• Another option is to fill up your onion bag full of leaves and place them in the stream.听 Be sure it is secured so it will not float away.
• The next day or in a few days, check out what insects decided to live in your leaves!听 Take your bag of leaves out, place it into your tub of water and gently pull the leaves out for a closer look.
• Take a closer look using a magnifying glass and draw and label what you find in your Science Journal.
• Post pictures of your Science Journal on Facebook and tag us @黑料不打烊.VT!

The post Aquatic Insect Hunt appeared first on 黑料不打烊.

 &  Video

Monday, May 25, Premier at 12:30pm

This video is part of our Life in a Meadow Video Series.

Join Science Outreach Educator, Marie Soderbergh, as she journeys through the meadow and forest of 黑料不打烊 on a search for wildflowers. Learn a few basic tools that you can use while identifying wildflowers this spring and summer!

The post Video Investigation: Wildflower Walk appeared first on 黑料不打烊.

Read Alouds: 

Materials:

• Science journal or blank paper
• Pencil
• Colored pencils (optional)
• Clipboard or something hard to write on outside
• Something to sit on (such as a cushion, log, carpet square, etc.) (optional)
• Internet or other field guides
• An adult or someone in your family to help

What to do:

• Head outside and find a fern or moss that you would like to study.
  • You can typically find ferns or mosses:
    • In shady places
    • On the forest floor- they are often ground cover
    • Near trees – at their base
  • Things you should take with you:
    • Science Journal
    • Pencil
    • Colored pencils
    • Clip board
    • Cushion or something to sit on
    • A drink and a snack
  • Set up a sit-spot where you can come once a week to look at your plant.听听
  • Label a page in your Science Journal with the date and draw what you see.
    • Be sure to pay attention to details!
    • Look close to the ground; is there anything growing that is very small?
    • What different parts of the plant can you find?
  • Come back to your fern next week and add a new page to your journal.听 Draw what is new to your plant.
  • Visit your plant throughout the summer and into the fall.听
    • What changes do you see happening?听听
    • What stages of the plant life cycle do you think you discovered?
    • How do you think this plant reproduces?
  • Post pictures of your Science Journal on Facebook and tag us @黑料不打烊.VT!

Resource for parents:

• (VT State Park Guide)
• (color photos on iNaturalist)
• (USDA Forest Service)
• (Blog, She Wrote)

The post Fern and Moss Field Trip appeared first on 黑料不打烊.

Read Aloud:

Materials:

• Blank paper
• Pencil
• Markers or colored pencils (optional)
• Clipboard or something hard to write on outside
• Internet or other field guides
• An adult or someone in your family to help

• Create a map of a natural space outside, somewhere near where you live.
• Walk around the space outside and draw each thing you find along the way.听听
  • Create blocks around areas such as grassy fields, forested areas, water and more natural spaces.
• Your map might look like this:

• Next, go back out to those spaces, and see if you can find any evidence that would show humans changed the environment.听听
• Add them to your map.
• Your map might look like this:

• Brainstorm what types of changes happened in the environment as it was changed.  
• Create a chart like this to show what you think happened:

• Next, go back outside again and see if you can find any evidence of animals.  Look for , , eggs or the themselves!  Add these to your map and label!
• Lastly, write a paragraph that explains what you have noticed on your explorations.  
  • How has the land changed over time?
  • How have the changes affected the animals?  
  • Don鈥檛 forget to provide evidence in your statements!

• Post your maps on Facebook and tag us @黑料不打烊.VT!

Resource for parents:

The post Investigating Vermont Landscapes appeared first on 黑料不打烊.

Materials:

• Chalk (or lots of little sticks or other natural materials that won鈥檛 blow away)
• An object to watch its shadow (or your can use yourself)
• Paper (or your science journal)
• 笔别苍肠颈濒听
• Measuring tape or ruler
• An adult or someone in your family to help

What to do:

• Place your object in a spot outside first thing in the morning on a sunny day.听 Be sure this object has plenty of space on all sides and will not be disturbed.听听
  • Example spots where this can work:
    • The middle of a driveway
    • A field
    • Any area that gets a lot of sun and has lots of open space
  • If you are going to look at your own shadow, be sure you mark the spot you stand so you can return to this spot later.听 Also, be sure you have someone trace or outline your shadow for you.

• After you have placed your object, draw a line of chalk around the shadow or outline the shadow with sticks.
  • Draw what you see in your science journal
    • Label your drawing and include any important aspects:

• Time of day
• Location of the sun (direction and听reference points, like a landmark)
• Direction of the shadow
  • You can use the compass on a听smartphone if you have access to one听or an actual compass if you know how听to use one (or if someone at home can听teach you how to use one)

• Length of shadow (to the nearest inch)
• Come back to your object every hour, 5 more times.听 This means you will come out and look at the shadow 6 total times.听听
  • Repeat the same steps in your science journal each time

• After you have collected all of your data, create a graph that shows your information.  Set up your graph like this:

• Lastly, write a paragraph that explains what you have noticed.  Don鈥檛 forget to provide evidence in your statement!

• Here are some ideas that you can write about:
  • What did you notice?
  • What have you discovered?
  • What do you know about shadows based on what your data shows?
  • What conclusions can you make about shadows based on what you completed in your experiment?
  • How do you know this happens?
  • What predictions can you make now about shadows?

• Post your results on Facebook and tag us @黑料不打烊.VT!

The post Investigating Shadows appeared first on 黑料不打烊.

Read Aloud:

Materials:

• Computer with internet access
• Flashlight
• Paper (cardstock or a thicker paper will work better)
• Pencil
• Dark room
• An adult to help

What to do:

• Look at the four pictures of the sky below showing the sky at 6:00 PM.
  • What do you notice about the amount of light?
  • What do you notice about the constellations?  (One constellation has been outlined in yellow.)
  • What do you think the sky will look like on May 20, 2020 at 6:00 PM?  What will happen to the constellation that has been outlined in yellow?  Why? 

• Next, visit the website (allow it to access your location to see what your night sky would look like where you live).
• Then click on the toolbar at the bottom:

• Choose听your favorite听constellation. You can learn more about constellations听听
• Once you have picked your favorite, you can draw it on your paper to create a constellation card.  (See this for complete directions and printable cards.)

• Poke holes through the card where the stars are located and shine a flashlight through it in a dark room.
• Now you can see your own constellations indoors even if it is cloudy
• Post your constellation drawings on Facebook and tag us @黑料不打烊.VT!

The post Investigating the Night Sky appeared first on 黑料不打烊.

 & Video

Monday, May 11, Premier at 12:30pm

This video is part of Seasonal Changes Video Series.

Join 黑料不打烊 Science Educator Michelle Amato on a springtime adventure!  This video will show you how to make observations in your backyard and create a phenology notebook that you can update when you see something new!  This activity is great for all ages, Pre-K through age 105!

The post Video Investigation: Phenology Notebook appeared first on 黑料不打烊.

听&听听Video

Monday, April 20 , Premier at 12:30pm

This video is part of our The Life Cycle of a Tree Video Series.

Join 黑料不打烊 Educator Marie Soderbergh on a close up exploration of a unique microhabitat, a fallen log! See how many amazing things live on and around fallen logs, and gain a deeper understanding of how decomposition takes place.

The post Video Investigation: Fallen Logs appeared first on 黑料不打烊.