Are Rainbows Always in the Sky?

I spotted this rainbow while riding in the car. We had a little precipitation at the time.

I observed this rainbow on my counter next to the fish aquarium,
Same colors? What do you think made this rainbow? Look around and see if you can find some rainbows in your world!

Another Animal for the Lab!

In the last post,  I explained how difficult it was last year to find reptiles and amphibians for the lab due to the drought. Last year I did not find a toad till Spring! So imagine my joy when I found a big toad this week in one ot the Ivys(Plant) I have on my patio. The funny part is I was bringing the Ivy to school! He was obviously trying to get a free ride!I quickly caught him and put him in his new home (terrerrium) !

This is the plant I found the toad hiding in!
I am really glad it was a toad and not a snake!

Here is our new friend for the lab.



Here is his new home in the terrarium. He is in there, but camouflaged.Can you find him? If you can't, scroll down and see the hint.















Look right under the green plant. His nose is next to the rock . 

A New Lizard for the Lab Terrariums!

I have been watching two lizards that have made their habitat on my patio all summer. One an adult  and the other is more of a baby.  I was so glad to see them because last summer I could not find any of these lizards, I expect due to the drought. Therefore we had no lizards in the lab for the 1st part of the year. So today I decided I needed to catch the big lizard when I saw it and set up its special home in the lab.
I saw it climbing on the brick and quickly put my hand on it. It wiggled and turned to bite me and I found my hand was on its tail portion. I really did not want it to release its tail so I grabbed its head portion with the other hand and it retained its tail.It was not happy. I brought it to the terrarium with its mouth open wide to get me.As I looked closer it had a small drop of  blood on its tail. I guess it was ready to release its tail when I moved my hand away. I released  the lizard in his terrerium where it had everything it needed to live. I looked in several hours later and realized it had dropped its tail. I too it out and took pictures for you. See pictures and captions below.


Here is the lizard, notice the end of its tail is gone. This is the lizard's adaptation for protection.Most lizards will be able to run away while you are holding the tail.



Here the lizard is trying hard to bite me and make me drop him!
He does have a row of tiny teeth but they do not hurt.




















The lizard grabbed on to my finger and refused to let go!
I put my hand in his terrerrium and let him dangle. I thought he would let go but it took at least a minute before he finally gave me my finger back! He is a fiesty !
(right)The lizards tail


Look for this great lizard in the lab in his new home!



Dinosaurs in Houston?

Well not quite but you can now go on a prehistoric safari at the Houston Museum of Natural Science! The museum's paleontology hall (the length of a football field ) is listed as one of the most dynamic paleo halls in the world with this new exhibit.
The exhibit in the hall cost 85,000,000.(85 million dollars!) thats a lot of dinosaur bones!

Mr. Hattrup visited the museum this summer and sent pictures of some of the exhibits.

Perhaps your family can make a visit befiore school starts Check the website-most Thursdays 3-6pm are free!

Fun! Make Squirmy Jello Worms!

I haven't actually tried this but looks like great fun! (See picture below)

Found through Brisbane Kids.

Let me know if you try it!

Ingredients:
2 packs (3 oz) Raspberry jello
1 pkg unflavored gelatin (for extra firmness)
3/4 cup whipping cream
3 cups boiling water
15 drops green food coloring
...

100 flexible straws (or enough to fill your container)
Tall container (1 quart or 1 liter carton of milk)

Directions::
Combine gelatin in bowl and add boiling water.
Let it cool to lukewarm and then add the whipping cream and 15 drops green food coloring.
Gather your straws (don’t forget to flex them out) and put them in the container. It’s important that the straws have a tight fit so the jello stays in the straws. For this reason, a 1 liter carton may be better; you will probably get longer worms since there is a tighter fit. If you have a bigger container, a rubber band around the straws is helpful. Or you could just add more straws to fill the container.
Add the gelatin mixture to the straw-filled container and let it set until firm.
There are multiple ways you can remove the worms from the straws. You can roll a rolling pin over the straws and squeeze them out or you can hold the straws over warm water. The worms will slip right out,

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Dog Sledding in Alaska

Ms. Petrie shared her experiences in Alaska at a dog training camp, As you can see in the pictures, this environment is very different than ours!(The following pictures and captions are from Ms. Petrie.)

We flew in a helicopter to a summer training camp for sled dogs. This glacier was snow covered and they told us that the ice and snow was more than a mile deep. It seemed very cold to us, we wore gloves, hats, boots and coats. It was about 45 degrees. It was funny because some of the trainers were wearing shorts and short sleeved shirts. They of course were working very hard taking care of the dogs and their camp so they were producing a lot of heat. It was considered very warm weather for the dogs who have skin and fur to protect them from the cold. The dogs were very friendly animals who were used to people touching them. My husband and I helped remove their harnesses and their booties. It took us much longer than the trainers but the dogs waited patiently, standing still for us.

We were told that they wear the booties to protect their feet. Without the booties snow and ice can get packed into their feet causing injuries to their feet and sometimes affecting their gait.

Glaciers and the Results of their Erosion



This is a glacier valley we saw in Colorado. Thousands of years ago , a glacier slowly(over thoudands of years) crept down this mountain, eroding away rock and dirt as it moved. The result is the valley between mountains today.

In my trip to Colorado and to the top of the Rocky Mountains, I was pleased to see the valley made by a glacier. I have also included pictures and comments by Ms. Petrie. She took a trip to Alaska this summer and observed a glacier close up. In the next post I will share more of her experiences in Alaska .

These Picture were taken by Ms. Petrie in Alaska.in Glacier Bay  Here is what she learned and observed while there, The glaciers are named and this one is called Margerie. While we were there a large piece of ice broke off the glacier and fell into the water. That's called calving and you hear a loud sound like an explosion before you see the ice fall. There was ice floating all around our boat. It's hard to tell the scale in the picture but the width of the glacier was about a mile.

One amazing thing to me was the blue color of the ice. This happens when the ice is deep and dense. It absorbs all colors other than blue but transmits the blue colors.

Learn more about the wonders of glaciers on this great website:
http://www.onegeology.org/extra/kids/earthprocesses/glaciers.html

Migrate, Hibernate or Tolerate the Long Winters of the Tundra

In the last post, I took you to the top of the mountain, to the Tundra and explained exactly what that ecosystem involves. Like all ecosystems, plants and animals have to work together for survival in this environment. I explained a little about the plants in the Tundra but today I want to share what I learned about the animals., Surprisingly there are no bears up this high in the mountains! Reason?
Not much food there! They stay down in the treeline,-the forests where there are more plants and animals since they are omnivores. There are a few animals adapted for this high elevation though.

(top)This is the hardy ptarmigan and  is adapted to withstand the cold winters. It is covered with insulating layers of feathers. They molt twice a year, changing their color to blend with the changing color of their habitat as seasons change. They conserve energy by moving slowly and seldom flying,

(Above)This is the long tailed weasel of the tundra.As you can see it molts twice a year and also changes its color to camouflage with the seasons. In the winter its heavy white coat provides warmth as well as providing camouflage as it hunts for food,

Not all animals choose to stay in the Tundra for the winter though, Some will choose to migrate down the mountain to warmer forests. The Elk is one such animal. We saw these animals everywhere at lower elevations.(Below left)

(Below)Some animals do choose to stay and hibernate. This is a marmot and he stays put and is not active. for the long winters. Marmots sleep snug in their burrows for seven to eight months, their body temperature dropping to below 40 degrees to conserve energy.

Like all ecosystems, plants and animals have to have adaptations to survive in their habitat.Think about the animals in your habitat, what do they have to help them survive? What adaptations do you have?

A Trip to the Tundra!

As we drove up the mountain, the mountain side was all green trees.

As we left the town of Estes Park Colorado ( elevation of 7500 ft above sea level ) and traveled up the scenic Trail Ridge Drive the scenery on the  mountains began to change . We actually were traveling to a new ecosystem called the tundra.A tundra is usually thought of as snow and ice but not always.The tundra ecosystem is the part of our earth high above the tree line (where the climate and thin air make tree growth impossible). This happens in a climate that does not stay warmer than 50 degrees for over a month. In the summer it was definitely cooler at this elevation but was not snowing. Animals that live up here are specially adapted for the harsh climate and lack of food.In the next post I will tell you about the wildlife that can live in the tundra.

As we climbed to the top of the mountain, you can see where the treeline ends. We are going above it-to the Tundra!

(See below, right )As we reached the top of the mountain and into the tundra, notice there are no more trees. We are now above the treeline. We were now at an elevation of 12,000 ft. above sea level.
In the tundra , there was just  low grass(never had to be mowed like ours)  and some small shrubs.

The plants here have adaptations. Plants like this one have very little growth above ground but can have a  very long tap root (up to 6 foot long)that provides a stable anchor,stores food and searches out water. 

A Visit to a New Place!

I just recently visited Colorado. The terrain and climate is very different there. Why? One reason is the elevation. Elevation is how far the land is above sea level. In Houston, we are very close to sea level, only about 25 foot above sea level. But in Colorado, the elevation is much higher. I flew in to Denver, known as the "mile high city". Can you guess why it's called that? If you guessed because of its elevation, you are right! It is exactly one mile high, that's 5280 feet above sea level. From Denver we traveled even higher into the mountains.As we traveled by car up the mountain the air got thinner with less oxygen and cooler. The sites were beautiful and the roads were steep and winding.
At the highest point we were 12,784 feet above sea level. In the next few blogs I will share what we observed when we got to the top of the mountain!