Young Scientists

One of the requirements of the federal grant that I coordinate for our school district is that the kids go on a campus tour every year. This year, I took 35 seventh graders to the University of Idaho in Moscow (my Alma Mater).

My dear friend, Candi, works at U of I. She's the Human Anatomy instructor. She graciously opened up her lab to us. (Thanks, Candi!!!) She had two fun activities planned. They made working lung models with balloons, straws and cups. They also learned a little about forensics. They learned how to look at a human tibia bone and tell if it was from a male or female, and how to measure the bone and calculate the original height of that person. Candi did a great job with the kids and the lessons fit right into what they're learning in science right now.

Our other fun stop was the Museum of Entomology. It's a room full of (dead) bugs and the guy who takes care of them. It doesn't sound as great as it was. It really was interesting. There are so many different bugs! There were also a few live insects.

That blurry green thing on Nicole's hand is a "walking stick" bug. And not your typical stick-like walking sticks that you might be familiar with. They are from New Zealand and they live in brambles and look very leaf like. The boys are brown and look like dead leaves and the girls are green. They are very cool in a buggy-sort-of-way!