Live Bugs!
Boost basic science and math skills—order our inexpensive live insect kits and use our free online handouts & activities to create a mini-unit! Amazing live insects and other “bugs” are nature’s way of making science fun. Observing, counting, measuring, questioning and reporting widen students’ minds and nurture appreciation and affection for small wonders of the natural world. Bonus! Purchases from our catalogs and online store support rainforest education and conservation.
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New! Redworms
A delightful, year-long classroom project. Students create a worm composter and then observe as food scraps, leaves and grass clippings, paper and other non-meat/non-dairy contributions are transformed into nutrient-rich compost. A great science activity as well as a simple, practical contribution to the earth. Comes with cup of 75-100 redworms and full instructions. Suitable for students in kindergarden through middle school/junior high.
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Leaves, Seeds, Fruits
A terrific science activity for autumn - whether the leaves are green, red, gold or brown. There is so much to observe and learn from the trees and plants around us. With background information and lesson plans for grades K-6, you can get the whole school involved. This activity was created by Judy Chaddick, a master teacher, gardener and illustrator.
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Live Ants
These super-strong, super-busy insects build amazing underground nests, and our see-through habitat lets you watch them work. Students observe, draw, color, count, map tunnels and write. Ant vocabulary makes a fun lesson, too, with words on the “Ant Anatomy” poster. Practice mapping with our free handout—and start building higher math skills now! Oh, and did you know? There are more than 1.5 million ants for every single person living on Earth!
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Live Ladybugs
Ladybugs are the polka-dot charmers of the insect world. Our little orange-and-black beauties provide abundant opportunities to observe, count, describe and graph. They come in packs of hundreds, so you’ll get some for each student. Put them in zipper sandwich bags for easy observing. Can you see the head and legs? How many spots? When you release them outdoors, you know you’re giving a really good gift to the Earth: a female ladybug may eat 5,000 aphids in her short life!
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Live Bessbugs
Called “patent-leather beetles” after their glossy black exoskeletons, these big beetles are fun to handle. But be careful! Their jaws are strong and, although they don’t bite, they can pinch a bit. They also squeak! Our free activities include instructions for a Penny Pull, which measures how many pennies the mighty bessbug can haul.
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Live Giant Moths
Explore the world of nocturnal creatures and the wonders of nighttime. A luna moth arrives in its cocoon and emerges 2–4 weeks later. Observe and then release it as a gift to the Earth. Minimum care required. Available Spring Only. Giant moths are a good companion with Painted Ladies, so that you can compare the similarities and differences of moths and butterflies.
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Sunflower Challenge
Earth’s Birthday Project celebrates students who took the Sunflower Challenge. Each one planted a seed and took care of their sunflower until it bloomed. Some grew higher than a house; others blossomed in a pot; everyone learned from giving a gift to the Earth. Take a look at all the giant sunflowers and smiling faces - join them by taking the challenge and planting sunflower seeds!
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Sunflowers, Sprouts and Gardens
Wow! Sunflowers grow as much as twelve feet in a summer and make huge flowers with more than a hundred seeds. And if you’re a student, you can win a prize by growing one! Sunflower seed packets come in sets of 25, enough for a whole class. Use them at school for sprouting and gardening activities or send them home as an end-of-year gift. Each packet includes information for claiming the prize. Everyone wins!
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Live Hornworms
Live caterpillars arrive looking like tiny green birthday candles. They soon grow up to be green giants, and they make a cool red-brown cocoon. Hornworms grow really fast, and the exciting hornworm activity is all about measuring change over time, the number one, rock-bottom basic science and applied math skill. You’ll have an amazing time with these fast-growing, easy to handle, gentle, fascinating caterpillars.
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Live Praying Mantises
Talk about baby boomers—your praying mantis egg cases may hatch 50-150 nymphs each! Nymphs eat each other until they’re large enough to capture fruit flies, an observation activity your students won’t want to miss. Mantises are truly the heroes of the garden, devourers of the worst insect pests, and sometimes unwary mice and frogs, too!
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