Frequently Asked Questions

Winter Bugs

When we do our bugs activities during the winter, children can do things like hunt for (plastic) bugs in the museum's exhibit, hunt for real bugs in un-frozen soil, and see and touch nests and cocoons left by last summer's bugs.  Activities vary depending on the ages of the children. Activities  Learn more about it

Activities

Activities take place at the north end of the museum.  Children can:

• Go on an imaginary hike to observe and capture plastic bugs in their winter hiding places (variations for 2 yrs and up).  Catch the bugs with nets, then sort them into plastic jars.  Learn more
    
• Hunt for live bugs in un-frozen soil and rotting logs (best for ages 3 and up).  Learn more
    
• See and touch nests, cocoons, and other things that last summer’s bugs left behind (2 yrs and up).
   
• Find out about bug collecting (best for ages 4 and up).   Learn more.
     

Learn More About It

  
   Hunt for Plastic Bugs

When you come to Bugs, you can hunt for bugs in the places where they live in winter.      They're only plastic bugs, but it's still fun to catch them with a net, put them in a jar, and then let them go again.

EnchantedLearning.com is a great place for kids to get basic information about where insects live:
   < http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/printouts.shtml >

   Bugs in Soil and Rotten Logs

To catch some real live bugs in the middle of winter, stop by the table with boxes of un-frozen soil and rotting logs.  You'll help us find ground beetles, millipedes, pill bugs, slugs, earthworms, and many other tiny creatures. We'll catch them, watch them for a minute or two, and then put them back where they belong, in the cool, moist soil.

Here are links to Web pages about some animals that live in rotten logs and soil:

   Sow Bugs and Pill Bugs
   < http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/CritterFiles/casefile/relatives/sowbugs/sowbug.htm >
   < http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/isopod/Pillbugprintout.shtml >

   Millipedes
   < http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/arthropod/Millipede.shtml >
   < http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/CritterFiles/casefile/relatives/millipedes/millipede.htm >

   Centipedes
   < http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/arthropod/Centipede.shtml >
   < http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/CritterFiles/casefile/relatives/centipedes/centipede.htm >

   Ground Beetles
   < http://www.pma.edmonton.ab.ca/natural/insects/projects/ground.htm >

   Fireflies
   < http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/beetles/Fireflyprintout.shtml >

   Slugs
   < http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/mollusk/gastropod/Slugprintout.shtml > 

   Earthworms
   < http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/earthworm/Earthwormcoloring.shtml >

   Here are some additional ideas for children who want to collect bugs

What do you do with a dead bug?  In our family, we save them in cardboard boxes.   Sometimes we put dead bugs in empty jewelry boxes.  Many bugs do well in boxes with cotton on the bottom and a clear plastic lid on top.  Now that Ethan is 8 years old, he's started pinning his insects with special pins, and then sticking the pins into styrofoam fitted in the bottom of a shoebox.

Go here to see how we stored my son Ethan's dead bug collections at various ages:
   < http://saltthesandbox.org/cicada_hunt/YouCanDo.htm#CollectDeadCicadas >

Here's a link to a list of Web sites about insect collecting:
   < http://saltthesandbox.org/cicada_hunt/StoringCollections.htm#CollectingInsects >