Join spider science educator Sebastian Echeverri to learn about jumping spiders with real-life “spidey-senses.” Discover the mechanics of how they jump, where you can find them, and how well they can see.
Bug Bonanza
Bug Bonanza: Cockroach Race!
Cockroach Racing: Athlete Profiles
Cockroach Racing? What is that?
Cockroach racing began in Australia 38 years ago, and according to the pub where the cockroach races are still ceremoniously held, it all began when two Australian pub patrons were arguing “over which suburb had the biggest and fastest roaches.”
Our race is happening tomorrow, so it’s time to meet our athletes!
Cupcake “Speedster” Carnegie
Favorite Food: Enchiladas
Hobby: Reading
Secret Technique: uses spiracles to distract opponents
Franklin “Supersonic” Carnegie
Favorite Food: Sushi
Hobby: White-water rafting
Secret Technique: eats protein before every event
Franklin “The Flash” Carnegie
Favorite Food: Fruit sald
Hobby: Gardening
Secret Technique: meditates for 30 minutes before every race
Cupcake “Speedy” Carnegie
Favorite Food: Fudge brownies
Hobby: Painting
Secret Technique: uses her antennae to feel the corners of the race track
Butterfly Chromatography Craft
What is Chromatography?
Chromatography is a very easy to observe chemical process where one state of matter–in this chromatography craft (and for ancient Greek art forms!) ink or paint–gets dissolved by another state of matter–in this case, water.
What You Will Need for your Butterfly Chromatography Craft
- Pipe Cleaners
- Spray Bottle
- Water
- Coffee filters
- Washable Markers
- Drying station, somewhere to dry the butterflies
*Most of these items can be substituted for other items if you don’t have them. You can also use clothespins, twist ties, or paper towels to make your Butterfly chromatography craft instead!
Directions
- Using your washable markers, draw an image or pattern on your coffee filters. This can be as complex or colorful as you’d like!
- Spray the coffee filter with water. Try not to use too much! You’ll see the colors begin to bleed almost immediately. Allow about 5-10 minutes to dry.
- Once fully dry, take two fingers and pinch the middle of the coffee filter to create a shape that looks like a bow. Carefully spread each side out to make them look fuller and wing-like.
- Use a pipe cleaner or clothespin to tie around the middle of the wings. Try to shape the ends of the pipe cleaner into antennae or attach some yarn or string to your clothespin.
- Your butterfly craft is finished! Be sure to show off your creations using the #MuseumsFromHome!
Bugs Scavenger Hunt
Look in your backyard or around your neighborhood to find one of each of the invertebrates on our scavenger hunt below (we’re including slugs, snails, and worms on our list).
If you can’t get outside, watch the video to learn how to use iNaturalist to complete the scavenger hunt online.
Find One of Each Kind of Invertebrate!
Butterflies
Big and small, butterflies are some of the most impressive insects. Look for them around flowers and near muddy ponds and puddles where they take a drink.
True Bugs
They’re insects that have wings and sucking mouthparts because they love the sap from plants. Look for them in the garden, the field, or the forest.
Bees and Wasps
Listen for these black and gold fans buzzing around flowers and fields. Some bees are active in the morning and others in the middle of the day.
Spiders
These creepy-crawlies might hang out in your yard, the forest, or even your basement! Maybe you’ll find them feasting on insects.
Beetles
Some are black, but some beetles can be colorful like ladybugs. Beetles like forests, fields, and even collect pollen from flowers.
Moths
These camouflaged insects tend to fly around at night, maybe you can find some near porch lights at night or napping on trees and buildings during the day.
Flies
Flies sometimes get inside our houses, but they’re also pretty fond of flowers and wet places like streams, puddles, and ponds.
Many Legs
Look around for any kind of invertebrate with many legs like a millipede, centipede, or crayfish. They can be found in many habitats.
Ants
Sometimes they come out in great numbers to bring food back to the colony. Ants live where they can find open soil to build their underground communities.
No Legs
Worms like damp places like under rocks and logs but come out after a heavy rain. You might find snails and slugs hiding from the rain or eating plants in forests, fields, or gardens.
Create Bugs in Amber Slime!
Create your own slime using everyday household craft materials. Using toy insects, recreate what would happen to insects when they were caught in tree resin, fossilizing them. Great for kids who love Jurassic Park and fossils!
Borax Recipe
- ½ cup of (preferably clear) PVA glue
- ½ cup water (mix with glue)
- ½ teaspoon borax powder
- ½ cup warm water (Mix with Borax)
- 5-10 drops of yellow food coloring or substitute
- Measuring cups & spoons
- 2 medium-sized bowls
- Insect toys
Non-Borax Recipe
- ½ cup of (preferably clear) PVA glue
- ½ cup water
- 1 tbsp. saline solution (must contain boric acid and sodium borate!)
- ¼-½ tsp. baking soda
- 5-10 drops of yellow food coloring
- Measuring cups & spoons
- 2 medium-sized bowls
- Small plastic insect toys
Did you know, in 2017, the museum received a collection of prehistoric ticks trapped in amber called “Dracula’s Terrible Tick?”
Directions for Borax Recipe
- Mix ½ cup of water and ½ cup of glue in bowl.
- Add 5-10 drops of food coloring to glue mixture.
- Mix ¼ tsp. of borax and ½ cup warm water in a separate bowl. Stir until completely mixed in.
- Add the borax and water mixture slowly to your glue and water mixture. Start stirring immediately! Your slime will soon start to form immediately.
- Keep mixing until slime has formed. immediately take out and put in the dry container.
- Continue to stir any leftover liquid until it turns into slime. Transfer it to the dry container once you are done.
- Start kneading your slime mixture and add pretend insects! It may feel stringy at first but will change in texture the more it is kneaded.
Directions for Non-Borax Recipe
- Put ½ cup of glue in bowl.
- Mix ¼-½ tsp. baking soda and ½ cup water in a bowl until baking soda is completely dissolved.
- Add 5-10 drops of food coloring to baking soda and water mixture.
- Gently mix both glue and food-colored mixture.
- Add 1 tbsp. saline solution and stir quickly until slime starts to form,
- Put a few drops of saline solution on hands and start to knead slime together
- Add pretend insects, and you’ve created your own amber slime!
Want to keep the slime you’ve created longer? Keep it in the fridge!
