2nd grade science project

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
ZpackSux

ZpackSux

Retired
Removed
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2005
Messages
3,406
Reaction score
6
Points
4,571
Location
Dallas, TX
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
My daughter's science project this year involves a presentation on insects. Last year, I had to make a herd of Tapir out of clay.

This year, I think there is no other bug more interesting than Dung Beetles.

👍
 
She should have a microbe zoo. Multiple petri dishes of different stuff. Some yeast, some ecoli, some MRSA and TB

But seriously, Dung beetles are cool!
 
npage148 said:
She should have a microbe zoo. Multiple petri dishes of different stuff. Some yeast, some ecoli, some MRSA and TB

But seriously, Dung beetles are cool!
Click to expand...

You know where I can catch some?
 
sdn1977 said:
Sorry - I'm in Silicon Valley - no dung beetles here!
Click to expand...

Where there are cows, there are dung beetles. What y'all do with the cows? East Bay area still has ranches and cattles.
 
ZpackSux said:
Where there are cows, there are dung beetles. What y'all do with the cows? East Bay area still has ranches and cattles.
Click to expand...

I'm in the South Bay & I haven't seen a cow here ever.

We have horses in Portola Valley, but those are WEALTHY horses - I'm not sure those are allowed to ..... well...have dung😱 . After all - its Portola Valley!🙄

As for the East Bay - well - if they still have cows - hmmmm - don't know where. I think you'd have to go as far as Tracy to get a cow. That's quite a commute for a dung beetle.

I can't help you - otherwise, I'd Fed Ex you one! I can get you a silicone chip if you need one though😀 .....
 
sdn1977 said:
I'm in the South Bay & I haven't seen a cow here ever.

We have horses in Portola Valley, but those are WEALTHY horses - I'm not sure those are allowed to ..... well...have dung😱 . After all - its Portola Valley!🙄

As for the East Bay - well - if they still have cows - hmmmm - don't know where. I think you'd have to go as far as Tracy to get a cow. That's quite a commute for a dung beetle.

I can't help you - otherwise, I'd Fed Ex you one! I can get you a silicone chip if you need one though😀 .....
Click to expand...


Oh great... Wealthy hosses don't poop... :meanie:
 
sdn1977 said:
I don't think so🙄 - but their owner's get sick and pay big bucks to get well😀 !
Click to expand...

See..if they had dung beetles in the soil...they would move a significant of horse litter.....
 
ZpackSux said:
See..if they had dung beetles in the soil...they would move a significant of horse litter.....
Click to expand...

We are talking PORTOLA VALLEY!!!! There are people hired to keep the soil just so.........

Hmmmm - I don't know TX well enough (thankfully😀 ) to describe the area......closer to Pacific Palisades - you know that....but with noses higher in the air......

No - I don't think a dung beetle would be seen as attractive to the community - I may be wrong. What do I know - I just make sure there's enough epi on the crash cart when they arrive in the ER!

But....when my son was in the 8th grade - he needed to make a "bug" in his science class.

I brought home all sorts of TPN "stuff" - tubings, clamps, multi-add sets, etc.....He made the greatest "bug". I think it got an "A" - I'm not sure, but its still in the attic.

See - we do "virtual" bugs here😀 .
 
Many of our snobbish neighborhoods usually have large large lots with large houses and near large ranches and farms.. so we have real Dung Beetles.
 
ZpackSux said:
Many of our snobbish neighborhoods usually have large large lots with large houses and near large ranches and farms.. so we have real Dung Beetles.
Click to expand...

So....there you go! You go to your snobbish neighborhood.....maybe you have to sneak in at night.....and scoop up a shovelful of Dung Beetles.

Sounds like a great Fri night father-daughter outing!!!!😛
 
OK, just because I'm an insect geek, I had to look these up - i didn't even think that there were dung beetles in North America. But here's a reference that I found at this site

How to Find and Collect

In the Eastern United States, the highest diversity of dung beetles seems to usually be found in sunny, sandy areas (although collecting in different habitats will yield interesting results). As you go from south to north, or from the coast inland (and to higher elevations), diversity generally decreases. North of Massachusetts, there are only a handful of Onthophagus and Copris species to be found, whereas in the Carolinas down to Florida, a variety of large and often colorful Phanaeus (which can be collected as far north as Massachusetts) and Canthon await the collector, as well as many smaller species. Sandy pine and oak forests and scrubby areas are good places to look for dung beetles, and soft sandy soil is easy to dig in. Actually, "looking" for dung beetles is usually not terribly productive. Flipping over cattle dung in pastures may seem intuitively like a good way to find dung beetles, but this method is rarely successful. Baited pitfall traps are the standard dung beetle sampling method. Human (considered to be the best) or pig dung is placed in a small cup or in a mesh bag and suspended inside a can or jar which is dug into the ground. Water with soap can be put in the bottom of the trap (to drown the beetles and prevent them from escaping). More elaborate flourishes can include a rain guard (which can be a rectangular piece of cardboard arched over the can and staked into the ground on either end), some kind of guard to keep out rodents and other animals (a steel mesh square of a preferred gauge is used to cover the trap and the four corners are staked into the ground to secure it), etc. As dung beetles are habitat-specific, setting traps only meters apart between bordering habitats can yield very different species. The drawback to pitfall collecting is that it, like light-trap collecting, yields high numbers of specimens but little ecological data (such as what the species actually eat, or what they provision their larvae with). However, it is a good way to determine presence or absence of different species.
Click to expand...

Looks like your best bet is on the east coast. Maybe dgroulx can get you some? I like the method that they describe on how to catch them, though :laugh:
 
Oh, come on, in the great waste of Texas there's bound to be dung beetles. I'd bet there's someone bragging right now about how Texas has the biggest dung beetles in the US because everything's big in TX.😀

Sorry, grew up in Arkansas, even after having lived in TX I can't get past the negative bias. 🙄

Here's some info.

http://www.texasento.net/adonis.htm

They do look cool don't they.
 
That DEFINITELY sounds like a father-daughter project!!!!!! Bait traps & everything.....it could even involve an overnight trip in the RV - who knows - it sounds like bonding to me!


Here on the west coast....over the years - we grew seedlings in different growing conditions - full sun, no sun, limited sun, etc...

We did volcanos (little boys love to have lava overflow - Dad handled that one!)

We did the rate of dye absorption (wicking) of different fabrics - cotton, wool, nylon, etc...a really basic kind of liquid chromatography.

Then.....since that was so easy....the next year...we did the rate of dye fading from different fabrics - different teachers - ALL GOOD!

You have to know how to work the system - the projects will KILL YOU getting these kids thru school. There were so many I've lost track.

The final one was when my son had to do a project when he was a senior in high school - he was in a group & I don't even know what it involved in detail - thankfully I was out of it by then. But...he asked me for crayons - it involved CRAYONS in HIGH SCHOOL!!! I thought I'd lose my mind by that point!

The crayons were long since gone - I gave him $5 & the car keys & told him to go find some😀 .
 
bananaface said:
Maybe he fed them to 5 year olds to see how long they took to pass. :idea:
Click to expand...

What - the crayons😱 ?

What's the statue of limitations on that???????

I think it was more to do with melting & color mixing & goop like that - at least I hope:scared: .
 
sdn1977 said:
What - the crayons😱 ?

What's the statue of limitations on that???????

I think it was more to do with melting & color mixing & goop like that - at least I hope:scared: .
Click to expand...
Yes the crayons!

I wonder what Z-Pak will do next year.
 
My daughter has to make a 3D display of the solar system. It has to be 3D and must be able to hang from the ceiling. Anyone have any ideas other than the old styrofoam ball solar system display?
 
Glowwyrm said:
My daughter has to make a 3D display of the solar system. It has to be 3D and must be able to hang from the ceiling. Anyone have any ideas other than the old styrofoam ball solar system display?
Click to expand...

I've seen ping pong balls used. Also - a neighbor kid used an old toy called Construct - I don't know if its still made - it had snap together balls which you could fill with stuff to make things go - motors & such. He filled them with colored iridescent paper for the planets. I think if you know someone in construction, they have new moldable foam stuff which can even be painted.

The problem is Saturn with those damn rings. But - good news - Pluto is no longer a planet so your life is easier than those of us doing this 15 years ago!😀

Good luck & have fun - you'll learn to hate it😛
 
sdn1977 said:
I've seen ping pong balls used. Also - a neighbor kid used an old toy called Construct - I don't know if its still made - it had snap together balls which you could fill with stuff to make things go - motors & such. He filled them with colored iridescent paper for the planets. I think if you know someone in construction, they have new moldable foam stuff which can even be painted.

The problem is Saturn with those damn rings. But - good news - Pluto is no longer a planet so your life is easier than those of us doing this 15 years ago!😀

Good luck & have fun - you'll learn to hate it😛
Click to expand...

I thought about having her put Pluto in. You know, just to be a rebel. 😉 Thanks for your suggestions. We're going to work on it this weekend. Fun, fun 🙄
 
Glowwyrm said:
My daughter has to make a 3D display of the solar system. It has to be 3D and must be able to hang from the ceiling. Anyone have any ideas other than the old styrofoam ball solar system display?
Click to expand...

Let's just assume for a minute you had all the time in the world and wanted to do something really cool.

Pinata's. That's right. make 8-9 (stupid pluto) pinata planets from paper mache (sp?) and when you're done you can whack the living crap out of it to get the candy. I'm sure any elementary school kid would love it. :laugh:

Of course if that's too much work, you could just make the sun a pinata and demonstrate a supernova. Either way.
 
Moxxie said:
OK, just because I'm an insect geek, I had to look these up - i didn't even think that there were dung beetles in North America. But here's a reference that I found at this site



Looks like your best bet is on the east coast. Maybe dgroulx can get you some? I like the method that they describe on how to catch them, though :laugh:
Click to expand...

LMAO!!!!

Thanks Moxxie....
 
Farmercyst said:
Oh, come on, in the great waste of Texas there's bound to be dung beetles. I'd bet there's someone bragging right now about how Texas has the biggest dung beetles in the US because everything's big in TX.😀

Sorry, grew up in Arkansas, even after having lived in TX I can't get past the negative bias. 🙄

Here's some info.

http://www.texasento.net/adonis.htm

They do look cool don't they.
Click to expand...

I lived in Arkansas... can't stand to listen to 3 Rs.. drive time sports...

We do have the biggest Dung Beetles in the US... Don't we??:meanie:
 
Glowwyrm said:
My daughter has to make a 3D display of the solar system. It has to be 3D and must be able to hang from the ceiling. Anyone have any ideas other than the old styrofoam ball solar system display?
Click to expand...

Do they have Dung Beetles on other planets?
 
sdn1977 said:
That DEFINITELY sounds like a father-daughter project!!!!!! Bait traps & everything.....it could even involve an overnight trip in the RV - who knows - it sounds like bonding to me!


Here on the west coast....over the years - we grew seedlings in different growing conditions - full sun, no sun, limited sun, etc...

We did volcanos (little boys love to have lava overflow - Dad handled that one!)

We did the rate of dye absorption (wicking) of different fabrics - cotton, wool, nylon, etc...a really basic kind of liquid chromatography.

Then.....since that was so easy....the next year...we did the rate of dye fading from different fabrics - different teachers - ALL GOOD!

You have to know how to work the system - the projects will KILL YOU getting these kids thru school. There were so many I've lost track.

The final one was when my son had to do a project when he was a senior in high school - he was in a group & I don't even know what it involved in detail - thankfully I was out of it by then. But...he asked me for crayons - it involved CRAYONS in HIGH SCHOOL!!! I thought I'd lose my mind by that point!

The crayons were long since gone - I gave him $5 & the car keys & told him to go find some😀 .
Click to expand...

I just don't think I'll ever forget the 2nd grade science project "Dung Beetle" ever. Of course in 20 years, my daughter will look back and say.."Dad, I can't believe we chose Dung Beetle." I'll be sure to use the picture of Dung Beetle in her wedding somewhere.
 
ZpackSux said:
I just don't think I'll ever forget the 2nd grade science project "Dung Beetle" ever. Of course in 20 years, my daughter will look back and say.."Dad, I can't believe we chose Dung Beetle." I'll be sure to use the picture of Dung Beetle in her wedding somewhere.
Click to expand...

So does the dung beetle go on the wedding cake, or in the bouquet?

I vote wedding cake:barf:
 
Zpack, you know you are begging for a parent teacher conference. You will definitely make your daughter a legend at school.
 
ForcedEntry said:
Zpack, you know you are begging for a parent teacher conference. You will definitely make your daughter a legend at school.
Click to expand...


Yeah...the girl who presented the "Dung Beetle."

That's awesome!👍
 
Farmercyst said:
Pinata's. That's right. make 8-9 (stupid pluto) pinata planets from paper mache (sp?) and when you're done you can whack the living crap out of it to get the candy. I'm sure any elementary school kid would love it. :laugh:

Of course if that's too much work, you could just make the sun a pinata and demonstrate a supernova. Either way.
Click to expand...

haha I think the pinata idea would be a hit. My daughter is in jr high not elementary. But teenagers love candy too! I wonder how nervous the teacher would be with a bunch of kids swinging a stick around. :laugh: Could be a way to learn about the solar system and check the teacher's reflexes 😉
 
Glowwyrm said:
haha I think the pinata idea would be a hit. My daughter is in jr high not elementary. But teenagers love candy too! I wonder how nervous the teacher would be with a bunch of kids swinging a stick around. :laugh: Could be a way to learn about the solar system and check the teacher's reflexes 😉
Click to expand...

I like the stick idea!!! Even better - put Pluto on then they can have a game - see who gets to knock Pluto off with the stick😀 !

Teachers deserve this - they assign this cr*p!
 
In 8th grade my science fair project was on rocks and crystals.. that year we took the Earth Science Regents. I know, it was rather "boring." The previous year as a 7th grader, I had an awesome time doing a project on balloons! That is, we were learning about pressure, surface area, and such. My science teacher thought my project was so out of the ordinary.. animal balloons! He has never had a student prepare such a project, so I went to a party planner to ask how to bend shapes of balloons so I can make/display them with my whiteboard. It was a fun experiment, and inexpensive (a big of 60 balloons for about a dollar, basketball pump to inflate them). I wonder if anyone else ever did something like this? In any case, my classmates liked the balloons a lot when I gave them away. It's a skill I hope to pick up again for fun some time haha. :laugh:
 
sdn1977 said:
What - the crayons😱 ?

What's the statue of limitations on that???????

I think it was more to do with melting & color mixing & goop like that - at least I hope:scared: .
Click to expand...

Really cool multicolored mohawks. After all it is the bay area and they are teenagers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

H
Hospital APPE project
Replies
3
Views
2K
Script1992
S
D
  • Locked
Needing Help with my School Research Project
Replies
3
Views
1K
GoSpursGo
GoSpursGo
SavedByGrace 116
Project 2025, Will the board of pharmacy change the pharmacy graduate intern position to full-time?
Replies
4
Views
3K
lord999
lord999
WildWing
Pharmacy Students - Paid Steering Committee position with TAKE on HIV project
Replies
1
Views
2K
WildWing
WildWing
S
2nd attempt
Replies
17
Views
2K
BidingMyTime
BidingMyTime
Top Bottom