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Category: Learning Outdoors (Page 21 of 63)

Great Migrations at National Geographic

October 1, 2010 / / 2 Comments

In case you haven’t “heard,” National Geographic Channel has a seven-part series coming in November called Great Migrations (links are no longer available). Affiliated with the television event are a number of educational opportunities you might want to investigate.

Accompanying the series is a children’s book, Great Migrations:  Whales, Wildebeests, Butterflies, Elephants, and Other Amazing Animals on the Move by Elizabeth Carney.

Great Migrations contains the dramatic, stunning photographs you have come to expect from National Geographic. Each animal is given a four page spread. The first two pages are amazing scenes in vibrant color. The second two pages are facts about the migrations those animals take that includes a map of the region where the animals occur (geography lesson).

I do have one caveat. The font on these informational pages jumps around drastically in color and size, even within a paragraph. While this is eye-catching from a design point of view, on the other hand it is a real challenge for beginning and struggling readers to follow.

If you are going to watch the series and want to have a reference on hand to emphasize points or delve a bit further into details, then this book could be a useful tool. It will be sure to get children interested in learning more.

There is also an adult book, Great Migrations by K. M. Kostyal, which I haven’t seen yet.

This trailer to give you an idea what the series is like (may not be suitable for sensitive children):

Isn’t that stunning?

Note:  I’m sure there will be some scenes of predators capturing prey in the actual show, so it may not be suitable for young or highly-sensitive children.

More information:

Great Migrations: Whales, Wildebeests, Butterflies, Elephants, and Other Amazing Animals on the Move

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: National Geographic Children’s Books (October 12, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1426307004
ISBN-13: 978-1426307003

and

Great Migrations by K. M. Kostyal

Seed of the Week: Apple

September 21, 2010 / / 0 Comments

The mystery seeds from last week were apple seeds, Malus domestica.

How many times do we eat an apple without even glancing at the seeds?

Yet there is the potential to grow a new tree nestled inside (see below).

Well, if you don’t cut them in half with a knife, like I did 🙂

Wild apples are thought to have originated in Asia. Over the years, different varieties have been selected for commercial production. Most of the apple trees grown commercially are started from cuttings grafted on root stock.

That way the apples produced on the plant are the same as the parent stock.

Because of their unusual genetics, it can be difficult to grow apples from seeds obtained from commercial varieties. Any seedlings that do grow will produce apples that a very different from their parents.

If you would like to try growing apples from seeds, there’s more information on the Growing With Science website.

You might also be interested in finding out whether apples float.

Apples are such wonderful symbols of fall. Do apples grow where you live?

Seed of the Week: Lemon Tree

August 17, 2010 / / 2 Comments

More people would probably have recognized the mystery seeds from last week as lemon seeds if I had used this photograph:

lemon-seeds

Lemon trees, Citrus limon, grow where there is little chance of frost.

Here in Phoenix, Arizona they flower from late February to March.

lemon-flower-bee-flying

Honey bees love the flowers.

lemon-bee

The flowers are incredibly fragrant.

lemons- two-green

Right now the tree is loaded with green lemons.  A wise citrus grower once told me that the lemons are often ripe inside before their rinds are fully yellow outside. In any case, the green ones have a pleasant lime-like odor.

lemon-fruit

The fruit will be turning yellow by November. The fruit stays on the tree until after it flowers in March.

As I mentioned in a previous post, citrus trees can produce seeds that are identical to the parent without pollination. You can grow new trees from the seeds.

lemon-leaves

The leaves are simple and oval and stay on the tree throughout the year. In fact, we have used lemon tree leaves for out tree leaf age experiment.

lemon-tree-bark

The bark is gray and relatively smooth.

Lemon trees tend to produce large quantities of fruit. If you grow a lemon tree, it pays to have a lot of recipes at the ready.

One of our favorites comes from my cousin Karen.

Glazed Lemon Bread

  • 3 Tbsp. oil
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 and  3/4 cups flour
  • 2 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 cup milk (soy or rice works too)
  • 1 Tbsp. grated lemon rind
  • 1/2 tsp. salt (optional)

Glaze:

  • 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp. sugar

Preheat oven to 325 ° F. Grease an 8 by 4 by 2 loaf pan.

In a standard mixing bowl, mix oil and sugar, and then stir in lemon juice. Add eggs one at a time.

Sift together flour and baking powder. Add to oil/lemon mix alternately with milk. Add the lemon rind and mix thoroughly.

Turn out batter into greased loaf pan and bake 45 minutes. Prepare the glaze of lemon and sugar in a small bowl. At 45 minutes, remove the lemon loaf from the oven (it will be hot), and brush or drizzle evenly with the glaze. Return to the 325°F oven for another 5 minutes.

Serve with lovely hot tea with a twist of lemon.

Lemons are also an inexpensive source of mild acid for fun science experiments.

As another science experiment you could test whether you really need to add salt to baked goods. Make one loaf of lemon bread with the salt and one without. See if you notice any differences. (I tend to leave the salt out).

What is your favorite recipe that uses lemons?

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