Backyard Education

If you stop and smell the freshly cut grass, you'll notice that opportunities for scientific inquiry are all around us. My four-year-old son, Duncan found a caterpillar recently. We happened to be throwing out an old gerbil cage that was cracked and full of holes. Duncan helped me patch it up with cardboard and when we were done, Kiki the caterpillar had a huge new home.

Crude, but effective. We made sure that there was plenty of ventilation.

Here's where the science comes in. I asked Duncan to think about what the caterpillar would like to eat. We talked about The Very Hungry Caterpillar and also his new Little Einsteins book about the life cycle of a caterpillar. Duncan found grass, leaves, a cherry tomato, Swiss chard, and lettuce. When he brought me the hosta leaf, he said that an insect has already been chewing on in, so that made him think the caterpillar might like it.
Duncan also said the caterpillar would need water to drink and sticks to climb on. Kiki made itself at home quickly.
The next day, we noticed caterpillar poop in the cage, so we decided that Kiki must be eating the leaves and grass. Our next step will be researching what kind of caterpillar/butterfly/moth Kiki is. We also need to clean out the cage. Stay tuned.