NIH: Illusions– Explains what an illusion is and offers a few examples.
Eye Tricks:Illusions– Scroll down a bit to get to the gallery with 70 illusions. This site offers a collection of Stereograms(3D hidden images) as well.
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Note:Has this or another activity on Fran’s World of Discovery inspired you or someone else in a positive way? Have you featured this activity in a blog post? I invite you to comment and link back to where your post can be found, or tell me what you or your family enjoyed about the post! Thank you!
Many animals leave signs that they have been around. This activity will have you identifying the signs that tell you what it may be and how you can track them. You will need: Sketchpad and pencil or a camera Optional: A pocket microscope What to look for… This activity suggests that you observe only. Touching is not recommended. Insects: Look for plants and leaves that have been chewed. Trees with holes. Watch a patch of flowers being pollinated. Movement in the grass. Eggs under leaves. Various stages of larvae. Listen for them. Look for evidence of insect scat as well. Spiders: Look for their webs between trees and under things. Each spider makes a unique web and can be identified by it if they are not present. Birds: Look in trees for nests, listen for them. Make a bird feeder and bring them to you. Look up in the sky or on the ground. Watch them on the beach and near water too. Mammals: Look for tracks in the dirt, mud or in puddles, on the sidewalk, in the grass. Look for their scat, but don’t touch it. Reptiles: Snakes can be found sunning themselves at various points of the day. Approaching them is not recommended. Observe only. Lizards can be found running around in gardens and sunning themselves in the morning. Amphibians: Look on land and near water. Look for them at night near a porch light. Fish/Sealife: Watch the water for signs of jumping, schooling and feeding. Some areas may have shrimp or crabs running during certain times of the year. Look for fins out of the water as well. You might be able to catch a dolphin surfing in some areas! Places to visit… The beach, a pond, lake, inlets, woods, your back yard, gardens, the park, near lights at night, etc.. Times to look… Early in the morning, at dusk, early evening. Listen throughout the day. Bring a friend!
A June bug, sometimes called a May or June beetle, is a type of scarab beetle that can be found all over North America. They can usually be seen swarming lights at night in late May or early June. Hunt for June bugs… Look for June bugs around your porch light at night or grab a flashlight and look for them in trees and bushes. Collect a few in a clean jar with holes in the top and use tweezers to examine them gently. Normally these bugs do not bite, so you can pick them up in order to get to know them a little better as well. After studying them for a little while with a magnifying glass, snap a picture, then let them go.
During the day, they can often be found walking in grass or dead in a bucket of water, a pool, or pool filter. If you find one, pick it up with tweezers so you can examine it more closely with a magnifying glass. Suggestions… Learn more about June bugs by reading and watching the information offered below. Find out what they eat, how they develop, how long they live, where they can be found, and what sounds they make. Observe how a June bug acts and what it looks like. Identify some of the other bugs and animals that are out at night in addition to the June bug. Start a collection if you find dead bugs. Draw a picture of a June bug and where you found or saw it.
Information
Bug Facts: June Bug – Information about where June bugs can be found, what they eat, look like, and their stages of development. Wikipedia: June Bug – Life cycle information. Also: Phyllophaga
Wikipedia: Woodpecker – General characteristics, distribution, habitat and movements, behavior: diet and feeding, breeding, and systematic evolution.
All About Birds: Woodpeckers and Allies – Site includes the following info – A variety of woodpeckers, their identification, life history, and a sample of the sounds they make. Some videos have been included for some of the woodpeckers as well.
Defenders: Woodpeckers: Basic Facts – Info includes – Diet, population, range, behavior, reproduction, and protection status.
Shark Sider.com: This site offers a lot of great information about sharks including: Types of Sharks, shark anatomy, history of sharks, facts & FAQ’s, and a shark blog.
National Geographic: Sharks – Page offers information about sharks, including informative videos, and an online puzzle.
Shark Friends:Swimming – Facts about the way sharks swim, including why they can not swim backward.
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Wikipedia: Blood – Explains what blood is, its function, and parts. This site has information about Red Blood Cellsas well. HowStuffWorks: How Blood Works – What makes up blood? How does the body make blood? Find out in this article. Scroll through the pages with the arrows on the top and bottom of the article. The Franklin Institute: Your Living Blood – Information includes: It’s Alive, Blood Vessels, Red & White Blood Cells, All About Scabs, What types: What’s the Difference? and other topics. America’s Blood Center: What is Blood? – Infographics explain how blood works. University of Rochester Medical Center: What Are Red Blood Cells? – What are red blood cells?, Red Blood Cells At Work, Nutrition and Red Blood Cells, and Illnesses of the Red Blood Cells.
Tour A Blood Bank Naval Medical Center Portsmouth: Blood Bank: Virtual Tour – Short picture tour. Giving Blood: History of Blood Banking– Timeline history of blood baking from c. 2500 BCE – 1999
If you find a broken link, please let me know by leaving a comment! If you have a site to share, please leave me a comment with the URL. Thank you!
Note:Has this or another activity on Fran’s World of Discovery inspired you or someone else in a positive way? Have you featured this activity in a blog post? I invite you to comment and link back to where your post can be found, or tell me what you or your family enjoyed about the post! Thank you! *An animation of a typical human red blood cell cycle in the circulatory system. This animation occurs at real time (20 seconds of cycle) and shows the red blood cell deform as it enters capillaries, as well as changing color as it alternates in states of oxygenation along the circulatory system.
Animal Corner: Wolf Anatomy – Labeled parts and information.
Running With The Wolves – Anatomy– Labeled pictured, includes reproductive organs. Wolf Haven: Anatomy and Habitat – Physical description: Bones, teeth, tracks, and more.
If you find a broken link, please let me know by leaving a comment! If you have a site to share, please leave me a comment with the URL. Thank you!
Note:Has this or another activity on Fran’s World of Discovery inspired you or someone else in a positive way? Have you featured this activity in a blog post? I invite you to comment and link back to where your post can be found, or tell me what you or your family enjoyed about the post! Thank you!
Use the follow frog information as an independent study, family learning project or as a jumping off point for a longer frog study. If you like this project page, please share the link with others. Thank you!
How does a frog hop? (How do their leg muscles work?)
Why do some frogs jump higher than others?
Can any frogs stay in water as an adult?
Are any frogs scavengers? (What do they eat?)
How many different kinds of frogs are there?
How many kinds of poisonous frogs are there? Why are they poisonous? Can anything eat them and live? How do Aboriginal tribes use poisonous frogs?
Do all frogs bleed red?
What kind of myths surround frogs?
Where did the word ‘frog’ originate from?
Research Resources
Mixed Information
All About Frogs: Frogland! – Site offers a lot of information including: News, a blog, pet frog info, how to say frog in different languages, fables, and much more.
Wikipedia: Frogs – Site offers a lot of information about frogs including: Etymology and taxonomy, evolution, morphology and physiology, locomotion, life history, defence, distribution and conservation status, uses and cultural beliefs
AMNH: Exhibits: Frogs: A Chorus of Colors – American Museum of Natural History provides an online exhibit about frogs including: The Amazing Adaptable Frog, Featured Frog Species, Poison Dart Frog Vivarium, Reproduction, A Frog’s Life, Frogs and the Ecosystem, Frog Research at the Museum, Meet the Curator, Frog Sounds, Frog Fun Facts
Enchanted Learning: Frogs–Information, crafts and printables related to frogs. Some activities my require a membership to print.
Defenders of Wildlife: Frogs– Site offers basic facts about frogs including diet, population, an area map and things that threaten the frog population.
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency: Frogs! – This site offers a kid-friendly section with frog sounds, coloring pages and facts. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resourcesoffers a lot of information about frogs and toads.
Franklin Institute: Amphibians–Information about amphibians.
HowStuffWorks: Frogs– Answers the questions: Are All Frogs Green?, Are All Frog Feet the Same?, Where in the World Do Frogs and Other Amphibians Live?, Why Are Frogs So Cold?, Are Some Frogs Poisonous? This site also has a section about How Frogs Work.
Animals: About: Frogs and Toads– Information about frogs and toads.
Welcome Wildlife.com: All About Frogs & Toads – Article talks about the differences between frogs and toads. Also talks about what the moisture on a frog’s skin is and why they have a sticky tongue.
Anatomy
Eyes
The Frog: Vision– Do frogs see in color or black and white? Find out here!
Pawnation: Frog’s Tongue Attached Differently Then Humans – Article about the attachment location of a frog’s tongue, how they push their tongue out, their contact with prey and hunting style.
All About Frogs: Frogland: Mouth– A little bit of information about how a frog uses its tongue to eat.
Exploratorium: Frogs: Skin – The lower part of the article on this page offers information about a frog’s skin. This page, on the same site, talks about color and camouflage.
All About Frogs: Super Skin – Find out how frogs use their skin in this short article.
Brown University: Frog Respiration– Find out how frogs use their skin to breath.
Virtual Dissections & Anatomy Diagrams
Virtual Lab: Virtual Frog Dissection – Dissect a frog virtually while the site explains what is being shown. (Site uses a combination of a real frog dissection and digital diagrams.)
Frog Life Cycle: Diagram of Frog – Tips for drawing a diagram of a frog.
Froggy: Teaching Tool: Diagrams– Site offers 4 labeled diagrams of the inside of a frog: Skeletal System, organs, digestive system, and nervous system. Click on each picture to make it larger.
OzAniamals: Australian Frogs– An A-Z list of the frogs that can be found in Australia.
USGS: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Order Anura: Frogs and Toads – Vast list of frogs and toads. Click on the highlighted words to see and learn about each animal.
KidZone: Species of Frogs – Includes: Darwin’s Frog, Goliath Frog, Northern Leopard Frog, Ornate Horned Frog, Poison Dart Frog and Tree Frogs
Aquatic Frogs
Pawnation: Types Of Underwater Frogs – Site offers information about frogs that live in water in their adult stage of life. The Congo Dwarf Clawed Frog, Western Dwarf Clawed Frog, African Clawed Frog, Western Clawed Frog.
FishChannel.com: Choosing an Aquatic Frog – Article offers helpful information about purchasing an aquatic frog as a pet.
Pawnation: Frogs: Blue Poisonous Dart Frog– Information about this type of poisonous frog: Why they are poisonous, characteristics, habitat, mating habits and reproduction.
AMNH: Poison Dart Frog Vivarium – When you get to the site, look to the left and you will see a variety of poisonous frog information.
Myths, Fables & Origins
Many frog fables do not end well for the frog!
Myths& Fables
Exploratorium: Frogs: Folklore– On the bottom of the page, you’ll see the word, “next”, click on the word to go to the next folklore.
Burke Museum: Frog Myths – If you kiss a frog, will it turn into a prince? What really happens when you kiss a frog? Find out the answer to this question and others on this fact page.
All About Frogs: Fables– Site offers 16 fables based on frogs: The Boys and the Frogs, Frog and Toad, The Boiled Frog, and The Scorpion and the Frog…just to name a few.
Frog Life Cycle: Kiss A Frog & Other Frog Myths – Offers some history about frog myths and beliefs and where they came from.
Word Origins
Merriam Webster: Frog– Find out where the word ‘frog’ came from and other meanings of the word. Kid-friendly definition with illustration.
Frog Related Activities
DLTK: Frogs– Frog related activities include: Crafts, coloring pages, puzzles and songs.
Enchanted Learning:Frog Crafts – Offers various types of frog crafts. Frog jokes and riddles can be found here on the same site.
First School: Frogs– This site offers information and activities about frogs. Some of the top links do not work on this page, but the ones that do work are fun and informative.
Make Learning Fun: Frog Printables– Crafts, coloring pages, literacy ideas, math ideas, science ideas, printables and more.
Artists Helping Children:Frog and Toad Crafts– Site offers a variety of frog and toad related crafts.
Kid’s Zone: Frogs – This site offers a whole project based on frogs. Frog related activities that reach across the curriculum and many are printable. There is a section for frog facts and photos.
Etheme: Frogs & Toads– Links to other frog and/or toad related sites.
Burke Museum: Frog Questions– Site offers 16 questions and answers about frogs. Here are a few of the questions: What is the difference between frogs and toads?, Do frogs breathe when they are hibernating?, Do frogs sleep?, How do frogs hear?, Do frogs drink water? and others.
Franklin Institute: Make Your Own Pond – Instructions for making your own frog pond. This site also has a Word Search
Frog Related Activities for Experience-Based Learning
Start a frog book (ebook or physical book), a blog post or site with the information you gather and find interesting.
Come up with your own questions about frogs and/or add to the ones in this resource.
See if you can find frogs in the yard or the places you go. Consider journaling, taking pictures or drawing the things you see.
If you look in ponds, streams, rivers, deep puddles, containers of water, or unkept pools, to see if you can find frogs at different stages of life: eggs, tadpoles and adult frogs.
Raise a frog of your own.
Find out what cultures eat frogs or use them for other things.
Make your own frog information cards. Frogs-Pictures offers some pictures you can print and use for this activity.
Make up your own frog jokes!
If you see a frog at any stage of life, draw it, and the surrounding area.
Go outside and listen to a variety of frog sounds. See what you can identify. Use the resources in “sound and communication” above to help identify what you are listening for.
Count the frogs you see and report them to Frog USA.
Find out what happens when an invasive species of frog comes into a region.
Find out what you can about endangered frogs.
Find out what frogs are already extinct and how it happened.
Found out what you can do to help the frog population.
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