Crickets as pets.
Warning! You must arrange for the students to wash their hands after handling the crickets!
Crickets are common pets in China. Crickets can be purchased at any pet store that sells reptiles. They often are sold in small and large sizes. They love to eat cornmeal and they drink water from a soaked cotton ball. I leave the cornmeal in a small cap so that the container bottom stays cleaner. Periodically they will chirp in the classroom.
The rate of their chirp can tell the temperature. This formula is found in the classic, A Cricket in Times Square by George Seldon, page 14. Count the number of chirps in one minute. Divide this number by 4 and add 40. This will be very close to the temperature in degrees farenheit. You can also use a fun calculator on the web from The Weather Calculator.
A demonstration can be shown by not allowing the crickets water for 18 hours and then dropping the soaked cotton balls into their container. Within a few moments all of the thirsty crickets will visit the cotton for a drink. The same thing can be demonstrated by depriving the crickets of cornmeal for about 18 hours. Have the students count the legs and other body parts by using magnifying glasses. Follow this link to a lesson plan about measuring their jumps: Outdoor cricket jumping contest.
Weather | Pets | Magnets | Plants | Rocks | Colors | Dinosaurs | Experiments | Static | Oceans