July 3, 2012
Look at this amazing animal that I found on my kitchen door a few days ago! This is a Rosy Maple Moth (scientific Latin name Dryocampa rubicunda). It is called a Rosy Maple Moth because its caterpillar (called the green-striped mapleworm) eats the leaves of maple and oak trees.
When you walk outside in the morning, you will find sleeping moths all around you. Look at leaves, screen doors, the side of your house, tree trunks. Most moths are nocturnal ("nocturnal" means that they are awake at night and sleep during the day), so you can find them and photograph them during the daytime.
How did I know the name of this moth? I have studied animals all my life and know a lot about them, but that doesn’t mean I automatically know the name of everything that I see. However, if I look at all its different qualities and observe very carefully, I usually have enough information to look it up and find out what it is. You can do that, too, by using my Summer Vacation Science Observation Log. It is a sheet that you can download here, and when you answer all the questions and fill it out, you will usually be able to figure out exactly what wild creature you are observing.
Here is my observation log for the Rosy Maple Moth. Look at all the information I got, just by looking and observing carefully.
Download your own copy of the Summer Vacation Science Observation log, print out a bunch of copies, and see how many cool things you can observe this summer. I bet it will be a lot!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
June 29, 2012
Aren’t you glad to be on summer break? We are too, here at the Seymour Science blog. That doesn’t mean we stop writing altogether, though. Instead, we switch over to SUMMER VACATION SCIENCE!
I am always looking around me when I am in the outdoors, observing the clouds and thinking about the weather, watching animals busily going about their work, admiring the fields of corn that have sprung up, seemingly out of nowhere, in the last few weeks.
I usually have my camera with me, and I am often taking photographs of what I see. So as you come to my blog this summer, you will find me posting photographs and writing about the magnificent nature that I see all around me. It won’t be on a regular schedule (we’re on vacation, after all!), but I will write whenever I see something that I think my readers will be interested in.
I always love to hear from you all, too. If you take a photograph of an animal, plant, rock or cool weather that you want to share, click on "SEND US PHOTOS/VIDEO" (in yellow at the top of every page on this blog) and send it my way!
Happy Summer!
- Seymour
Photo: Michael A. Simon
Posted by: Seymour Simon
June 12, 2012
Our "Cool Photo of the Week" is of a chameleon climbing on a Bird of Paradise flower. Isn’t this a magnificent array of colors, textures and shapes?
Photo: Sebastian Duda
Posted by: Seymour Simon
June 6, 2012
Welcome to our last Writing Wednesday of the school year! Today, we’re going to do a five-minute writing warm-up, with two simple rules:
1. Give us the best you’ve got in 5 minutes. That’s right - five minutes of creative writing. Think of it as a word extravaganza to warm up your brain for the rest of the day!
2. Tell us your first name and what state you live in.
Ready? Let’s go! Today, we would like you to look at the photograph below. Write five strong, colorful words that you think best describe this photograph of a jellyfish that was the "Fan Favorite" in the University of Miami’s underwater photo competition. Your writing could be serious, or it could be funny. Either approach is fine, as long as what you write makes the reader want to know more! Write your 5 descriptive words and submit them by clicking on the "Comments" below. Happy writing!Photo: Todd Aki
Posted by: Liz Nealon
June 5, 2012
Today’s "Cool Photo of the Week" is something that you do not see very often - a rainbow in the sky as lighting strikes after a storm in Haikou, China.
Photo: China Daily via Reuters
Read all about LIGHTNING in Seymour Simon’s Smithsonian-Collins book of the same name.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
May 30, 2012
Get out your hiking shoes, because Saturday, June 2 is the 20th annual NATIONAL TRAILS DAY, sponsored by the American Hiking Society. Join your fellow nature lovers on the trails on Saturday, and celebrate the beginning of summer in the outdoors.
There are events planned all over the country. Click on this link to find an event near you. There is an interactive map, and if you click on your state, up pops a whole list of National Trails Day events. Some require pre-registration, so check today.
We live in New York State, so we are thinking about being part of the Riverkeeper Sweep, a day when people from New York City to Albany volunteer to help take care of the Hudson River. We drive and walk often along its shores, watching the wildlife and being inspired by its beauty.
I also plan to drive over to Stissing Pond, a place that has inspired me since I first saw it depicted in a diorama at the American Museum of Natural History when I was a kid. I love to photograph there.
How are you going to celebrate National Trails Day?
Posted by: Seymour Simon
May 30, 2012
Good morning, and welcome to Writing Wednesday, where every week there is a new opportunity to publish your creative writing on the Seymour Science blog. This week, we are asking you to read an excerpt from Seymour Simon’s book WHY DO PUPPIES DO THAT?, and then write a convincing letter about why you want to have a dog.
From WHY DO PUPPIES DO THAT?, by Seymour Simon
Getting a puppy is a big decision. Taking care of a puppy takes a lot of time and attention. When puppies grow into adult dogs they still need love and attention from their owners.
Puppies offer so much in return for your affection. They are great fun to play with and always are ready to be your companion. They can cheer you up when you feel sad or lonely. They have helpful barks that can let you know someone’s at the door, or even warn you of danger. Perhaps best of all, caring for a puppy teaches you the value of loving and being loved.
Your assignment: Do you agree that dogs are more than just pets, but friends too? Have you ever wanted a pet dog, but you are not allowed to have one? Write a letter to an adult asking them to get you a dog. Think about several reasons why dogs make great pets, and decide what kind of dog you would want. Be sure to give plenty of solid facts about dogs in order to make a great case for yourself. You might also want to explain how to care for a dog, and the responsibilities that come with being a dog owner. Who knows, maybe you will have a canine friend before you know it!
When you are finished writing, click on the yellow "Comments" at the bottom of this post to enter your writing!
Photo: Kai Chiang
Note to Educators: Today’s Writing Wednesday exercise is designed to use in support of CCSS standard W.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
May 29, 2012
Caleb and Candra Pence had just said "I do" and were taking photographs when a tornado touched down miles away from their outdoor wedding ceremony in Harper, Kansas. The tornadoes were eight miles away, heading the other direction, so no one at the wedding was in danger.
"It’s just Kansas, it’s just who we are, it’s like wheat fields, cowboys and tornadoes; what more can you ask for?" said the groom’s mother, Carla Pence.
That is one unusual wedding picture, which is why it is our Cool Photo of the Week!
Photo: Cate Eighmey
Posted by: Liz Nealon
May 23, 2012
Good morning, and welcome to Writing Wednesday, where every week there is a new opportunity to publish your creative writing on the Seymour Science blog. This week, we are asking you to read an excerpt from Seymour Simon’s book ANIMALS NOBODY LOVES, and then do your own research about sharks!
From ANIMALS NOBODY LOVES, by Seymour Simon
The shark is the most feared animal in the sea. Some sharks are large and dangerous. Others are just a few feet long and eat small fish. Sharks come in many different sizes, shapes and colors. Hammerheads, tiger sharks, and mako sharks have powerful jaws and razor-sharp teeth. Some sharks can bite three hundred times harder than a human.
The most dangerous shark is the great white shark. It usually swims in the open sea. But sometimes a great white shark may attach and kill swimmers with no warning. It may even attack small boats. Its large, saw-edged teeth can rip through wood and even metal. The great white shark has a huge appetite and will eat any animal or person that it finds in its path.
Your assignment: After reading about this misunderstood animal, do some research of your own. Decide whether you agree or disagree with the author’s point of view. Go to the library or use the Internet to find other sources that will help you learn about sharks. Are these animals worthy of love, or are they just a menace? Give details and solid evidence to support your opinion.
When you are finished writing, click on the yellow "Comments" at the bottom of this post to enter your writing!
Photo: Al Giddings
Note to Educators
Note to Educators: Today’s Writing Wednesday exercise is designed to use in support of CCSS standards RI.8: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text; W.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons; and W.7: Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
Posted by: Liz Nealon
May 22, 2012
Today’s "Cool photo of the week" is, of course, of Sunday’s Solar Eclipse. Readers in the western part of the US and Canada were in the right place to see the spectacular annular eclipse. "Annular" means "shaped like a ring," which is exactly how it appeared.
A solar eclipse happens when the moon is aligned directly between Earth and the Sun, blocking out all but an outer circle of light.
Photo: Getty Images
Diagram: NASA
Posted by: Seymour Simon
