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My kids love the Penguins of Madagascar on Netflix - the antics of those birds crack us all up! And so when we visited an aquarium on a recent field trip, we had to spend quite a bit of time observing their penguins. We saw firsthand how these birds fly through the water and waddle on land. Penguins are flightless birds. They have “wings” that act like flippers instead - so they can’t soar in … [Read more...]
Is It The Perfect Christmas Tree? {The Amazing Pine}
Every year, many of us welcome pine trees into our homes in the form of Christmas trees. These ornamented trees have been a part of holiday traditions all over the world and date back from the sixteenth century. Pine trees are one of the oldest trees in the world – they live long to the age of one hundred years old or more! There are around thirty-five different types of these evergreen … [Read more...]
Deck The Halls As You Put The Spotlight On The Beautiful Holly
Holly adds lots of Christmas color and cheer to this time of year, which makes it a perfect subject to look at during the winter months. We are lucky enough to have a holly in our front yard, so we spent a few moments outside studying this plant before we ran back inside to warm up with a cup of hot cocoa! Most hollies are evergreens, so they keep their leaves throughout the winter months. … [Read more...]
Have You Seen This Wonderful Winter Bird? {Cardinal}
The male cardinal is an easy bird to spot, thanks to its bright red plumage. The cardinal is one of the first birds our daughter learned to spot and it remains one of her favorites! Cardinals have a rare reddish beak which is offset by a circle of black feathers close to their eyes. The male is dressed from head to toe in beautiful red feathers, while the female has a crown of red with a dress … [Read more...]
See a Beautiful Holiday Nature Spotlight {Christmas Lichen}
The first time I saw Christmas lichen I was stunned. This dinner-plate-like lichen is festively colored and perfect to learn about during December, even though it only grows in along the Gulf Coast and coastal plains. The Christmas lichen is a brightly colored example of a crustose lichen. These types of lichens are often round, flat, and somewhat crusty. Crustose lichens typically grow on tree … [Read more...]
Danger! Learn About the Attractive Beauty of Fire {Chemistry in Nature}
As the weather turns cooler, the idea of cozying up around a fire seems more appealing. But did you know that fire is the result of a chemical reaction that releases light and heat? For this reaction to occur, it requires oxygen, heat, and a fuel source, like wood, oil, or coal. The oxygen combusts, or burns up, the fuel source creating water, carbon dioxide, heat, and light. This reaction is … [Read more...]