Blog - Page 20 of 33 - Fort Collins Museum of Discovery

Daily Discovery: Pollination Investigation

Posted on April 20, 2020March 4, 2021 by Kristin Rush in Animal Encounters, Any Age, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Experiments, Life Science

Post written by Angela Kettle, School Programs Coordinator.

Daily Discovery: Pollination Investigation

Did you know that one out of every four bites of food you eat comes courtesy of bee pollination, according to the United States Department of Agriculture? In their search for nectar, bees bring pollen from one flower’s anthers to another flower’s stigma, paving the way for cross-pollinating plants to bear new seeds. Find out how it works in the activity below!

Supplies:

Pencil and paper
Colored pencils, markers, or crayons (optional)
Scissors
Tape
1 pipe cleaner or 3 cotton swabs
A fine powder, such as powdered sugar, cinnamon, turmeric, paprika… or even the ‘chip dust’ at the bottom of a bag of chips

Instructions:

Draw two flowers of the same species and one bee, or print the template out (included in the PDF). Color your bee and your flowers if desired. Cut the bee and the two flowers out.
If you are using a pipe cleaner, cut it into 6 pieces and tape on to the bee as legs. If you are using double-ended cotton swabs, cut in half and attach 6 the halves to the bee as legs.
Fly around like a bee! Land your bee in the center of the first flower, in search of nectar. Have your bee take a big drink of nectar (which it will later use to make honey!), then fly off to the second flower. Did your bee accidentally bring some pollen from the first flower to the second? This is pollination!
How can you help bees do their important work? Check out these tips from National Geographic!

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Daily Discovery: Pine Cone Science!

Posted on April 20, 2020March 4, 2021 by Kristin Rush in Any Age, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Experiments, Life Science

Post written by Hannah Curtis, Education Assistant.

Daily Discovery: Pine Cone Science!

Arbor Day is a holiday celebrated in the spring, that encourages and inspires people to plant trees in their communities and learn the importance of trees on Earth. Even though we can not gather with others, check out some ways in which you can still participate in this “tree”rific holiday!

Pine cones play an important role in nature. Only found growing from pine trees, their function is to keep a the tree’s seeds safe! They close their scales to protect the seeds from cold temperatures, wind, or even animals, then open up to release their seeds when it is warm. This allows the seeds to germinate and grow into a pine tree. Check out this cool adaptation for yourself with the following experiment!

Supplies:

Three pine cones
Three medium bowls or jars
Paper and pencil
Hot and cold water

Instructions:

Gather pine cones from your backyard, natural space or community. With a variety of different pine cones you can experiment further with this activity.
Place one pine cone into each container. Label each container with either cold water, hot water or air.
Pour cold water into the “cold water” jar, and hot water into the “hot water” jar (be sure to use adult supervisor for this step). Leave the jar labeled “air” empty.
Observe what happens to the pine cones when they are exposed to different temperatures and conditions!

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Daily Discovery: Asteroid Mining

Posted on April 17, 2020March 4, 2021 by Kristin Rush in Ages 9-12, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Earth & Space Science, Experiments

Post written by Charlotte Conway, Public Programs Coordinator.

Daily Discovery: Asteroid Mining

People have been mining on Earth for thousands of years. Yet someday in the near future, scientists might to go to space to mine in our solar system!

This is a future technology. Scientists and engineers are still just imagining how they will mine asteroids. Children in school today will be the workers who develop these technologies! Now is your chance to get a head start – how would you design a machine that can mine materials on an asteroid?

Supplies:

Asteroid drawing sheets (Included in PDF)
Markers or colored pencils
Challenge cards (Included in PDF)

Instructions:

Your mission: travel to a distant asteroid to mine for minerals and other resources.

Use your imagination to design a mining machine. How does it work? What special instruments or tools does it need? Does your machine need to communicate back to Earth? How would it get power to operate?
Draw a picture of your mining machine on the asteroid drawing worksheet. If you need inspiration for your design, or would like an extra challenge, choose a challenge card. Imagine you are the person on the card. How does this change your thinking about mining asteroids?
Consider the following questions, or if you have a partner or caregiver available, start a discussion using these questions: Why would you mine an asteroid? What does the asteroid look like after mining? How do you think life on Earth would be different after mining?
Great job on your design. You are helping to imagine the humans’ future of working and living in space!

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Daily Discovery: Over on a Mountain Diorama Craft/Descubrimiento en casa: Sobre una Montaña: maqueta de montañas

Posted on April 16, 2020March 4, 2021 by Kristin Rush in Ages 3-5, Crafts, Daily Discovery, Descubrimiento en casa, Discovery at Home, Español

Post written by Lea Mikkelsen, Early Childhood Coordinator.

Daily Discovery: Over on a Mountain Diorama Craft

Follow along with FCMoD’s live stream Storytime in the Home: Over on a Mountain. Then take a walk in your neighborhood to see if you can find a good view of our very own Rocky Mountains. Look around for twigs, small stones, leaves, and dry grass for your Mountain Diorama.

Supplies:

A paper plate OR a piece of cardboard
Craft glue
Scissors
Craft paint OR scraps of colored paper
Egg carton
Natural materials such as twigs, stones, leaves, or dry grass
A mountain animal Tip: if you can’t print out one of animals to cut out, try cutting one out a magazine or drawing one yourself!

Instructions:

Place all your supplies on a clear surface with plenty of room to create.
Cut out a mountain range from the egg carton bottom. Try using the pointy parts in the middle for tall peaks, or the round parts that hold the egg.
Use a piece of cardboard or a paper plate to build your scene. Glue the egg carton mountains down.
Use paint or little scraps of craft paper to decorate the scene. Green makes lovely plants, blue can make a nice river, and even white can make some stunning snowcapped peaks!
Glue in your natural materials wherever you want them to be.
Cut out your mountain animal and glue it into your scene! Tada!

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Image Credit: Dawn Publishing

Traducido por Károl de Rueda y Laura Vilaret-Tuma.

Descubrimiento en casa: Sobre una Montaña- maqueta de montañas

¿Sabías que en el museo contamos con programas de transmisión en vivo presentados en nuestras cuentas de redes sociales? Uno de ellos es Cuentos en Casa (Storytime in the Home), y en esta ocasión, te presentamos “Sobre una montaña” (Over on a Mountain). Inspirándonos en el libro y en las bellas Montañas Rocallosas, busca palitos, piedritas, hojas y hierba seca en tu patio o en algún otro lugar para crear una maqueta de montañas.

Artículos necesarios:

Plato desechable de papel o un cartón
Pegamento
Tijeras
Pinturas o retazos de papel colorido
Materiales naturales como ramitas, palitos, hojas, o hierba seca
Cartón de huevos vacío
Juguetes de animales que vivan en las montañas (también podrías imprimir los dibujos de más abajo, recortar animales de una revista, ¡o dibujarlos!

Instrucciones:

Usando la mitad inferior del cartón de huevos, construye un rango de montañas. Para formar cimas variadas, corta las partes puntiagudas del cartón o las partes redondas que sostienen el huevo.
Ensambla y pega el rango de montañas sobre el plato desechable o cartón.
Decora tu escena natural con pintura o retacitos de papeles de varios colores. El color verde sirve muy bien para la vegetación, azul para un río, y si quieres las cimas de tus montañas cubiertas de nieve, usa blanco.
Sigue pegando los materiales naturales a tu gusto.
Recorta los animales de tu preferencia y sitúalos en tu maqueta. ¡Listo! Aprende mientras te diviertes.

¿Te gustaría descargar esta actividad? Haz clic aquí para obtener un archivo PDF.

Para encontrar actividades, ideas y mucho más descubrimiento en casa, ¡síguenos!

Educational opportunities like this are supported in part by Buell Foundation. Their support helps make access to early childhood education at FCMoD possible for everyone in our community.

Daily Discovery: Fancy Rats / Descubrimiento en casa: Ratas de compañía

Posted on April 15, 2020March 4, 2021 by Kristin Rush in Animal Encounters, Any Age, Daily Discovery, Descubrimiento en casa, Discovery at Home, Español, Life Science

Post written by Hannah Curtis, Education Assistant.

Daily Discovery: Fancy Rats

FCMoD’s fancy rats ( Rattus norvegicus domestica ) are some of the museum’s most charismatic animals, but are they really all that fancy? Learn more about these furry creatures and channel your inner zoologist as you observe animals in your own backyard!

Fancy Rat Life History:

Being a fancy rat simply means that they are domesticated; they are tame animals and common household pets. The word “fancy” means that humans “appreciate or like” them more than the non-domesticated brown rats. What other animals are considered domestic? Do you have pets or farm animals that live with you? What animals do not make good pets?

Physical Characteristics: Rats are mammals and vertebrates. This means they are warm-blooded, have hair or fur, and have a backbone. Fancy rats have a wide range of different colors of fur, unlike wild rats who are usually dark brown (an adaptation to help them blend into their environment). All rats have a long, furless tail that are used for balance when they are climbing and exploring their habitat.

Habitat: Wild rats can live almost anywhere! They are found on all continents except Antarctica. If they are not living in people’s homes as pets, they prefer living in damp environments where they can tunnel.

Diet: Rats are omnivores – they’ll eat almost anything! In the wild, they eat a mixture of plants and small animals. At FCMoD, our fancy rats eat a bunch of fruits and vegetables. Naturally, they are scavengers who love to seek out food, which is why they like to live around humans – to break into food storage and help themselves!

Fun Facts: Rats are often stereotyped in untrue ways, but they can be affectionate, intelligent and clean. They are highly social animals and at the museum, the rats are all siblings and love to snuggle while they nap!

Backyard Observations: Pets!

Whether it is in your backyard, neighborhood, or at a Natural Area, animals can be observed just about anywhere! Zoologists use science to observe animals and learn about their behaviors and their habitat. You can be a backyard zoologist and observe similar domesticated animals like the museum’s fancy rats and record what you discover!

Supplies:

Writing utensil
Paper
Computer and Internet Access (optional)

Instructions:

Create a way to record your animal observations and behaviors. You can write a journal entry or maybe create an observation chart, or use our guiding questions to think deeper about the animals you see!
If you have a pet who live with you at home, watch them throughout the day and record what they do. If you have multiple, compare and contrast their behaviors.
If you don’t have any pets, take a walk with your family and look for pets, farm animals or other domesticated animals on your walk. You can also visit https://explore.org/livecams/farm-sanctuary/wisconsin-pasture-farm-sanctuary to observe farm animals though camera live streams!

Guiding Questions:

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Traducido por Károl de Rueda y Laura Vilaret-Tuma.

Descubrimiento en casa: Ratas de compañía

¡Bienvenidos al descubrimiento en casa!

Nosotros en el Museo del Descubrimiento de Fort Collins estamos muy contentos de invitarlos a visitar nuestro contenido lleno de actividades, creatividad, conocimiento ¡y mucho más! Con ideas nuevas cada semana, descubran un mundo mágico lleno de aprendizaje y diversión ¡para toda la familia y en su propio idioma!

Las ratas de compañía (Rattus norvegicus domestica) son uno de los animales más carismáticos que viven dentro del Museo del Descubrimiento de Fort Collins (FCMoD). En general, las ratas no tienen buena reputación, entonces, ¿por qué tenemos algunas de ellas como mascotas? ¿En realidad, hay alguna diferencia entre los diferentes tipos de ratas? Vamos a aprender más de estas criaturas peludas. ¡Encuentra a tu zoólogo interno mientras observas a los animales que hay a tu alrededor!

La historia de las ratas de compañía:

¿Cuál es la diferencia entre una rata salvaje y una rata de compañía? Las ratas de compañía son animales que pueden ser domesticados; son dóciles y comúnmente se vuelven mascotas que se llevan bien con los humanos. ¿Puedes pensar en otros animales que también son domésticos? ¿Tienes mascotas o animales de granja que viven contigo? ¿Puedes observar cuáles animales no podrían ser mascotas?

Características físicas: Las ratas son mamíferos y vertebrados. Esto significa que tienen sangre caliente, pelo o pelaje y una columna vertebral que les ayuda a mantener su cuerpo recto. Las ratas de compañía pueden variar en el color de su pelaje, mientras que el de las ratas salvajes usualmente es de color marrón oscuro. Las ratas salvajes adoptaron este color para poder ocultarse en su medio ambiente. Todas las ratas tienen una cola larga y sin pelo, y esta parte del cuerpo les ayuda a trepar y mantener el equilibrio, superando obstáculos mientras exploran su ambiente.

Ambiente natural/hábitat: ¡Las ratas salvajes pueden vivir casi dondequiera! Se pueden encontrar en todos los continentes excepto en la Antártida. Cuando no están viviendo en nuestros hogares, prefieren vivir en un ambiente húmedo donde puedan cavar túneles y hacer sus escondrijos.

Dieta: Las ratas son omnívoras—¡comen casi de todo! En la naturaleza, comen una variedad de plantas y animales pequeños. En el museo, nuestras ratas comen muchas frutas y vegetales. En su estado natural son carroñeras y les encanta buscar comida, por eso les gusta vivir alrededor de los seres humanos. ¡Así pueden colarse en nuestras despensas y tener todo un banquete!

Datos curiosos: A menudo, a las ratas se les da un estereotipo falso, sin embargo, son cariñosas, inteligentes y limpias. Son animales muy sociables y, en el museo, todas las ratas son hermanas. ¡Les encanta acurrucarse cuando se duermen!

Observación al aire libre: ¡Mascotas!

Ya sea en tu patio, en tu cuadra o en un área natural, se pueden observar animales en cualquier sitio. Los zoólogos utilizan la ciencia para aprender sobre los comportamientos y hábitat de ciertos animales. ¡Tú también puedes ser zoólogo empezando en tu propia área! Observa a los animales domesticados que hay alrededor -como las ratas del museo- ¡y apunta lo que descubres sobre ellos!

Artículos necesarios:

Algo para escribir (lápiz, pluma o marcador)
Papel
Computadora y acceso al Internet (opcional)

Instrucciones:

Observa el comportamiento de algún animal. Puedes escribir tus notas en un diario o hasta hacer un dibujo. Si deseas, usa la guía de preguntas que está abajo para pensar más profundamente sobre los animales que estudias.
Si tienes una mascota en tu casa, obsérvala durante el día y toma nota de lo que hace. Si tienes más de una mascota, compara sus comportamientos y su interacción.
Si no tienes ningún animal en casa, da un paseo por los alrededores con tu familia y observa algunas mascotas, animales de granja u otros animales domesticados.
También puedes visitar el sitio web: https://explore.org/livecams/farm-sanctuary/wisconsin-pasture-farm-sanctuary para observar videos de animales de granja ¡en vivo!

Guía de preguntas:

¿Te gustaría descargar esta actividad? Haz clic aquí para obtener un archivo PDF.

Para encontrar actividades, ideas y mucho más descubrimiento en casa, ¡síguenos!

Daily Discovery: 3-D Constellation

Posted on April 14, 2020February 18, 2021 by Kristin Rush in Ages 6-8, Ages 9-12, Crafts, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Earth & Space Science

Post written by Sierra Tamkun, Learning Experiences Manager.

Daily Discovery: 3-D Constellation

Twinkle twinkle little star… I wonder how far away you are! From Earth, stars in constellations look like they grouped together in the same area of space. In reality, they are at different distances from us, and only look grouped together because of our perspective. Make your own 3-D constellation and see how close (and far away!) the different stars in the constellation Orion are to Earth!

Supplies:

Piece of cardboard or cardstock
Thin string or thread
8 small beads (pony beads work well!) or buttons
Tape
Orion constellation images (attached)
Needle or pushpin
Pen or pencil
Ruler

Instructions:

Draw out the constellation Orion on your piece of cardboard, or print the constellation provided and glue it on. Tip: if drawing the constellation, don’t forget to add the names of the stars!
Poke a hole through the cardboard where each star is located.
Cut 8 pieces of string. Each piece should be about 18 inches long.
Tie a bead onto the end of each piece of string. These will be your stars!
Thread the end without a bead through each of the holes on your cardboard.
Using your ruler and the chart below, pull your string through until the bead is the correct distance from the cardboard. This distance will be different for each star. Place a piece of tape over the back of the string to keep it in place at the right length!
Hold your constellation board above your head and allow the beads to hang towards you as you look up. From this perspective, the beads align to form the constellation Orion, just like on Earth!
Now hold the board in front of you, allowing the beads to hang towards the floor. From this different perspective, see how the stars are not on the same plane but all in different locations in 3D space!

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

Meet Tara, FCMoD’s Ornate Box Turtle!

Posted on April 14, 2020April 14, 2020 by Kristin Rush in Animal Encounters, Discovery at Home

Post written by Willow Sedam, Live Animal Husbandry Team Member.

Meet Tara, FCMoD’s Ornate Box Turtle!

Have you met our Ornate Box Turtle, Tara?

Ornate Box Turtles are a species of box turtle native to the great plains of the midwest – including Colorado! Our Tara was a wild turtle who was taken in by the museum after she was hit by a car and her shell was cracked – look closely and you can see the places where the scutes (the separate bits of hard keratin covering a turtle’s shell) are scarred from her injury.

But how do cold-blooded animals – who can’t warm themselves up on their own like we can – survive the harsh Colorado winters we get if they don’t have a museum to live in?

When it gets cold, reptiles will go through a process much like hibernation, called brumation. Unlike hibernating animals, who are asleep for the whole winter season, brumation only occurs in cool temperatures, and if it warms up enough, even in the middle of winter, brumating animals will wake up, go about their business, and go back to brumating when it’s cold again. In the wild, Ornate Box Turtles spend most of their winter cuddled up in a nice pile of soil, deep enough below the ground that frost can’t reach them.

And while Tara lives inside the museum, where it’s the same warm temperature all year-round, she will sometimes brumate, too! Even though she’s not having to hide away from the cold, she can tell that it’s time for her to brumate because of how short the winter days are.

But Tara is a true Colorado native, and once it warms up, she’s ready to go outside. As part of her care, the Animal Encounters team take her out for regular walks for exercise and enrichment. You wouldn’t think a turtle of all things would need walking, but what Tara lacks in speed she makes up for in energy and determination.

Sometimes she spends her time walking around the museum indoors, especially if it’s still a little chilly out for a cold-blooded animal like her. But her favorite walks are outside walks – in the museum’s Big Backyard! She’ll spend as much time as she can exploring the yard, digging in the dirt, and doing her best to sneak away from her caretakers, often by blending in with rocks and bushes like a camouflage master.

Ornate Box Turtles are opportunistic omnivores – meaning they’ll eat just about anything they can find, including plants, bugs, and even carrion. When Tara’s out in the backyard, she likes to forage for extra snacks, trying to catch and eat any ants and beetles she sees. While we see a tiny, cute, turtle, many bugs see a hungry predator! But the funniest thing she likes to do when she’s out on a walk is to pick things up in her beak. She does it with rocks, sticks, and bark chips – she’ll search around for the perfect something, pick it up, and just hold it in her mouth while she wanders!

So next time you’re out enjoying the warm weather, keep an eye out for Colorado’s native reptiles who may also be soaking up the sunshine! You might even see one of Tara’s cousins out in the wild, eating ants and basking in the sun.

Background in History!

Posted on April 14, 2020March 4, 2021 by Kristin Rush in Adults, Archive & Collections, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Local History

Post written by Lesley Struc, Curator of the Archive.

Background in History!

Feeling the need to add a little historical zing to your online video meetings? Well, the Archive at Fort Collins Museum of Discovery has you covered. Feel free to download these images of Fort Collins’ past and use them as your virtual backdrop during your next online meeting or chat; impress your friends and coworkers with your fervor for local history!

Welcome to Camp Collins, circa 1865, looking southwest from the Poudre River toward the fort’s parade ground and buildings. This would have been near present-day Linden and Jefferson Streets. Download photo.

Fisticuffsmanship! Well, not exactly. This is wrestling match that took place circa 1908 on the east side of the 200 block of Mountain Avenue. All the people are looking at you, waiting for you to finish your meeting so they can start the bout. Download photo.

Meet your new officemate H.C. Lighter, Justice of the Peace for Larimer County, in his office at the Avery Block in Old Town, circa 1908. Download photo.

Your new office has a great view of the west side of North College Avenue, circa 1904. Download photo.

Now you’re on top of a streetcar in 1908, looking down North College toward Mountain Avenue. Check out all the cars in Fort Collins at that time and what is believed to be the earliest photo of the trolley. Download photo.

Finally, some color! Here’s a view of Pingree Park from a hand-tinted lantern slide from the 1910s. Ahhh, so peaceful. Download photo.

Nice office! Get things done here in the Poudre Valley Bank offices at 401 South College in 1967. This building is now home to Wells Fargo Bank. Download photo.

You can hold an important meeting in this stylish board room, also from the Poudre Valley Bank, 1967. Can you spy the Safeway out of the window? That building now houses Lucky’s Market at 425 South College Avenue. Download photo.

The Northern Hotel is looking bright and cheery in this postcard from 1958. Download photo.

Lounge around at the Safari Club, once located at 400 Link Lane in Fort Collins, where you could enjoy “Cocktails, Steaks, Prime Rib, Seafood and European Delicacies. Piano Lounge, Live Music, and Ballroom Dancing.” This image is from a circa 1975 postcard. Download photo.

Voila! Now boring video meetings will be a thing of the past… literally! Check out even more awesome local history photo background options by visiting the Fort Collins History Connections website: history.fcgov.com.

Daily Discovery: Sensory Scavenger Hunt

Posted on April 12, 2020March 4, 2021 by Kristin Rush in Any Age, Daily Discovery, Discovery at Home, Experiments

Post written by Angela Kettle, School Programs Coordinator.

Daily Discovery: Sensory Scavenger Hunt

Did you know that you can find little pieces of our museum all around your home? Explore different colors, sounds, shapes, light qualities, and sizes in this sensory scavenger hunt, based on the exhibits at FCMoD! When you find an item, check it off the list. Show us your completed scavenger hunt on social media with #DailyDiscovery.

Want to download these directions? Click here for a handy PDF!

Follow along with our Daily Discovery! Click here for all activities that you can do at home.

At Home Workout Resources

Posted on April 10, 2020February 18, 2021 by Kristin Rush in Any Age, Discovery at Home, Health

Post written by Alex Ballou, Marketing Assistant.

At Home Workout Resources

Here at FCMoD, we believe in the importance of working your mind and your body. And during times like this, we want to provide resources to continue exploring together.

In this blog post, we’ve compiled a list of our recommended at home workout resources during this time. Learn more below!

Here are some fun ways to get active as a family!
Let’s get the whole family moving – together! Here are 10 ways to exercise as a family.
Have a backyard? Here are some outdoor activities to get the family working out with no-equipment necessary!
Trying to stay in shape while working at home with the kids? Here are some fun at-home workouts that everyone will enjoy!

Even though the museum is closed, we want to continue to inspire creativity and encourage hands-on learning for all!

Image Credit: WellnessMama.com