Cool and Warm Ptarmigan Sneaker Kit – Biomimicry for Young Children

What if, we could design a greener and cheaper shoe where you replace part of the shoe when the weather changes or when one part of the shoe is worn out? My strongest memory of seeing ptarmigan comes from a skiing holiday in the Swedish mountains. I never really liked cross-country skiing and on a …

Inspirational Video – How does a penguin launch itself from the sea?

Can you guess how quickly the emperor penguins launch themselves out at sea? Twice as quickly as their normal swimming speeds, swimming speed is 3.4 m/s (7.6 mph). It looks almost as if these rather heavy flightless birds are flying. The flight might be short but how do they do it? Penguins trap microbubbles within …

Winter Bird Observations

Frost and snow tend to spark lots of questions. How cold are the squirrel's feet? How does the fox find any food? How does the robin stay warm? A frosty morning may look pretty but winter is a challenging time for birds. Finding a snug place on a cold winter's night seems like a difficult …

What colour are flamingo egg yolks? Pink or Not Pink?

Would it not be wonderful if flamingoes had pink egg yolks? Pink meme   When you look for inspiration for ideas it is easy to stumble upon something that is not true. Teaching children to double-check and check again is a vital skill. And no, flamingo eggs are not pink. Flamingo egg yolks are yellow …

Inspirational Video – Jay Collecting Acorns

How many acorns will a jay collect over a season? Squirrels are not the only  animal that love to collect and bury acorns. A jay can store as many as 5, 000 acorns! They place their acorns in many different places such as natural holes, crevices in tree bark and under leaf litter. Just like …