As a new school year approaches, it's essential to help your child transition smoothly and enthusiastically. Engaging in meaningful conversations can spark excitement and foster a positive attitude toward learning. At the Science Mill, we believe in the power of curiosity and goal-setting to inspire young minds. Use these conversation starters and goal-setting questions to guide your child through a successful and enjoyable school year.
At the Science Mill we bring science to life through engaging and interactive exhibits. One of our favorite residents is the axolotl, a unique and fascinating amphibian native to the lakes of Mexico. Axolotls are known for their incredible regenerative abilities and their charming appearance. To make your visit even more enjoyable, we’ve prepared a series of conversation prompts for parents to engage their children while exploring the axolotl exhibit. These questions are designed to spark curiosity and learning for kids of all ages, from kindergarten to high school.
Look at the axolotl! What color is it? Do you see its funny gills on the sides of its head?
Answer: Axolotls can be various colors, commonly white with pink gills, brown, or black. Yes, the gills are the feathery structures on the sides of its head.
Axolotls are called 'Mexican walking fish,' but they aren't fish. Can you guess what kind of animal they are?
Answer: Axolotls are amphibians.
Axolotls can regrow their body parts if they get hurt. Isn't that amazing? What would you like to be able to regrow if you could?
Answer: Axolotls can regrow limbs, the spinal cord, heart, and other organs.
What do you think the axolotl likes to eat? Can you spot its food in the tank?
Answer: Axolotls eat small creatures like worms, insects, and small fish.
Did you know axolotls are amphibians like frogs, but they stay in their larval stage their whole life? Why do you think that is?
Answer: Axolotls exhibit a trait called neoteny, where they retain juvenile features and do not undergo metamorphosis into adult forms.
Axolotls have the incredible ability to regenerate their limbs, spinal cord, heart, and other organs. How do you think that helps them survive?
Answer: Regeneration helps axolotls recover from injuries and continue to survive even if they lose body parts.
Look at the axolotl's gills. How are they different from fish gills? Why do you think they need them?
Answer: Axolotl gills are external and feathery, while fish gills are usually internal. They need them to breathe underwater because they live their whole life in water.
Axolotls are endangered in the wild. What do you think we can do to help protect them?
Answer: To protect axolotls, we can help by conserving their natural habitats, reducing pollution, and supporting captive breeding programs.
Axolotls are a great example of neoteny, where they retain juvenile features throughout their lives. Can you think of any other animals that do this?
Answer: Other animals that exhibit neoteny include certain species of salamanders and some amphibians like the mudpuppy.
Scientists study axolotls to learn more about regeneration. How could this research be important for human medicine?
Answer: Research on axolotl regeneration could lead to advances in medical treatments for injuries, including potential ways to regenerate human tissues and organs.
Axolotls live in the wild in lakes near Mexico City. Why do you think their natural habitat is shrinking?
Answer: The natural habitat of axolotls is shrinking due to urbanization, pollution, and introduction of invasive species.
Axolotls have both lungs and gills. How do you think this affects the way they breathe and live?
Answer: Having both lungs and gills allows axolotls to breathe in water using their gills and also gulp air at the surface using their lungs, which helps them survive in different conditions.
The axolotl is a key model organism in scientific research due to its regenerative capabilities. How do you think studying axolotls can contribute to advancements in regenerative medicine and biotechnology?
Answer: Studying axolotls can reveal the genetic and cellular mechanisms of regeneration, potentially leading to breakthroughs in regenerative medicine for humans, including the ability to repair or regrow damaged tissues and organs.
Discuss the concept of paedomorphosis seen in axolotls. How does this evolutionary trait benefit them in their natural habitat?
Answer: Paedomorphosis allows axolotls to retain larval characteristics, which may be beneficial in their stable aquatic environment by avoiding the risks and energy costs associated with metamorphosis.
Axolotls are critically endangered due to habitat loss and pollution. What conservation strategies could be implemented to protect their populations?
Answer: Conservation strategies include habitat restoration, pollution control, captive breeding programs, and public awareness campaigns to protect and restore the natural environment of axolotls.
Explore the ethical implications of using axolotls in scientific research. What are the potential benefits and drawbacks?
Answer: The potential benefits include significant medical and scientific advancements in understanding regeneration and developing new treatments for injuries. The drawbacks include ethical concerns about the welfare of axolotls in research settings and the need to ensure humane treatment and proper care of these animals.
We hope these conversation prompts and answers help you engage with your children and enhance your visit to the axolotl exhibit at the Science Mill. Axolotls are fascinating creatures with unique characteristics that offer valuable insights into biology and regenerative medicine. By learning more about these amazing animals, we can better appreciate the importance of conservation and the role of scientific research in understanding our natural world. Visit us today and let the adventure begin!
Just because Shark Week is over doesn’t mean we have to stop talking about these incredible creatures and their vast habitat - THE OCEAN.
Many of us have been to the beach, and possibly even snorkeled under the water or explored even deeper on a scuba dive. But even then, we are only scraping the surface of how vast the ocean is.
In fact, the ocean is made up of 5 layers called zones. Let’s take a look!
Going from the bottom to the top:
Trench Zone (Hadalpelagic Zone)
Abyss (Abyssopelagic Zone)
Midnight Zone (Bathypelagic Zone)
Twilight Zone (Mesopelagic Zone)
Sunlight Zone (Epipelagic Zone)
The depth of the ocean is defined by the amount of light each zone receives. Remarkably, different organisms thrive in each of these zones, although the majority of marine life is found in the sunlight zone.
Trench Zone (Hadalpelagic Zone): grenadiers, pearlfish, cusk-eels, cutthroat eels.
Temperatures in the trenches are freezing or below, but the water pressure is extreme at eight tons per square inch in the Mariana Trench (the deepest ocean trench on Earth).
Abyss (Abyssopelagic Zone): Mainly invertebrates like tiny squid or basket stars
The Abyssal Zone (aka “the abyss”) contains zero sunlight and crushing levels of water pressure. Although the Abyssal zone alone covers around 83% of the total area of the ocean, very few animals can handle the extreme conditions.
Midnight Zone (Bathypelagic Zone): Mussels, Algae, Sperm Whales, anglerfish
The Midnight Zone, as you may have guessed, doesn’t have any sunlight. Any light that IS produced here comes from bioluminescent fish. Like the Twilight Zone, photosynthesis does not occur here, which means you won’t see any plants living in this zone.
Twilight Zone (Mesopelagic Zone): Sea Star, Squid, Eel
Most of the creatures that live on the seafloor live in the Twilight Zone. Since only filtered light reaches this zone, many creatures living here have large eyes or glow in the dark!
Sunlight Zone (Epipelagic Zone): Sharks, stingrays, jellyfish, sea turtles, plants
Called the Sunlight Zone because this zone is FULL of sunlight, giving this zone ideal living conditions for a wide variety of sea life!
Are you learning about the ocean this summer? Teach your child about the five zones of an ocean by creating this layered jar.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Large clear jar
Food coloring (black, blue, yellow, purple and green)
Funnels
A dropper
¾* cup of each: corn syrup, oil, dish soap, water, and rubbing alcohol. *You can adjust the amount based on the size of your jar.
Going from the bottom to the top:
Trench Zone (Hadalpelagic Zone): Corn Syrup (tinted black)
Abyss (Abyssopelagic Zone): Dish soap (tinted purple/dark blue)
Midnight Zone (Bathypelagic Zone): Water (tinted dark green)
Twilight Zone (Mesopelagic Zone): Oil (tinted dark blue)
Sunlight Zone (Epipelagic Zone): Rubbing Alcohol (tinted light blue)
Procedure:
1. Add some black food coloring to 3/4 cup of corn syrup and pour into the bottom of your jar.
2. Mix blue food coloring into 3/4 cup of dish soap. Our dish soap was already blue, but I added a little more blue food coloring to make it darker (in hindsight I would have added less coloring as it was darker than I wanted). Add it to the jar using a funnel.
3. Put blue food coloring in 3/4 cup of water and use a funnel to slowly and carefully layer it on top of the dish soap.
4. Next, you’ll add your oil. If you want to change this to a blue color, you will need to add oil-based food coloring.
5. Finally, you will add 3/4 cup of rubbing alcohol. You’ll want to use a dropper to slowly add it to the top of the oil, making sure not to break the barrier between the oil and water.
Tips:
Position jar in front of window to really see the colors!
Label each zone with stickers
Chat with your children about what creatures live in each zone
This post inspired by: Make Your Own Ocean Zones in a Jar - I Can Teach My Child! And The 5 Ocean Zones And The Creatures That Live Within Them | Cape Clasp*
We know that Texas, the second largest state in the country, has an incredibly diverse geology and ecosystem. It has tons of natural attractions like a sinkhole, sandhills, a desert, and more! But did you know that you can even find dinosaur tracks in the Lone Star State?
Source: Paul Baker / Friends of Dinosaur Valley State Park
You know how you make footprints when you walk on sand? Well, a long time ago, dinosaurs left footprints of their own — only in their case, they left their prints in hard mud that turned into sedimentary rock over time! These prints are called dinosaur tracks, which is an example of a trace fossil.
Scientists who study trace fossils, which are also known as ichnofossils, are called ichnologists.
A paleontologist is a scientist who studies the history of life on Earth using fossil records
Dinosaur tracks are important because they serve as clues about the creatures that left them. The shape and location of the tracks can help scientists determine the potential species, and the pattern can indicate the dinosaur’s stride and behavior, among other things. These tracks, along with all the other fossils studied by paleontologists, give us a glimpse into the prehistoric world. How cool is that?
There are quite a few places in the state where you can find dinosaur tracks, including;
Dinosaur Valley State Park - Along the banks of the Paluxy River in Dinosaur Valley State Park are dinosaur tracks from 113 million years ago!
Heritage Museum of Texas Hill Country - Over 200 dinosaur tracks are located in this museum and 2.5 acre heritage site in Canyon Lake.
Canyon Lake Spillway - A historic flood in 2002 revealed the Canyon Lake Gorge, exposing ancient limestone, fossils, and dinosaur tracks from over 110 million years ago.
Leander Tracks - A short, beautiful hike in Leander will lead you to a few prehistoric tracks. Keep an eye out for them!
Government Canyon - The dinosaur tracks here are the only ones in south Texas located on public land. The 110-million-year-old tracks are believed to have been left by Acrocanthosaurus and Sauroposeidon dinosaurs.
Have you found others? Comment them below!
You bet! Selah, Bamberger Ranch Preserve, just a short drive from the Science Mill, is rich with Cretaceous period fossils and dinosaur tracks. The 5,500-acre preserve is committed to teaching ethical land stewardship through awesome events, workshops, and outreach activities.
Afterwards, you can try your hand at unearthing fossils at the Science Mill! Come check out the Fossil Dig exhibit at the Science & Art Park and see how many fossils you can discover!
Dig into a world of dinosaurs, fossils, and minerals. Admission includes access to special one-day-only activities about fossils and dinosaurs, additional resources for aspiring paleontologists, access to 50+ hands-on STEM exhibits, the movie theater, and more!
