Our popular Eggstatic! program is being offered again, this time over spring vacation!
Why do birds layeggs? How do birdeggscompare and contrast witheggsof other animals? Birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects, and fish all produce eggs!
Explore different conditions and challengeseggsmust overcome. Discover adaptations that promoteeggsurvival. They are amazing structures with multiple functions! Why do they look and work as they do?
Ages 6-10 • 8 participants
Fee: $15–$35 (choose what is best for you)
Why do birds layeggs? How do birdeggscompare and contrast witheggsof other animals? Birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects, and fish all produce eggs!
Explore different conditions and challengeseggsmust overcome. Discover adaptations that promoteeggsurvival. They are amazing structures with multiple functions! Why do they look and work as they do?
Create your own egg to take home.
Ages 6-10 • 8 participants
Fee: $15–$35 (choose what is best for you)
We don’t always get time to post about what we’ve been doing in our Programs. But Sundays forFledglings is up and running again this year (2pm on Sundays for about 45-60 minutes), and this week we got some nice photos from the occasion. I couldn’t resist adding them:
What you might see when a raw egg is illuminated by a flashlight. (Works best in a dark room. This egg was about 4 days old from some local chickens.)
At 7:30 this morning, I popped a raw egg in a glass jelly jar with white vinegar to cover. Shortly therefore it began to float. By 2pm, the shell was soft enough to scrape and some of the darker markings had come off. What will happen by tomorrow morning? By next week?
One of the eggs we dissected today had apparently been fertilized. It had, in addition to the usual yolk, albumen, membrane, shell, and charazae, an additional “blob of glup” which was transparent but for dome dark reddish streaks and spots.
We looked at light through eggs, the way hard-boiled and raw eggs spin (or don’t, depending on the surface and the egg), and the anatomy of eggs. We investigated the shell, cracked open both raw and cooked eggs to see how the contents change (or don’t), and peered at parts through a stereoscope. (Memo to self:bring hand lenses too next time). We looked at models of eggs of different sizes, colors, and shapes in order to imagine how a combo of characteristics would be useful for some kinds of birds (but others would need a different combination). Lastly, we washed our hands, just in case. Next time, we might try investigating shell strength.
Next week we’ll make some noise: bird calls, chirps, hoots and hollers. Sound off!
The Museum opened its doors this May 1st with 501 birds! An incredible milestone, but of course Bob and the staff have plans for still more. But have we ever mentioned—in addition to the birds—how many carved eggsthere are? So many of our bird displays are complete with parents, nest, habitat, and eggs, that it seems worth some mention. After all, which came first? Continue reading “Eggs: It All Starts Here—Or Does It?”
