Composting Day is Every Day!

Join High Touch High Tech in celebrating
Learn About Composting Day
May 29th!

Image Source: Pixabay.com

Were you raised to “clean your plate,” no matter
what? Does the idea of wasted food still make you uncomfortable?  You might not like this statistic, then: The
United States wastes more food than any other country on earth.  In one year, we waste 40 million tons of
food, which represents more than 30-40% of our total food supply.  Most of the waste in US landfills is actually
made up of discarded food!  What can we
do about this massive waste?  Composting
can help!

A lot of responsibility for this massive waste goes
to you, the individual – if you are living in America, you waste an average of one
pound of food a day
.  It is estimated
that 43% of all food waste comes from individual homes, with another hefty
portion coming from the restaurant industry. 
Aside from the ethical issue of wasting food while so many in the world
go hungry, food waste also spells trouble for the environment. There are many
reasons for food waste, but as “Compost King” Paul Sellew explains, no matter
what the reason, the fact is that bioavailable nutrients in food are being
locked up in landfills and not returning to biological systems that need
them.  The constant loss of bioavailable
nutrients into landfills, where once there was a natural cycle of growth and
decay, depletes our soil rapidly and jeopardizes our ability to grow more food
in the future.

Image Source: Pixabay.com

If you aren’t feeling great about having to toss
that extra muffin, and wanting to do something that is genuinely eco-friendly,
why not give composting a try?  You can
turn food waste into productive, nutrient rich soil that will not only feed
plants, but also the microbiome of animals, fungus, and bacteria that make up
healthy soil.  Even if it’s just enough
compost for a corner of your yard, you will be helping an essential natural
cycle complete itself and doing a small part to help the earth remain in balance.

Composting is quite easy to do! With a few simple
materials and your organic food waste, you can begin composting today! Participate
in this week’s at-home experiment, Compost in a Cup! See links below for our
lesson plan and tutorial video!

Image Source: Pixabay.com

Compost in a Cup Lesson Plan:
https://sciencemadefun.net/downloads/CompostInCup.pdf

Compost in a Cup Tutorial Video:
https://youtu.be/ZNM3nALYU_A

You can also learn more about composting by reading our previous blog posts:  

Science Made Fun Blog: Compost
Science Made Fun Blog: Understanding Compost

Sources:

Shocking Statistics on Food Waste:
https://www.rts.com/resources/guides/food-waste-america/

The King of Compost explains how food waste damages ecosystems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eXRfynD-M8

A User-Friendly Article from NPR to help you get Started Composting: https://www.npr.org/2020/04/07/828918397/how-to-compost-at-home

Birds Beaks & Adaptations

Discover the many ways that Birds use their Beaks!

Birds are a class of vertebrates with more than 18000 different species. Of the various features that are common to all birds, perhaps the most characteristic is their beak. All birds have one beak. But it has evolved differently in each species to improve its functions in response to its environment. These functions include feeding themselves and their young, defending themselves, grooming their feathers, mating, regulating their body temperature or building nests.

But what exactly is a beak?

In biological terms, it is a type of mouth in which the jaws have no teeth and are covered by a horny layer of a protein called keratin (like the nails or horn of a rhinoceros).

What are the different types of beaks?

Generally, bird beaks are categorized according to their shape and function. There are several different kind of bird beaks:
1. Hooked beaks: Owls, eagles, hawks, and other birds of prey that use their beaks to rip open flesh. They are usually meat eaters.

2. Cone shaped beaks: Goldfinches, sparrows and canaries are all good examples. They have a short, robust beak that ends in a conical shape, allowing them to break open seeds.

3. Short, curved beaks: Parrots and macaws have short curved beaks for splitting open hard fruits and nuts.


4. Straight, thin beaks: Bee eaters and Robins specialize in catching and eating insects with their straight and thin beaks. Woodpeckers also have strong thin beaks to peck through wood to find bugs.

5. Long, thin, needle-like beaks: Nectar feeders such as Hummingbirds swoop their beaks into flowers to find their food.

6. Wide, flat beaks: Filter feeders such as Flamingoes, swans and ducks have a filtering system in their beaks to pick out the dirt from the ponds and riverbeds.

7. Spatulate beaks: Wading birds such as spoonbills have large long beaks that help them pick up mollusks and small animals from the bottoms of ponds and marshes.

8. Large, long, and strong beaks: Fish eating birds such as pelicans, albatrosses and seagulls have long, curved beaks to catch fish and then prevent them from escaping. The pouch on a pelican’s beak helps it take huge gulps of water to store the fish in it. Herons and Cranes have long, strong beaks to catch fish.

9. Crossbill beaks: The Red Crossbill’s crossed bill tips may look odd, but it is in fact a clever adaptation to getting seeds out of closed pine cones.

10. Multifunctional beaks: A Toco Toucan’s beak is not just for show, this multi-purpose appendage can be used to collect and skin fruit, frighten predators, attract mates, and defend territory. Recent research has also shown that it also helps to keep the bird cool in the heat of the tropical day.

Learn more about birds and their beaks by participating in our HTHT @ Home Science Experiment:
https://sciencemadefun.net/downloads/Bird%20Beak%20Activity_EOTD_April%2029th.pdf

Also check out this interesting resource, provided by Mystery Science, on nests and why birds lay eggs in the spring!
https://mysteryscience.com/mini-lessons/birds-spring?loc=mini-lesson-button#slide-id-8400

Parents Magazine Lists 5 Ways To Have FUN with Science!

 

 

How many times a day do you think kids ask “why”? Probably too many to actually keep count even if we tried!  Kids are naturally equipped with a curiosity of how things work. I guess you could say that they are researchers in their own rite. Wired like little sponges, children will absorb any information they come across. You don’t have to take your kids to a research facility or science lab for them to learn how cool science is, a few simple household items is all that’s needed to make science fun!  When it comes to science, its quite simple to entertain and fascinate the kids of all ages. For the September issue, Parents Magazine has listed 5 simple science experiments that are sure to impress by illustrating a few basic scientific principals.

Find out what made the Top 5 Experiments on Parents.com HERE