The Magic School Bus ™

Ant Antics!

What You Need:

• A place where you see ants or ant hills
• Large glass or plastic jar with a cover
• A spoon
• Moist soil
• Piece of sponge
• Ant food (ripe fruit, small pieces of meat, jelly or honey)
• Paper and pencil
• A parent or guardian

Question: How do ants act?

1. First, fill a glass or clear plastic jar with moist soil.

2. Have a parent or guardian punch small air holes in the lid (tinier than an ant!).

3. Then, find a place where you see ants or ant hills.

4. Carefully dig up the ant hill with a spoon. Gently spoon any ants you find into your jar.

5. Collect the queen. She is the largest ant in the colony.

6. Soak the sponge in water and put it in the jar. Keep the sponge moist and feed the ants at least twice a week.

7. Watch for the ants building tunnels and laying eggs. Keep a log of any ant antics that you observe.

A Scientific Explanation
Because the queen lays all the eggs for the entire colony, the rest of the ants depend on her to survive. If there is no queen no new ants are born and the colony soon dies out.

EXTRA! EXTRA!
Experiment with light and dark. What happens when you shine a flashlight on the ants? What happens when you keep the ant farm covered in dark paper?