Ant Antics! Try this buggy experiment and then tell us what you discover!   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? They built an ant hill. - Grace W. When I did what the directions said, I discovered that the food attracts the ants. I left the jar out there for three days, and when I went to check on it there was no food left. - Danielle D. I found out that the ants can come home with you, and if your mom doesn't know she'll be freaked. Also the ants may fight over the last piece of food! - Cilal A. When I shined a flashlight on them they all buried under the dirt! - Lauryn V.