An Exciting Start to Our Minibeasts Topic!
Today, we launched our new topic, Minibeasts, with a fantastic visit from ZooLab. Sarah came to school and brought along some amazing animals, giving us the opportunity to learn about them up close and even meet some of them in person!
Before we met the animals, Sarah explained how important it was to keep them safe and comfortable. We learned three important rules:
- Stay quiet and calm so we didn’t scare the animals.
- Remain seated and still to help keep everyone safe.
- Wash our hands after touching the animals.
The children did an excellent job following these rules and showed great respect for all of our special visitors.
Our first animal was Gary, the giant African land snail. We were amazed to learn that snails have around 20,000 tiny teeth on their tongues, which they use to eat their food. We also learned that Gary is a herbivore, which means he only eats plants.
Next, we met Michelle, a hissing cockroach. Sarah taught us that Michelle has an exoskeleton, meaning her skeleton is on the outside of her body rather than on the inside like ours. We also discovered that she is an omnivore, eating both plants and meat.
We then had the chance to meet Mexi the tarantula. Sarah explained that tarantulas have special hairs which help protect them from predators. We also learned that they use their webs to detect vibrations, helping them sense both danger and prey.
After that, we held Milly the millipede. The children loved feeling her crawl across their hands, with many describing the sensation as feeling like a soft toothbrush! We were fascinated to learn that Milly has around 240 legs and that some millipedes can grow as long as a ruler.
As a special treat, Sarah introduced us to Scarlet the constrictor snake. Because the children had been so calm and respectful throughout the session, they were able to get a closer look at this beautiful animal. We learned that Scarlet comes from North America and is cold-blooded, meaning her body temperature changes with her surroundings.
The visit was a wonderful way to begin our Minibeasts topic. The children listened carefully, asked thoughtful questions, and showed great curiosity throughout the morning. We are looking forward to building on this learning as we continue to explore the fascinating world of minibeasts over the coming weeks.
