I'm Not Stopping Until I Have a Stuffed Ocean, Apparently

Okay, so I saw this amazing post on Pinterest
This giant squid idea was on my board labelled "the child in me wants this".  Now it is on my bed.

The last few weeks, I have been doing a lot of squid dissection with the kids at my job.  On a whim, I decided to stop at the fabric store and pick up the materials to make a giant squid of my own!





It was love at first sight.

Let me preface this entire post by saying that I don't sew.  Not that I don't ever sew, but I don't make a habit of sewing, and usually after one project I'm good for a few years.  That was not the case this time around.
Case in point - the second fabric I was using is this crazy silky stretchy stuff from the specialty fabric section, because I was unaware of the entire section of regular fabric in the back corner of JoAnn fabrics.
Also, I did this all by hand because I'm crazy and too lazy to figure out the sewing machine, but if you know how to use a sewing machine and have one (or have one and are NOT too lazy to figure out how to use it) you can use that.

As soon as I had a giant squid, I needed a baby squid.

I used the same basic pattern from the giant squid, but I made it about a quarter of the size, in the remnants from the first squid.  The only other change I made was using the sucker pattern for one side of the fins.

Then I went a little "giant stuffed marine life crazy".

While working at the zoo, I was lucky enough to work in the area with stingrays.  I loved those little cownose rays.  It was extremely fun to feed them, to feel them, and to teach people about them.  I bought a little stuffed ray before I left.  It became the pattern for my new project.



For this project, I used 3 yards of 72" felt in two different colors.  I wanted to go for an authentic eagle ray color, but none of the dark blues was pretty enough for my thinking!  Still, I wanted to keep the oceanic feel, so I went for a darker shade of purple, and a lighter shade of off-white for the ventral side.  This coloration pattern is called countershading.  From above, the ray blends in with the dark depths of the ocean, and from below, the lighter underside blends against the sunlit waters.


I started by folding each fabric in half, to cut the wings.  Starting about 52 inches up from the side where the two felt edges met (opposite the folded edge), I started to free form the wings.    They gently slope down almost back to the side where the edges meet, about 58 inches out.  It should leave a strip at least 15 inches wide on the other side.  Then it gently cuts into the almost right triangle until it gets back to the corner.

I used one of these triangles to cut the second type of fabric.  Putting one of each color together, I sewed the two together around the two curved edges, staying about a half  inch from the edge.  Then I turned the wing inside out.  Originally I stuffed these wings just slightly, but since I don't sew, I didn't think to sew the stuffing in in any way.  Not even sure if it's even possible, but either way, I've since removed the stuffing, and it still looks pretty good!

For the second wing, I laid out my fabric to make sure that the lighter fabric and darker fabric were on the correct side to make a mirror image of the first wing.

Then I cut the body from the excess fabric.  At its narrowest point, it will be about 15 inches wide, gradually increasing over 55 inches until it is about 30 inches wide, and then narrowing to a gentle point over the next 15 inches.






I rolled the two wings up to put them into the middle of the two pieces which would be sewn together to make the body.  I lined up the unsewn edges of the wings with the matching color fabric of the body, making sure to have the leading edge of the wing toward the widest part of the body.  I sewed along the edges until the very bottom (narrowest) part of the body, which I left open.

Then, I pulled the wings out through that narrow part, bringing the rest of the body with it.  I stuffed the empty body cavity with about 4 lbs of stuffing.

Now, in all honesty, I went to bed... left the manta ray on my aunt and uncle's bed (I was dogsitting at their place) and left for work early the next morning, thinking I'd get back before they did.  This was not the case, and they returned home to this wonderful sight.


I packed it all into my car, got it to my home, and finished up the final piece - the tail!

For this, I found a long, narrow strip of triangular fabric approximately seven feet long, an inch or two wider than the circumference of the final body opening.  It wasn't perfect, curving a bit near the pointed end, but I made do, sewing along the two longer edges to about six inches from the top.  Finally, I turned it inside out, stuffed all the way up (like the person in the giant squid tutorial says, thinking of it like pulling on tights/hose)

For the last piece, it becomes ridiculously obvious that I'm a newbie at this whole thing.  I lined up the outside side of the unsewn part of the tail with the outside part of the unsewn part of the body (the tail was laying across the ray's back), and sewed along the inside part, all the way around.  Once I was fully around the entire circumference, I pulled the tail into proper place started sewing back along the six inches of the tail that I hadn't sewed originally.

Finally, I added an eye (6" diameter, 4" diameter pupil) and eventually I might add an embroidered mouth and gills along the bottom portion.

And yet... I wasn't quite done.

Sea Slug (Aplysia) - Idea courtesy of Amy
If I make another one of these, it will have to be purple.
Or squirt actual purple ink.

Sea Cucumber (because there's pretty much nothing easier)

Sea Star (with buttons!)

Nudibranch made from scraps  - idea courtesy of Andy
Also I will probably be making more of these :)

Baby stingray (I'll add eyes eventually)

A miniature ocean!

Anyways, my next step is to cut a hole in the bottom of the manta ray, attach a pouch, seal it with velcro, and make a few more babies to go inside said pouch.  I would have just made a few mermaid's purses, but apparently these types of rays all give live birth.  I think I might still make a few mermaid's purses, with some baby dogsharks inside for authenticity.

First though, I need to give some of these things some eyes!

A Chilly Food Chain Game

http://polardiscovery.whoi.edu/antarctica/ecosystem.html

An Antarctic Food Web Activity 

Download Activity Here

The Antarctic food web is unique due to its relatively short food chains within the web, which transfer energy from some of the smallest creatures in the ocean to the largest animal that has ever lived on the planet.

This activity is designed to show the circle of energy, as well as highlight the different ways/lengths energy can flow through a food web.

·Background for this activity should start with groups coming up with different animals that live in the Antarctic.  This is a great time to emphasize the difference between the Arctic and the Antarctic, as well as highlight different creatures who inhabit only one area and not the other, such as Polar bears and penguins.

·   Following this, students can start to draw connections between the different creatures until they have a basic food web.  This would be a good time to draw the conclusion that Algae and Phytoplankton produce their own food from the energy from the sun and nutrients upwelling from the bottom of the ocean.

·         Review:

o   Producers – use energy from the sun and nutrients from the ocean’s depths to create their own food

o   Primary consumers – eat producers.  Generally also known as herbivores (plant eaters)

o   Secondary consumers – eat primary consumers.  Generally known as carnivores (meat eaters)

o   Tertiary consumers – eat secondary consumers, are considered top predators if they are not preyed upon by any other creature.

Set Up

1. Cut out the different dice and glue together.  Color code for best overall storage of the game.  For the algae and krill, multiple dice are useful, since almost every person in the class will start out at the algae station and go to the krill station.
2. Set up visible posters with the name and pictures of each of the different creatures in the food web.  Each creature is a station where the students must roll the die to see what will happen to the energy the creature receives.
3. Optional but fun is to add color coded beads to each station.  Otherwise, provide a basic worksheet like the one on the following page.
4. If starting with beads, give each student a yellow pipe cleaner to represent the original energy.  
5. Have all the students start in the middle of the room, at the “sun”.  The sun’s energy goes down to Antarctica, where it is used by algae.  
6. Stagger the departure of the sun’s rays so there are only two or three people at the algae station at first.  Everyone must roll to see where they go next.  
7. At each station, they can take a bead and add it to their pipe cleaner.
8. If not using beads and pipe cleaner, each student can record their journey on a log like the one provided.
9. After each student is done with their journey, have them find the longest chain from Algae to Deep Water.  Which one was the shortest?  Technically, each time they have algae, there has also been an influx of energy from the sun.  How much sun energy do they think each animal uses?  A blue whale doesn't eat just one krill, it eats millions at one time.  The more links on the food chain, the more energy from the sun is used.

This activity was inspired by Illinois State Museum Geology Online’s Ride the Rock Cycle and Project Learning Tree’s Water Cycle Activity.

Other Fun Antarctic Info and Activities

http://www.discoveringantarctica.org.uk/multimedia/flash/4_eating.html

http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/wildlife/whales/food%20web.htm

http://www.discoveringantarctica.org.uk/alevel_3_3.html

http://polardiscovery.whoi.edu/antarctica/ecosystem.html

We're Going to the Zoo!

This summer, I took a trip to Brookfield Zoo with my grandma, two of my aunts and their kids.  This was my first trip to the zoo since this post, and before I left, I printed out a couple of those sheets to bring with.  I stapled them to a file folder for durability.  Since I rode in with the girls (L and N) I had them color and look at animal facts on the way to the zoo.

We started out by entering the fragile desert, where we saw lots of nocturnal animals.  I love seeing how much the kids know, since it was the five year old who gave us that key word, and the older ones who needed it defined.  I loved going with these kids because it gave me a chance to use my rusty Roving Naturalist knowledge (not actually that rusty) as we talked about animals with really large ears ("they hear better" - M) and even examined a pretend cattle skull and learned a nifty rhyme.  

Eyes on the side, run and hide

Eyes in the front, likes to hunt

We spent a good five minutes by the skull, asking questions about what this animal would eat, and what its called (eyes on the side, its a herbivore).  Afterwards, my aunt laughed.  "Normally, we would notice the skull, touch it, and be off in ten seconds."  Its a true testament to why zoos have education positions, and why they have random educational exhibits.  After looking at the skull, we made a point (actually, the five year old made a big point) of noticing which animals had hunter (carnivore) eyes and which ones had hiding eyes.

Not long afterwards, I gave my camera over to the kids.  I like to do this for several reasons.  It usually gives a very unique perspective.  For example, I probably would have taken more pictures of the lions and cheetahs.  Instead, I have a good two dozen photos of various herps, which I love, but which I don't often photograph because of the flash.  Oh, I have three dozen photos of flash upon plastic/glass as well.  But when I remember that M was in charge of the camera, and he's mad about reptiles, this makes a bit more sense.

I also have a lot of photos of our baby cousin T, who was brought to join us halfway through our adventure.  L and N are fond of babies.  Then again, so am I!

The kids also love taking the photos.  They exchanged the camera several times to get shots of their favorite creatures.  From this, I learned that N really loved the waterbirds, and L loved the colorful parrots.

But everyone was eager to see the giraffes.  As the adults were feeling a bit tired, we made our way over to the African Savannah with some pleasure.  The ladies sat down to talk as I explained how to use the ethograms I had been toting around all day.  We decided that our subject would be the baby giraffe, Arnieta's calf.  I gave a quick description of each of the giraffes, a guide to telling them apart, and let the kids choose the question they wanted to answer.  We did one study together, asking who the baby giraffe liked to stay by.  We guessed that he would want to stay by mom.

We set up by the observation station, watching carefully

We made a column for each option, and made a check mark every twenty seconds

Hard at work, doing science!

Intent upon our charts

We make science look cute

Our results.  N wanted to see what the baby was doing, L was retesting his favorite companion

The adults were happy for the chance to sit and gab.  Grandma was grateful for the rest.  And we all enjoyed watching scientific inquiry in the making.

M, N, Q and L

All in all, it was fun to visit Brookfield again, and with such awesome scientists!

Digging for Dinos

My third science related kit was inspired by the Dino Skull toob from Safari Ltd(c).  I've been wishing for some dearticulated skeleton that would be easy to put back together, but hadn't really found one.  So when I saw these, I thought "hey, I could just make one.  Maybe some beads, or some Crayola Model Magic?  Easy peasy!"

I was wrong.  It wasn't easy at all, but I gave it a try anyway.

I started with four skulls: T. rex, Brachiosaurus, Velociraptor and Dracosaurus.  In order to make my skeletons, I had to look up some images on Google.  I got a few good ones, determined the ratio between their sketches and my skulls, and had to decide which bones got the ax.  

One of the skulls proved too tempting for a girl who grew up wanting to be a Dragonrider (courtesy of McCaffrey and Pern).  I decided to make my own creature.  

My blueprints

Then came the intense, PAINSTAKING process of creation.  Imagine me sitting in front of the TV for hours, referring back to my blueprints, sculpting.  I think a grand total of 10 hours went into this, but to be honest, it could have been more.  I wish I had taken longer.  The end result:

Draconis ruffus: vertebrae and wing bones use wire, guarding eggs 

Velociraptor: arms and legs of Model Magic, all else of pipe cleaners and wooden beads

Brachiosaurus: Model Magic, hemp and wire for the rib bones

Clearly, the different materials reflect the different types of creatures.  Yeah.  That's it.  Nothing to do with me attempting to make my life/job easier.  I left the last skull and a package of Model Magic in the kit for the boys to make their own skeleton.  Educator to the core (again, not me being lazy!).

In any case, my next step was the burial.  I added a few other random dinosaur related items, like clay Velociraptor claws and a hand sculpted trilobite.  I finished the kit up with a pair of kid sized goggles, a set of small tools from Discovery Kids, a clipboard and the above info sheets.

Draconis and Velociraptor in their final resting places

Brachiosaurus took a bit more room.
Note the hemp keeping the ribs together

What a giant.

Side note, I would love to ride that thing.  Having stood under a giraffe as its head loomed towards mine to eat from my hands though, I know I would be terrified.  Nevertheless, I wish I could have seen one of these in person.

Though, I suppose I'm one of the few who have come fairly close.
 

Dino Keeper (AKA Roving Naturalist) at Brookfield Zoo

Me, my brothers (outside boys) and cousins chilling with Baby Apatasaurus

This was Q's birthday gift, delivered a bit late, and right after M's birthday.  We decided to start with Q's, since his birthday comes first and its more of an outside gift and the light was going.

Digging In

Eye protection is woefully absent, barely visible mid bottom of the photo

Q found some Velociraptor arms

M found a Velociraptor spine

Digging with our awesome tools

6-in-1 Field Tools from Discovery Kids

Q with his finished Brachiosaurus skeleton

I took video, but it didn't turn out very well, understandably.  It was pretty late and I was using my phone to take the video.  M was making some good observations, but he kept getting cut off by his little brother.

"You think those are it?"  - Me

"Yeah, see?  Three fingers, three fingers!" - Q

"How bout when we're done, we take a picture of it?" - Q

"The teensy one goes to his face.  See?  The teensyone, then the face!  Okay, now the face!" - Q

The end result of all that hard work.

And to tie everything together, info sheets on the back of the blueprints

I showed them how to carefully brush away the sand that covered the bones.  I had meant to tell them to brush it all away and leave only the bones in the pattern that they had been left in.

Yeah.  Didn't really have the chance.  They were pretty excited about becoming paleontologists.  They jumped right in!

It was a ridiculously time intensive project, and they had "discovered" all the bones within ten minutes.  No careful excavation.  No painstaking brushing of the bones.  As I finished everything just hours before I left to deliver it/babysit, I was cringing through most of the process.  But their reaction was still everything I had hoped it would be.  Excitement, logic, discovery!

I have another set of the field tools, four more of the skulls and more of the Model Magic just waiting for the moment when I'm brave/stupid enough to attempt this again.  I've got at least ten more cousins who would be interested in having just such a gift.  Maybe for Christmas.

Maybe not!