Have you ever seen a gemstone that looks like it has a rainbow trapped inside? Opals are amazing gemstones that can flash with blues, greens, reds, and oranges when light hits them. But how do they form, and what makes their colors appear?

Spark Your Learning!

1. Set up your science mini spark recording page: #45: The Amazing World of Opals.

3. Opals begin forming when water carries tiny particles of a substance called silica through rocks. As the water evaporates, the silica gradually forms a solid gemstone.

Name two places or materials in which opals can form, according to the video.

Why can an opal appear to change colors when you look at it from different angles?

4. Imagine you have discovered a new opal deep underground. You need to explain to other scientists why your discovery is special.

Write a short science discovery report that includes:

• A creative name for your opal.

• A description of its colors and patterns.

• An explanation of how it formed.

• An explanation of the science behind its colors.

• One question you would like to investigate about your opal.

Optional: Include a labeled drawing of your discovery!

5. Turn in your completed Science Mini Spark to your teacher or EY Coordinator.

Learn more about this topic  by completing the gemologist badge at the EY website.

Have you ever imagined swimming with the biggest shark that ever lived? Meet the Megalodon, a prehistoric shark that was as long as two school buses! Scientists believe it ruled the oceans for millions of years—but today, it’s completely extinct. What happened to this incredible predator?

Spark Your Learning!

1. Set up your Science Mini Spark recording page: #44 Megalodon: Why Did the Giant Shark Go Extinct?

2. Before learning about Megalodon, answer these questions.

1. What do you already know about sharks?
2. How do you think an animal as large as Megalodon survived?
3. Why do you think giant animals sometimes become extinct?

3. Read the National Geographic Kids article: Megalodon Facts

As you read, write down:

• Three amazing facts about Megalodon.
• Two ways Megalodon was different from today’s great white shark.
• One question you still have.

4. Watch the video: Why Did Megalodon Go Extinct?

While watching, record evidence that answers these questions:

• What changes happened in Earth’s oceans?
• How did climate change affect Megalodon?
• Why did food become harder to find?
• What new predators competed with Megalodon?
• Which reason do scientists think was the biggest cause of extinction?

5. Draw a size comparison showing:

• You
• A great white shark
• A Megalodon

Label the approximate lengths of each.

6. Turn your completed Mini Spark into your teacher or EY Coordinator.

Check out the Shark Study badge at the EY Website.

Learn about the myth of Dakuwaqa in this Language Arts mini spark.

Animals move in incredible ways! Some slither, some leap, some glide through the air, and some even roll like wheels. These unique movements help animals find food, escape predators, and survive in their environments. In this Mini Spark, you will explore several animals with unusual ways of moving and discover how their special adaptations help them travel.

Spark Your Learning!

1. Set up your Mini Spark recording page: Science Mini Spark #42 Amazing Animal Movers. What is the most unusual way you have ever seen an animal move?

2. Watch this video about how snakes move. Record the 4 ways of movement and 2 detilas about each one.

3. Record these these 5 animals names and their unusual movements:

• Mantis Shrimp – Rolling
• Paradise Tree Snake – Aerial Gliding
• Sea Pig – Hydraulic Walking
• Springtail – Bouncing and Leaping
• Cuban Crocodile – Ground Galloping

4. Read about each animal and write record how the animals’ unique locomotion helps protect the animal.

Rolling — Mantis Shrimp The animal: Some small mantis shrimp living in sandy coastal areas. How it moves: When threatened and far from its burrow, the mantis shrimp flips onto its back and uses strong tail and body motions to somersault along the sand. This rolling motion acts like a wheel and lets the shrimp travel faster across loose sand than by normal crawling. Rolling reduces the time it stays exposed to predators.

Aerial Gliding — Paradise Tree Snake The animal: The paradise tree snake, found in trees across Southeast Asia. How it moves: This snake launches itself from high branches, flattens its body, and forms an S-shaped curve. By changing its body shape it produces lift and can glide through the air for long distances (sometimes 20 meters or more). It steers by bending and twisting its body to land safely on another tree or avoid obstacles.

Hydraulic Walking — Sea Pig The animal: Sea pigs, a type of deep-sea sea cucumber that lives on the ocean floor. How it moves: Sea pigs walk using long, tube-like feet. Instead of contracting muscles in the feet, they change water pressure inside their body to inflate and deflate the tube feet. This hydraulic system lets them lift and move each foot to “walk” slowly across the muddy seafloor while they search for food.

Bouncing and Leaping — Springtail The animal: Springtails, tiny hexapods that live in soil, leaf litter, and moss. How it moves: Springtails have a folded forked appendage called a furcula under their abdomen. When triggered, the furcula snaps downward like a spring, launching the animal high into the air in a quick jump. This catapult-like action helps springtails escape predators and move between small habitat patches.

Ground Galloping — Cuban Crocodile The animal: The Cuban crocodile, which is more terrestrial than many other crocodile species. How it moves: With relatively long, strong limbs and a muscular body, the Cuban crocodile can run on land in short bursts. It uses leaping and bounding motions that look like galloping to move faster across beaches and dry ground. This agility helps it chase prey and move between water and land.

5. Answer this question on your recording page. Which animal movement would be the most useful for a human to have? Explain your answer using evidence from your research.

6. Submit your completed Mini Spark notebook pages to your teacher or EY Coordinator.

Look for the the snake mini spark and snaket badge and the EY website.

What if one of the cutest animals in the world had a secret superpower? The slow loris may look like a cuddly stuffed animal, but it is the only known venomous primate on Earth! Scientists are still learning about these fascinating animals and the special adaptations that help them survive in the wild. Discover the amazing world of slow lorises in this Science Mini Spark.

Spark Your Learning!

1. Set up your Science mini spark recording page: #41: Meet the Slow Loris

Before you begin, answer this question:

What do you already know about a slow loris?

Record:

• 2 things you think might be true about a slow loris.
• 1 question you hope to answer during this Mini Spark.

2. Watch the video about the slow loris.

As you watch, record:

• 5 facts about slow lorises.
• 3 physical adaptations that help them survive.
• 2 dangers they face in the wild.
• 1 fact that surprised you.

3. Read this fact page about slow lorises. Fill in the blank with the correct words:

1. Slow lorises live only in South and __________ Asia. 
2. Slow lorises are __________, which means they live in trees. 
3. The scientific genus name for slow lorises is ____________. 
4. Slow lorises have a small bare patch under their arm that makes ____________. 
5. Slow lorises help forests by spreading __________ and pollinating __________. 

Scroll to the bottom of this post to check your answers.

4. Answer two of the following questions in complete sentences from the point of view of a slow loris.

1. Describe two physical features of slow lorises that help them live at night.
2. Explain how slow lorises use their oil secretion and why it matters.
3. Give two reasons why slow lorises are important to their ecosystems.

 5. Share your Science mini spark recording page with your teacher or the EY coordinator in your building.

To learn more about another venomous creature check out Science mini spark # 7  along with the Nature’s Protection badge at the EY website.

You probably already know everything is made up of little tiny things called atoms or even that each atom is made up of even smaller particles called protons, neutrons, and electrons. And you’ve probably heard that atoms are small. But I bet you haven’t ever thought about how small atoms really are.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your Science mini spark recording page: #40: How Small is an Atom

2.   Watch this TED-Ed video to learn more about the topic. Record 5 facts from the video.

3.  The Kids Should See this webpage has created a lesson about the world’s smallest movie.  Read this information and write 3-5 details on your recording page.

Magnifying carbon monoxide (CO) atoms to over 100 million times their actual size, arranging them into a series of 242 still images, and then animating them together, scientists at IBM Research have made the smallest movie ever. Wait, how small is that again?

“If an atom was the size of an orange, then the orange would be the size of the whole planet Earth.”

You will watch a a 60-second movie, “with a frame size of only 45 nanometres by 25 nanometres (45 x 25 billionths of a metre)”. It is called A Boy and His Atom. In 2013, it was Guinness World Records-verified to be the smallest stop-motion film in the world:

“Individual molecules of carbon monoxide were “placed” as pixels on a copper sheet to create each frame of the film. The molecules were positioned using a Scanning Tunnelling Microscope (STM), which uses an ultra-fine metal tip to move the molecules with electrical charge… Once the molecules of carbon monoxide were in place in each frame, the STM took 4 min 53 sec to scan the whole frame to build up the image recorded on film. This process was meticulously repeated for each frame.”

4.  Watch the movie, A Boy and His Atom. On your recording page explain what makes this movie so unique.

5. Finish up this mini spark by watching the making of the the world smallest movie video. How did the scientists feel about the project? How did they get the atoms to move?

6. Share your science mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

How do lizards find food to eat? Learn about this and more in this science mini spark 

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your Science mini spark recording page: #39: Lizard Mazes

2. Read this introduction to what you will learn in this mini spark. On your recording sheet, write a summary of what you will learn. 

What is your hide-and-seek strategy? Maybe you search one area at a time, look for signs of movement, or even listen to see if you can hear your friends. Wild animals use lots of different strategies when they search for food. Guatemalan beaded lizards come from a desert valley surrounded by rugged mountains. They like to eat bird and lizard eggs, as well as insects, baby birds and small mammals. These can be hard to find! We wanted to know what strategies these lizards use when they are hunting for their next meal. We designed a maze experiment to help us figure it out. We placed food in a maze and watched how the lizards navigated the maze. We found that they were good at remembering where they’d already looked. They did best when there was a scent trail for them to follow. They did not do as well when they had to detect airborne scent from a distance. These experiments help us know more about the strategies these lizards use in the wild!

3. Read this article carefully.  Make a mini dictionary on your recording sheet with at least 8 words with a short definition.

4. Choose 2 of these questions to answer from the point of view of a lizard. 

What kind of foods do Guatemalan beaded lizards eat in the wild? 

How did we make sure that the animals felt comfortable? 

How did we determine whether the lizards were using their vomerolfaction ability? 

Imagine that you are on a game show where you need to find prizes in a maze. What strategy will you use to find them?

5. Share your science mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

How do dry erase markers work? Learn all about the science in this mini spark. 

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your Science mini spark recording page: #38: Dry Erase Markers

2.  Read this article and list a few reason why schools use white boards instead of chalk boards. 

3. Learn more about dry erase markers. Take notes while watching. Record information that is new to you, interesting, or sounds important. 

4.    Watch this experiment.  Write a few sentences explaining why the image will come off of the glass and go into the water. 

5.  OPTIONAL: Do the experiment yourself. Take a video of the end result.

6.  Share your Science mini spark recording page with your teacher or the EY coordinator in your building.

Fire breathing dragons may not exist, but if you consider a dragon to be a supersize reptile with a wicked bite…then I have a dragon for you.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #37: Real life dragons
2. The Komodo dragon is the real deal when it comes to real life dragons! Watch this video.   Record 5 facts from the video on your recording page.

3. Answer 3 of these questions on your recording page. Remind your teacher that the key can be found in the language arts mini spark folder.

• What are some physical characteristics of the Komodo dragon that make it a formidable predator?
•  Describe the diet of juvenile Komodo dragons and how it changes as they grow older.
• What role does Komodo dragon saliva play in their hunting success, and what have recent studies shown about it?
• How do Komodo dragons utilize their sense of smell when hunting or scavenging for food?
• Explain the cultural significance of Komodo dragons in the oral tradition mentioned in the video.
• Why do researchers believe Komodo dragons have a strong immune system despite their scavenging habits?

4. Reptile Discovery Center is home to two male Komodo dragons named Murphy and Onyx.  Go to this research page and read more about them and record 3 new pieces of information.
5. Komodo dragons only live in one country in the world, Indonesia.  Indonesia is made up of several islands.  Komodo dragons reside on some of the islands, but not all of them.  This website will show you some other interesting facts about Indonesia—home of the Komodo dragon. Add 3-5 more details to your recording page from this site.
6. Share your language arts mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.