Dissections & Donations

It would appear that this past month as been a busy one for dissections. Mr. Dan talked about his recent frog dissections in his last post, and in this blog I’d like to mention another type of dissection;  Grasshoppers! These not so little insects are definitely a unique and uncommon type of dissection, but they’ve become one of my favorite classes to teach. Students that participate get to take part in a truly in-depth look into the form and function of the Eastern Lubber Grasshopper. These insects are easily the most distinct and largest species of grasshoppers, and are famous for their bright colors during the adult stage of their life.  Unfortunately they aren’t favored in their native habitats, as they are a bother to gardeners who often lose many of their prized flowers to these hungry bugs.

Of course dissections aren’t the only thing we’ve been up to at SMLI. Throughout the past month or so we’ve had donation bins on the first floor for the Long Island Cares Community Drive. Items such as canned food, personal care items (shampoo, soap, conditioner, etc.), books, toys, games and more can be donated to support more than 540 communities on Long Island. While this drive ends on December 13^th, there are always plenty of opportunities to give back to your community during the holiday season.

Speaking of the holiday season, that always been one thing for us here at SMLI; our winter recess holiday programs! We had a great brainstorming session a few days ago and finalized our plans, including exciting new activities and crafts for these upcoming workshops. You can register for any (if not all!) of these programs by calling our registrar, Rosemarie, at (516) 627-9400 ex. 10.

Stay warm my fellow scientists!

-Caitlin