The Ant Dance Pad

Today, Erion, Jake, and I created a prototype for "Dance Pad Mania" from DESIGN SQUAD.

The prototype turned out pretty good, although it looks like it was made for ants... Because we only had one light bulb and one buzzer we made it smaller than we had intended, turning it into a prototype. The next question is if we can take our dance pad for ants into a dance pad a that's more than a teeny bit bigger.

For me, I think the challenge was kind of easy, although I don't really do challenges with electrical thingy-ma-bobbers. The light bulb only made a dim light, and when we tried a super battery it didn't work any better than a 1.5 volt. The buzzer didn't work on some occasion, and Jake drew a button on it...

The process of the project was very fun.

DESIGN SQUAD makes plenty of other different projects like Dance Pad Mania on their website on PBSkids. DESIGN SQUAD is made up of two engineers named Judy and Adam.

Judy and Adam do plenty of different projects that are sometimes challenging but always fun to do.

Ants with Wings and Stingers are Considered a Delicacy in Brazil

In Brazil, eating ants with wings is a tradition and a delicacy, raw or cooked. It used to be a sign of poverty, but not necessarily now. Today, it is embraced as a cultural tradition and because many people enjoy the taste and festivities of eating ants.

Here's how you eat an ant with wings: First you take off the wings, then the stinger, next the legs, take half off, then cook it if you want, and last eat.

Ants were eaten when fish and monkeys were scarce in Brazil. During the ant season a whole town in Brazil smells like fried ants. The pesticide they used to make paper also kills ants, and so many people in the town are now worried that the ants -- and their town's tradition -- are in great danger.

To watch a video go to this website.

Source: The New York Times

Ant's Count"

OMG! Scientists have discovered that ants, who are in the desert actually have pedometers in their heads. Which means that they count the steps they take to get to their destination.

Scientists have conducted an experiment that included three ants. One had it's legs cut off, on was left alone, and the last had stilts glued on it's legs. All of them were put at point a. At the end, only the one that was left alone made it to point b.

For more information, watch this video:


Source: NPR.org

How To Eat An Ant

Students: Jay and Erion

How would you eat an ant? How about an exotic ant with wings? Watch this New York Times video and write a how-to story.

For this story, you want to include at least five images with extended captions after your story's introduction. The photos and captions should show and tell the story and process of capturing and eating the ants. Also, don't forget to include why these ants and the tradition of eating them may be endangered, and as always, be respectful of the culture and traditions of others.

Remember to include the five W's of a news article, as well as images, source credits and labels. Your goal this week: A story twice as long as your post last week.