Leaf Cutter Ant

cube template

http://www.mathsisfun.com/geometry/cube-model.html

Designing our Cube

Draw and color something you saw at the Academy of Sciences in each of the 6 squares. Color in all the pictures. Cut out along the edges and decorate the paper. Fold along the inside lines and form into a cube shape. Glue the flaps and secure them in place. Attach a string to hang the cube.

Basic Shape Versus Detail

A Starfish

Step 1 : Using a pencil, draw a circle to mark the center of the Sea Star, and from there draw the arms. Many Sea Stars have 5 arms. They are not straight, they are bendy and tube shaped.

Step 2 : Draw the outer lines to complete each arm.

Step 3 : Darken the line that shows the basic shape of the Starfish. You can go over the pencil line with a crayon or marker.

Step 4. Carefully erase the pencil lines.

Step 5 : Add the detail to your Starfish.

Step 6 : Color in your Starfish using the colors of your choice.

Leafy Sea Dragon

Basic Shape Versus Detail

Using basic shapes to help you create a drawing.

Activity - Draw something you saw at the academy of sciences. It can be a fish, shark, jellyfish - anything you experienced on the field trip.

When you are finished, cut it out and write your name on the back. I will take all the fish home and mount them on a board for display.

What kind of Fish are you making? What is it called? Did you observe it swimming? How did it swim? Did it wiggle its fins? Did it swish its tail from side to side? Did it move its body in a wave like motion to move through the water?

Let's make a clownfish together:

1. Find a good photo for reference.

Observe the photo. The teacher will ask these questions to guide the student's observations:

• How many fins does the fish have?
• What is the texture of the fish? Is it soft? Prickly? Slimy?
• What shades of light and dark do you see in this fish?
• What colors do you see?
• How big is the fish? What object is about the same size?
• What shapes and patterns do you see?

2. Draw the body (including the tail). First draw the basic shapes that make up the body in pencil. There is an oval, for the body and a smaller oval that is slightly wider at one end, for the tail. I use these basic shapes to help me make the outline of the fish. It should resemble a bowling pin that has been knocked down.

3. Draw the eye. Adding this detail will help you get a better idea of the overall look of your fish.

4. Draw the fins. Use simple oval shapes first, in pencil. Now draw the outline. Do this in marker. You are using your pencil lines as a guide.

5. Decide what type of pattern your clownfish will have, and draw it in. Add the mouth.

6. Carefully erase any pencil lines that you no longer need. Darken the lines you want to keep, or draw over your final lines in marker.

7. Color in your fish. You can try drawing your fish several times.

8. Cut out the fish, and write your name on the back.

Here are more fish shapes. Look for the simpler shapes within these more detailed fish shapes.

Homework: Create a habitat for our fish. Clown fish live in Sea Anemones.

What else did you see in the tanks at the Academy of Sciences? Coral? What colors did you see? Create drawings for the habitat and cut them out to use in our final collage.

Interesting Facts from the Academy of Sciences

Hello! You emailed the Naturalist Center a little over a week ago asking for pictures and information on some of the animals we have in the aquarium. Below you will find, listed under each animal, an interesting fact, some basic sources, and links to some images of the creature.

Clown fish

Fact
The Clown anemonefish’s immunity to its host’s venomous sting is not a genetic trait. Instead it is acquired slowly by acclimation. The fish will initially take several approaches, each time rubbing the anemone’s stinging tentacles on specific parts of its body. After several of these interactions the fish will be immune the venom. However, this immunity is not permanent. If the fish leaves its host for too long, it will lose the immunity and have to restart the process.

General Info
- http://www.eol.org/pages/212597
-http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Amphiprion_ocellaris.html
- http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=29

-http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=6509&genusname=Amphiprion&speciesname=ocellaris&lang=English

Images
-http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?stat=BROWSE&query_src=photos_fauna_com-Fish&where-lifeform=Fish&where-namesoup=Clown+Fish&rel-namesoup=matchphrase&title_tag=Clown+Fish

-http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?stat=BROWSE&query_src=photos_fauna_com-Fish&where-lifeform=Fish&where-namesoup=Clownfish+In+Anemone&rel-namesoup=matchphrase&title_tag=Clownfish+In+Anemone

Emperor angelfish

Fact
The Academy only has one Emperor Angelfish on display, Mr. B. This is because Emperor Angelfish are highly territorial. If Mr. B was in the Coral Reef Tank with another angelfish, the two of them would fight to the death. Recently Mr. B had to be moved into the top portion of the tank due to his habit of eating our coral, which does not grow fast enough to replenish itself after his meals.

General Info
- http://www.eol.org/pages/205824
-http://www.fishbase.org/summary/speciessummary.php?id=6504

Images
-http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?stat=BROWSE&query_src=photos_fauna_com-Fish&where-lifeform=Fish&where-namesoup=Emperor+Angelfish&rel-namesoup=matchphrase&title_tag=Emperor+Angelfish

Starfish

Fact
Starfish are not actually fish. Instead the proper term for them is “Sea Stars”. They belong to a group of invertebrates called Echinoderms, which also include Sea cucumbers, Sea urchins, and Sand dollars. Sea Stars are a varied group with members living in many different ocean ecosystems. You can find them clinging to piers on the shore as well as feeding on detritus at the bottom of the ocean.

General Info
- http://www.eol.org/pages/1927
-http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Asteroidea.html
-http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/starfish/
-http://www.edc.uri.edu/restoration/html/gallery/invert/sea.htm

Images
-http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?stat=BROWSE&query_src=photos_fauna_com-Invertebrate-Other&where-lifeform=Invertebrate-Other&where-namesoup=Ochre+Sea+Star&rel-namesoup=matchphrase&title_tag=Ochre+Sea+Star

-http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?stat=BROWSE&query_src=photos_fauna_com-Invertebrate-Other&where-lifeform=Invertebrate-Other&where-namesoup=Sea+Star&rel-namesoup=matchphrase&title_tag=Sea+Star

Around the Pond ... Who Lives Here?

Class 4 : simple origami lotus flower

Learn How to fold a 3D origami lotus flower from 6 sheets of paper. For more Origami How-To Videos & Articles, visit WonderHowTo.

Class 3 : Around the Pond "Who's Been Here?"

Using step by step drawings sheets from 'Draw Write Now, Volume 6 : Animals & Habitats on land Ponds Rives and Oceans', we'll draw frogs, fish and turtles for our pond habitat. The students will follow the step by step drawing guides, and shade in their drawings practicing the techniques learned on the dragonfly.

Class 2 : Light and Shade

The class will practice shading in spheres. We will observe a lit sphere. then create our own shaded spheres, working together as a class.

Next we'll shade in our dragonfly drawings, shading in the body spherical sections from light to dark as we did the sphere, to create the illusion of a three dimensional shape.

Class 1 : Drawing a Dragonfly

Dragonfly reference photos

Label the Insect

parts of an insect

Insect Anatomy

Do insects have bones? Insects do not have a backbone like humans and many other animals do. In fact, insects do not have any bones; they have a hard exoskeleton instead. "Exo" means outside, so that means that the skeleton is on the outside of the insect's body instead of on the inside like in our bodies. Did you know that insects are related to crabs and lobsters, which also have exoskeletons?

Thinking Scientifically: Animals that have a backbone are called vertebrates - can you think of any vertebrates?. Any animals that do not have a backbone, like insects, are calledinvertebrates.

All insects have three main body parts: a head, thorax, and abdomen. It's important to know these parts in order. It helps to think of the thorax as being sandwiched in between the head (which is at the top just like your own head) and the abdomen (at the bottom).

Head: An insect has a small head that is a lot like your own head because it holds the insect's brain, eyes, and mouth. Insects also have special feelers called antennae that stick out of the top of their heads. They use their antennae to smell and feel because they do not have noses and hands like we do.

Thinking Scientifically: You may have heard the word antenna before, but have you ever heard anyone say antennae (pronounced: an-ten-I)? Did you know that "antennae" is just the plural form of the word "antenna"? When we say "antenna," we are talking about one and when we say "antennae," we are talking about two or more, just like when we say "shoe" we are talking one shoe, and when we say "shoes" we are talking about a pair of shoes.

Eyes: Insect eyes are much different from human eyes (called simple eyes). In fact, insects do not even see things the same way we do! They have two compound eyes with many different lenses to see out of instead of just one lens in each eye like we do. Each compound eye can have anywhere from 2 to 30,000 different surfaces that are very sensitive to light. Compound eyes cannot see very much detail or things that are far away. They can see extremely quick movements and things that are close to them, though. If insects did not have compound eyes, they would have a very difficult time surviving and finding food! Have you ever tried to swat a fly? What happened when you got close to it? It probably flew away the second you got close enough to swat it. That is because a fly's compound eyes bulge out of its head so it can see motion all around its body and see when you are coming closer to it.

Thinking Scientifically: Some insects, like grasshoppers, have compound eyes and normal eyes (called simple eyes)! With simple eyes, they can see a lot more detail and see things that are far away.

Click these links to see some close up pictures of compound eyes:

• Compound insect eye
  
• A dragonfly's compound eyes

Exoskeleton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The discarded exoskeleton of a dragonflynymph

An exoskeleton is the external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal skeleton (endoskeleton) of, for example a human. In popular usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as "shells". Examples of exoskeleton animals include insects such as grasshoppers and cockroaches, and crustaceans such as crabsand lobsters. The shells of the various groups of shelled mollusks, including those of snails, clams, tusk shells, chitons andnautilus, are also exoskeletons.

Life Cycle of a Dragonfly

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngyoungexplorer/1104/readstory.html

Dragonfly

David Attenborough - Life in the Undergrowth - dragonfly

Making our water lilies

Make pink and yellow shaded spheres - small groups

Rest of class cuts out petal patterns for water lily.

2 tones yellow (orange)

2 tones pink (red)

An Introduction

My background is in animation at Disney ILM and PDI/Dreamworks.

As an introduction I would like to show this short clip of a children's show 'Blue Peter' from 1992, in which I explain the computer animation work done in the Lion King.

The Lion King is currently being shown in theaters as a re release in 3D.

The technology used for the herd of wildebeests is the same technology used to create a colony of ants in the most recent Indiana Jones movie. This will tie into our class on drawing ants, and our guest speaker and Nathan's dad Steve, who was the animation supervisor for The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2006.

I will bring a few of my drawings and paintings to show the class.

We will focus or first set of drawing classes on

- Insects

- Line Drawing, using basic shapes to get the contour then adding detail

- Shading to add depth to the drawing

I will sprinkle in a few classes on how animation is created.

The first function of the artist is to observe, to study nature.

We will start by creating a collage of insects found in the swamp. We will draw the insects together in class, using reference material from the Academy of Sciences, "What makes an insect an insect?" to help us better understand what we are drawing.

Students have read a story in class called 'Around the Pond Who Lives Here?", which explains flora and fauna found in a pond.

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=31643