Python

Python
by Christopher Cheng; illus by Mark Jackson
 32 pages; ages 5 - 8
Candlewick, 2013

"It's morning in the bush. Python stirs..." She is hungry, but first she slithers to a sunny rock to bask and warm up. That's because pythons, like all reptiles, are ectothermic.

'Ectothermic' is more than just another cool word to add to your vocabulary; it refers to animals that acquire heat from their environment - like a sun-warmed rock.

This is a great story of the daily life of a python - but not for the squeamish or faint of heart. Because after shedding her old itchy skin (molting), this python is off on a hunt. She strikes out for a bird - and we see her rows of needle-like teeth that, writes Christopher Cheng, are "perfect for grabbing, hooking and holding". The bird escapes; a rat is not so lucky. We see python wrap around and suffocate its prey. We watch the rat disappear, tail-last.

Python lays eggs and coils around them to keep them warm. But once they hatch, she doesn't stick around caring for her young. That's OK because the hatchlings are soon ready to start their own lives of watching, waiting, and catching their own meals.

Pythons live in Africa, Asia and Australia. While they aren't native to North America, there are pythons living in the southern regions of the US - particularly in Florida where Burmese pythons are eating local wildlife. People organize "python patrols" and hunt the invaders. Where did these exotic pythons come from? People releasing their pets.

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Wordless Wednesday

Snakes Alive!

Garter Snakes (Photo credit: Miles Frank, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

The other day I was walking down my road and a garter snake slithered out of my way. It was sunning itself on the warm hardpacked oil & stone surface, grateful for warmth after what seems like a late-arriving spring.

I usually have a snake or three hiding in beneath the mulch in my garden, or warming themselves on a stone in the morning. Snakes are great garden workers: they kill pests without poisoning beneficial species, don't eat the plants, and they're usually shy.

Like other reptiles, snakes have scales instead of fur or feathers. Unlike their reptilian relatives, snakes don't have legs, though way back in evolutionary time their ancestors might have. At least that's what some research indicates.

Of the 3,000 or so species of snakes around the world, 17 live in my state of New York. The most common is the garter snake that I see in my garden and along the roads. But I also find Northern redbellies, black rat snakes (really long!), green snakes (aka "grass snakes") ans milk snakes.

This year, 2013, is the Year of the Snake. Get to know some of the snakes in your neighborhood. Where do they hide during the day? Where do they sun themselves? And do they have special sunning places that they return to day after day? Make a "snake map" of your yard.

Check out other science posts and book reviews at STEM Friday.

Wordless Wednesday

Surface Tension - on earth & in space

Water is strong. If you want to know just how strong, fill a small juice glass up to the brim. Now grab a pile of pennies - a hundred might be enough...
Slip a penny into the glass. Does the water spill? Probably not, because a penny isn't very big and doesn't displace much water.
How many pennies do you think it will take before the water starts to spill over the lip of the glass? Ten? Fifty? Somewhere in between? Something higher?

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Test out your answer by putting pennies into the cup one by one. At some point get your eyes level to the top of the glass and look at where the water is!

Water molecules hold onto each other tightly. It's called surface tension.

Now consider what happens in space. To help you out, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. He shows what happens when he tried to wring out a soaking wet washcloth. Note: washclothes are packed like hockey pucks for their trip into space!

Wordless Wednesday

Arbor Day - Celebrating Trees

Arbor Day celebrates planting trees - but it's a good time to get to know a tree growing in your neighborhood a little better.

Use your senses of sight, hearing, touch and smell to describe your tree. Is it like the other trees around it? Is it taller or shorter? What about its bark, or leaves? What about the shape of your tree? Is there any way you can figure out how tall it is?

Why did you choose this particular tree? What kind is it?

Try to visit it once a week and take a picture or draw a picture of your tree. What sort of changes do you notice over the year?

You might recall that back in October I mentioned a young man who created a tree-like model for an array of solar panels. His name is Aidan Dwyer. Here's a video of him explaining how he came up with the idea and, most importantly, how his generation can use science to make our world a better place.



The Secret of Trees | Albert Maysles from Focus Forward Films on Vimeo.

This post is part of STEM Friday round-up.