Kids Can…Save the Fireflies and Help Scientists
Fireflies have always been one of nature’s most beautiful and intriguing miracles. I could still spend hours and hours on a hot, dark summer night tracing the paths taken by the fireflies in my parents’ backyard. The fun, of course, comes from tracing the path between “blinks”, when the firefly fades to black and you are left guessing as to where they’ll appear next.
Perhaps this nostalgia explains why, when I saw the “Firefly Watch” site from the Museum of Science, Boston, I was both transported and transfixed.
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Fireflies are at risk. Though the site makes identifying the specifics around the population decline an afterthought, it makes participating in the process enjoyable and interactive. It also makes the mission clear: trying to understand how a variety of social and ecological factors affect firefly populations.
As a fun, casual, family exercise, I consider this one with tremendous potential. It also makes a perfect segue into further exploration of environmental issues—whether one explores how their own lawn care habits affect broader populations, or one uses the firefly field trips as an introduction to other creatures in the local habitat.
PS – If you find yourself with more time to spare, I suggest scrolling through the vast library of songs with the word “firefly” or “fireflies” in the title, and supplementing that search with one on myths and legends associated with “fireflies.”
Image Courtesy WindRanch via Flickr under Creative Commons License.
Fireflies remind me of my youth as well! Ahhh, nostalgia.
I love how you have taken a simple idea most kids can connect with and made it a foundation and framework for further exploration and learning that can tailored to you and your family’s needs.
Firefly Watch is excellent. My son has been really enjoying it, and I know he will as we continue to use it.
Catching fireflies (we called them lightning bugs) was SO much fun for me as a kid!! Loved it.
I grew up in NJ and loved lightning bugs. I used to catch them and put them in a glass jar with holes in the lid (for a little while) too! I enjoyed this post, but I recommend clicking through and looking at the interactive map that illustrates where people have participated. Amazing to see that level of action!
I think fireflies (we called them lightning bugs as well) are the total kid experience. I remember catching them in jars, and letting them light up next to my head at bedtime, as a little kid. Awesome!!