TF elementary students get creative with zoo projects

Thompson Falls elementary kindergarten and first grade classes had a zoo exhibit in their classrooms on Wednesday. Each class had its own theme. Julie Detlaff had a safari of animals presented by her kindergarteners and Amber Yates' kindergarten class had an aquarium themed room of ocean life. The first graders made animals at home and wrote reports at school for their presentations. Lindsey Franklin had insects filling her insectarium class room, while Samantha Varner's students had representations of animals from the rainforests. Students wrote in their reports the characteristics of the animal they chose. Some students wrote several pages on diet, habitat, predators and facts that they found interesting.

Cora Shaw made her tiger from the rainforests of Asia, China and Eastern Russia. She learned that tigers live in tropical or very green forests and grasslands. They roam individually on what she said is called their home ranges. There was an array of monkeys, toucans and a sloth to learn about from the rainforest.

Franklin's class had displays of dragonflies, damselflies, spiders, ants, a luna moth, a grasshopper, cicada exoskeletons, and a stink bug.

Liam Bewick from Franklin's class was happy to report that stink bugs eat mainly plants and that spiders and birds eat stink bugs. "But when the bird eats the stinkbug it spits the bug out because it tastes bad!" Bewick said. He added that the bugs spray a stinky smell to keep predators away. Kalyn Butler was surprised to learn that black widow spiders are female and eat the male spider and lay 200 eggs. "Their venom is fifteen times stronger than a rattlesnake's!" Butler said. Reese Friede, also from Franklin's class, discovered that walking sticks/stick bugs spray chemicals to protect themselves and they make a loud noise. Some fall from trees to play dead and they can camouflage into trees and leaves. They live on five continents, including North America. "Stick bugs are one of the longest insects in the world. When they lose a leg it grows back," Friede said.