Learning By Doing

Mason Jar Ant Farm

Mason Jar Ant Farm

View the October 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Photo © Jordan Roper/Dreamstime.com. Supplies Needed: Large mason jar with lid Small mason jar with lid (small enough to fit into the larger one) Dirt...

Learn About Straight-line Light

Learn About Straight-line Light

View the August 2023 Nature Friend Magazine When I was a boy, I enjoyed making tents. I liked to use covers to make cozy tents with rooms and doorways. So if you enjoy making tents too, you will...

To Build a Log Cabin Wren House

To Build a Log Cabin Wren House

View the August 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Editor’s note: In the March 2020 magazine, we published the winners of a birdhouse building contest. Each entry was to be a “Learning By Doing” lesson....

Oatmeal-Box Planetarium

Oatmeal-Box Planetarium

View the June 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Cylindrical cardboard boxes, of the type at least one brand of oatmeal comes in, can be used for projecting beautiful images of star constellations on the...

Defying Gravity

Defying Gravity

View the June 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Photo © Dreamstime.com. This science experiment is interesting because it defies gravity. First get a funnel and a ping-pong ball. Then set the ball in the...

Salamander Incubator

Salamander Incubator

View the April 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Spotted Salamander eggs. Photo © Dana Atkinson. “Sooooo squishy!” George exclaimed as he cupped a grapefruit-sized salamander egg mass in both his...

Frosty Bubbles

Frosty Bubbles

View the February 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Frozen soap bubble. Photo © Don Komarechka. The clear globe with frost patterns caught my eye. I had to do a double-take. Just what was I seeing?...

Wildflower Arranging

Wildflower Arranging

Fireweed in Rocky Mountains. Photo © Dogwood Ridge. The scenarios are endless. A slope covered with goldenrod and daisies…the first autumn olives opening…a dogwood in full bloom…a facet of my brain...

Viewing Crystals with Polarized Light

Viewing Crystals with Polarized Light

Epsom salt crystals. Photo © Maria Carver. Viewing crystals with a microscope is lots of fun! Home grown crystals from sugar, salt, and other household items, are beautiful on their own, but some...