Fun with Snakes on 15 Sep 2007

Twenty-fourth discovery posting:

(Entry @ 17 Sep 2007: Correction of activities done at Station 3 and 4, thanks to Dr Vilma for informing me about the actual activities being carried out)

Puzzle of the day: What are they doing? (picture below)

Guess: Creating a new Guinness record for the longest human body chain?

Read on to find out...
As i looked around where the kids were lying down, i spotted some sea hollies (picture below), 'first discovery'.Discovery Note:
1. These plants have no relation whatsoever with the Christmas Holly, although they appear similar.
2. The Sea Holly grows on mud near the hide tide mark or along river banks. But it grows especially well in areas with more freshwater input.
3. Unlike some mangrove plants, Sea Holly does not exclude salt at the root level. In fact, their sap is salty and excess salt is secreted through the leaves, to be removed by rain or wind.
4. Sometimes, the excess salt can be seen as a white crystalline layer on the upper surface on their leaves.

First look, you might think, "Hey, this looks like Sungei Buloh."

Well, Pasir Ris park was the location, and the mangrove boardwalk within the park was the place where the NSS education group held "Fun with Snakes".

Side Note:
Visit NSS's website here for more activities by them.

The picture below shows Nick (future teacher) leading the participants to the registration point.
Puzzle of the day (Answer):
How many children do you think we need to form the length of a python we can find in Singapore?

Here, the kids had estimate and then lie down to get the answer themselves (picture below).

Well, the longest python sighted in Singapore was about 8 meters in length, how many children do you think we need to form the length of this 8 meter python?
As i was supposed to be stationed at a station, i quickly moved towards the location of my station before the kids moved out. And on the way back, i spotted quite a few of tree climbing crabs, here is one of them (picture below), second 'discovery'.
Discovery Note:
1. Tree-climbing crabs can be seen easily in the day from the boardwalk. At this time, they usually climb only high enough to clear the water level and remain motionless on tree-trunks, leaves or boardwalk legs.
2. This is probably a predator-avoidance behaviour, especially with the many predatory species of fish and crabs that hunt with the incoming tide.
3. At night time or dusk, they emerge to feed on the forest floor and have been seen climbing up trees to heights of more than six metres to graze on algae as well as eating leaves.

As soon the kids reached the gathering point for a introduction to snakes, they were asked to draw a picture on how they think a snake would look like to them (picture below).
Their completed drawings = Kids' Snake Art exhibition (pictures below):Look at the picture below, i don't think i need to write much on what was the next activity the kids had.On the event, we also had Chee Kong (who really know loads about snakes) with us to give everyone a short talk on the differences between humans and snakes.
Discovery Note (Some differences between humans and snakes):
1. Humans are warm-blooded while snakes are cold-blooded.
2. Humans give birth to their young alive while snakes lays eggs or give birth to their young alive.
3. Humans have limbs (arms and legs) while snakes don't.
4. Snakes have scales while humans don't.
5. Snakes shed (completely) every few months while humans shed (little bits here and there) everyday.

Challenge of the day: Are you able to list out some more differences or even similarities? =)

After a comprehensive introduction, the children were grouped into 4 groups and proceeded to different stations.

The station master for station 1 was Chee Kong himself (pictures below), i won't write what station 1 was about, as the answer lies within the pictures.
Discovery Note (What & How do snakes eat):
1. All snakes are carnivorous or you can say they only eat meat.
2. Some snakes have a venomous bite, which they use to kill their prey before eating it.
3. Other snakes kill their prey by constriction or called 'wrapping you up and then squeezing you to death'.
4. Still others swallow their prey whole and alive.

Just next to station 1 was station 2, it was about where do snakes live and how do snakes move. There was also two videos at this station where the kids could watch. One was about a flying snake, the paradise tree snake, the other, a swimming snake, the yellow-lipped sea krait.

How did i know so much? Well, i was the station master. =P Discovery Note:
1. The paradise tree snake does not have wings to fly, actually it doesn't fly, it glides.
2. Before getting airborne, the paradise tree snake hangs from from a branch, looks for a spot to land, and then they leap off the branch to their landing spot.
3. Read more about how they do it at here.

Side Note:
1. There is a person, Jake Socha, who studies the flight of the paradise tree snake, read his dedicated website for the flying snake here.
2. At his website, you can also find videos of how does the paradise tree snake 'flies'.

(Entry @ 17 Sep 2007: What was Station 3 and 4 about?)

Station 3 was about how snakes grow and how they shed their skin. And a story called "Verdi" (about a young snake who didn't want to grow up) was also read to the kids.

Station 4 was about informing the kids on which snakes are common and which are rare, what do you do if you encounter a snake and of course some conservation messages for snakes.

It was a pity that i couldn't look at how was Station 3 and 4 conducted as i had to be at station 2. But there is always another time!

Anyway, once everyone had completed all the 4 stations, the kids then proceeded on a art and craft project, refer to the pictures below for the process and completed products.
A snake hunt, spotting of snakes within the mangrove forest was the last and most anticipated part of the event. The children and their parents were brought into the dark mangrove forest (on the boardwalk) to spot snakes. Although i couldn't join the 'hunt' as i stayed back to look after possessions, i heard that they spotted the dog-faced water snake and crab eating water snake. Wow!

But that wasn't the last activity for us though, after every child and parent had left the boardwalk, we went on a 'hunt' ourselves. The location of the 'hunt' wasn't on the boardwalk, but the sides of the water near the mangrove forest.

Reaching the site, everyone shone their torches into the waters and every now and then, a snake was spotted.

Here's one which Chee Kong 'picked' up from the water, a dog-faced water snake (picture below), third 'discovery'!Discovery Note:
1. The dog-faced water snake feeds largely on fish trapped in mud puddles during the low tide.
2. Their eyes are positioned on the top of their heads so that they can remain with their body submerged in water and yet are able to see above the surface.
3. They have poisonous fangs on the back of their jaws, but their venom is not known to have any serious effects on humans.
4. They give birth to living young, and appear to be largely nocturnal in habits.

Finally, like to thank Dr Vilma for letting me to help in the event, Chee Kong for teaching everyone more for snakes, everyone who helped and of course all the participants!

Last Note:
If you are interested in snakes, you can read more about them on SLOG (Singapore Snakes Blog), where Chee Kong is one of the contributing writers.

Fun with Bats on 9 June 2007

Eleventh Discovery Posting:

(Entry@15 June 2007 : Gotten a photo of the Wuyang Kulit and inserted it in)

Bats in Singapore? Is that possible? Yes.

Kent Ridge Park was the place where about 50 kids gathered with their parents to learn more about and look at bats. Here's them trying to organise themselves into groups before beginning the event (picture below).
And at the other side were four girls from Cedar Girls with their 'director' rehearsing for the Wayang Kulit show on bats to be shown later to the kids after the sun sets (picture below).
The first activity lined up was that kids had to draw a picture of what they thought a bat would look like. Their completed drawings were then hanged up for display. Here are some of them (pictures below).


After that, Dr Vilma then gave an introduction on what were bats by showing the children pictures and photos of bats. Luan Keng also brought a bat skeleton and a bird wing skeleton to show the difference between a bat's wing and a bird's wing.
Discovery Note (General Information on Bats):
1. Bats are mammals with a body that are very similar to our own.
2. Their most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs (arms and hands) are developed as wings, making them the only mammals in the world naturally capable of flight.
3. It is estimated that there are about 1,100 species of bats worldwide, which accounts for about 20% of all mammal species on earth!

Later, the children gathered back into their groups and started to work on the activity, "Bats and me", where they were required to compare one of the group members with a certain species of bat found in Singapore. Here are some photos showing them working in progress with the help of HSBC volunteers (pictures below).
Discovery Note (Types of bats):
1. There are basically two main suborders (groups) of bats, they are megabats and microbats.
2. Megabats eat fruit, nectar or pollen from flowers while microbats eat insects, small mammals and fish, relying on echolocation for navigation and finding prey.

"Bats and me" not only helped the kids to learn more about bats. It also gave them a chance to work together as a group as the individual groups had to present their findings to everyone else after they had completed their work. Here's one group during their presentation (picture below).
Discovery Note (Truth behind the Myths of Bats):
1. Bats are not blind. In fact, they can see better than humans at night. However, echolocation is the most important sense for microbats when hunting for food.
2. Bats are not dirty. They actually spend a lot of time grooming and cleaning themselves and those in their colony. It is important to them that they stay clean and free of parasites.
3. Not all bats suck blood. There are only 3 known species of vampire bats and they can only be found in the Central and South America. And these vampire bats only need about two tablespoons of blood per day to survive, so they never consume enough to kill their prey, which is generally limited to large animals such as cows.

Never was there a moment of dullness for the kids, as they proceeded on to making bat masks straight after their presentations. Future artists in work progress (pictures below).

Discovery Note (Bats are useful to us):

• Insectivorous bats (bats which eat insects) are far and wide the best bug-killers on the planet. Some species are known to be able to catch and eat as many as 600 mosquitoes in one hour.
• They also feed on insects that destroy crops, providing an invaluable service to farmers.

• Nectarivorous bats (bats which feed on nectar) gather pollen on their bodies as they feed on the nectar from flowers.
• When they fly away, they spread the pollen, helping the plant disperse its seed.
• Did you know that these bats help to pollinate plants such as the banana, figs, mangoes and even durians!

A group photo of every kid with their completed bat masks (picture below). Say 'Bat'!
Soon, it was picnic time as everyone enjoyed the view of the sunset (picture below) before we began on the second part of the event program.
For the second part of the event, kids were taught how to play the "Bat and Moth" game, where everyone had great fun as we waited for night fall.

As it turned darked, bats began to appear and as some groups walked deeper into the park to find more bats. The rest were treated to the wonderful Wuyang Kulit show put up by the girls from Cedar Girls. I couldn't take any photos as my hands were full holding the torches required to project shadows on the screen for the show.

(Entry@15 June 2007: A photo of the Wuyang Kulit in progress (picture below). Would like to thank one of the parents for providing this photo.)
Discovery Note:
1. Bats are threatened due to habitat lost and human activities.
2. And as most bat species gives birth to only one baby per year, so they multiply at a relatively slow pace.

As the second run of the Wuyang Kulit show ended and the second batch of kids returning from their sight 'hunting' of bats, the successful event came to an end.

Would like to thank Dr Vilma for letting me help in the event, Luan Keng for bring the interesting specimens, the HSBC volunteers for their assistance, the Cedar girls for the wonderful Wuyang Kulit they've put up, everyone who helped and all the children who attended this event!

Remember that,
If we can help Bats,
they can help us too!

Note:
For more information on bats, you may click here.

Fun with Colugos on 21 April 07

Second discovery posting:

Late posting for Fun with Nature event.
On Saturday evening at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (BTNR), Fun with Colugos was held at the BTNR visitor center.

Norman Lim who authored a book on Colugos recently was there to share with the kids more about Colugos.

Before the event start, Andrew and some others managed to spot a colugo just nearby the visitor center. A lucky early sighting of the 'star' of the event.

After the sharing session, kids were brought into BTNR in small groups for a short walk hoping to spot more colugos. And as i waited near the second shelter up the path of BTNR, Dr Vilma came over and said a kid spotted one more colugo back down the track and she left her name tag near the spot hoping that the colugo will be still there when we returned to the spot.

It was truly a lucky evening, as the colugo was still there when we went to the spot.

This time round, i managed to capture a photo of it (picture below)
Discovery Note:
1. Colugos are mammals (just like us!).
2. Although they are also called 'Flying Lemurs' although they are not exactly closely related to the lemurs of Madagascar and they don't fly, they are able to glide though.
3. Its ability to glide is due to the thin membrane that stretches from the ends of the tail to each limb.
3. Colugos are mostly nocturnal (like bats!).
4. Colugos are able to hang upside down due to their strong and sharp claws (like bats!) but they don't do that always.
5. Colugos sleep by clinging to trunks (as seen in picture) or hiding in tree holes.
6. Colugos is known to eat mostly leaves, shoots, flowers and sap, and probably fruit as well.

After this sighting, the event ended soon afterwards as BTNR was closing soon and all of us were sort of rushing out before the NParks staff closed the gates. Goodbye BTNR~

For more information on Fun with Nature events, please check the wildsingapore or NSS website for details.