Sunday, 16 November 2014
Sunday, 9 November 2014
Hi Te Waha rua
Only one more sleep until your visit to Nga Manu.
I am so disappointed I won't be here to see you all.
I am in Wellington with the Royal Society of New Zealand doing science stuff!
Here are a few of my animal friends at Nga Manu that I saw today.
Only one more sleep until your visit to Nga Manu.
I am so disappointed I won't be here to see you all.
I am in Wellington with the Royal Society of New Zealand doing science stuff!
Here are a few of my animal friends at Nga Manu that I saw today.
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| The Canada Goose, Gander and two of their goslings. |
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| Jimmy - a friendly Kea. |
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| Two Kereru. |
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| A stunning Kaka. Watch for this beautiful coloured feathers under his wings. |
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| This is Steve one of the Tuatara outside the nocturnal house. He is 30 years old. |
Wednesday, 5 November 2014
Kia Ora Koutou!
Scientists use special tools to help them with their research.
This is a water current meter used to measure the velocity or speed of the water current.
You place the impellar in the water. There is a tiny magnet inside which gets recorded everytime the impellor makes one complete circle or revolution. The NZ Standard is to time it for 40 seconds. So you get a reading which tells you how many revs in 40 seconds. If the flow is too slow the impellar doesn't spin so you have to resort to other ways of testing the water flow which is what happened to me at Nga Manu. I use a float test method which is lots of fun! We can do it next year in our school stream!
The stream bed was covered with tree roots and tree litter which was blocking the water flow so we had to dig out the roots and clear away the dead fern leaves and branches that had fallen in the stream. Then we put in a 3meter by 1 meter frame and put sand bags at the sides to try to contain all the water.
Scientists use special tools to help them with their research.
This is a water current meter used to measure the velocity or speed of the water current.
You place the impellar in the water. There is a tiny magnet inside which gets recorded everytime the impellor makes one complete circle or revolution. The NZ Standard is to time it for 40 seconds. So you get a reading which tells you how many revs in 40 seconds. If the flow is too slow the impellar doesn't spin so you have to resort to other ways of testing the water flow which is what happened to me at Nga Manu. I use a float test method which is lots of fun! We can do it next year in our school stream!
The stream bed was covered with tree roots and tree litter which was blocking the water flow so we had to dig out the roots and clear away the dead fern leaves and branches that had fallen in the stream. Then we put in a 3meter by 1 meter frame and put sand bags at the sides to try to contain all the water.
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| I fell in the stream! I had a very wet bottom and my gumboots were full of muddy water! Yuck! |
Monday, 3 November 2014
Scientists feel wonderment and awe!
Did you know the Puriri moth caterpillar lives for 6 years inside a tree?
When it hatches out it lives as a moth for only 2 days!
I am so glad I am not a puriri moth.
At Nga Manu you will see this tree.
The holes on the tree trunk are made by the caterpilar. While the caterpillar is inside the tree the holes are covered by a silky covering to camouflage the opening.
Many trees have a short life due to the puriri moth holes.
The maori name for this tree is Puta puta weta, because after the moth has hatched out the weta's live in the holes.
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Did you know the Puriri moth caterpillar lives for 6 years inside a tree?
When it hatches out it lives as a moth for only 2 days!
I am so glad I am not a puriri moth.
At Nga Manu you will see this tree.
The holes on the tree trunk are made by the caterpilar. While the caterpillar is inside the tree the holes are covered by a silky covering to camouflage the opening.
Many trees have a short life due to the puriri moth holes.
The maori name for this tree is Puta puta weta, because after the moth has hatched out the weta's live in the holes.
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| The Puriri Moth |
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