Innholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2021 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

Me Not Cookie Monster! Me Rock! From the outside, this rock from Brazil didn’t look like anything special. It was bumpy, white, and shaped like an egg. Inside it held a gemstone called agate. Agates form in bubbles in volcanic rocks. They often have colorful layers that can look like lace, ribbons, or even moss. But when this agate was cut open, it revealed a surprise—it looked exactly like the Muppet Cookie Monster. After a collector in California bought the Cookie Monster rock, he posted a picture of it on Facebook. It quickly became famous. For now, its owner is keeping it, but someday you might be able to visit it in a museum. PIGS PLAY PONG People who study and care for pigs are curious about how smart pigs…

So how did turtles get their armored suits? How the Turtle Got Its Shell Turtles are reptiles, in the same family as snakes and lizards. But unlike snakes, turtles have a hard shell on the outside. A turtle’s shell is made of living bone—it’s part of the turtle’s skeleton. Muscles attach to the shell in the same way your muscles attach to your bones. So turtles can never leave their shells. For the last 200 million years, turtles have looked pretty much the way they look today. But 220 million years ago, a turtle ancestor called Odontochelys semitestacea did not quite have a shell yet. It had an extra-wide backbone and flat ribs that grew in a round, open shape. This fossil and other clues suggest that turtle shells evolved…

In our February issue we asked you for ideas to make your favorite sport even more super. Thanks to all you inventive competitors for sharing your game changers! Dear Marvin, Do you like American football? I do. My favorite team is the Chicago Bears. What is your favorite team? From Henry, Texas P.S. Plush is annoying! Dear Henry, I like all kinds of football. But I always wonder, what should we do with the ball once we’ve caught it? How do you cook them? I root for the family team, the Procyons. We know more pranks than bears. See you on the gridiron! Marvin Dear Zia, What’s your favorite kind of cupcake? Mine is chocolate with chocolate frosting and chocolate sprinkles. I love chocolate! My favorite book is Charlie and…

Walking along the beach, you spot a shell. It’s beautiful—spiraled and pointy, with a dotted brown-and-white pattern. And here’s one that looks like a ribbed pink-and-white fan. And this one is long like a ruler. Who made all these shells? And how? And why? Shells on the beach were all grown by living sea animals. Their hard homes are not just pretty. They also help the animals survive. Sea worms and sand dollars created some of them. Others were once homes of crabs. But most of the shells that wash up on beaches were made by mollusks. The Shell-Makers Hard ocean shells are made by different kinds of soft-bodied animals. Crustaceans Lobsters, crabs, and barnacles grow hard exoskeletons. Echinoderms A flat, round sand dollar is the internal shell of a sea urchin.…

1 Squids, octopuses, and cuttlefish are mollusks, in the same animal family as snails and clams. Yet they don’t have shells. But once upon a time, squid ancestors did have shells. So what happened? 2 Long ago, back in the Cambrian (about 500 million years ago), there was a small mollusk called Plectronoceras. It had a shell that did something new. Inside, it was divided up into gas-filled chambers. This shell let Plectronoceras float up and hang in the water. 3 Over time, floaty-shelled mollusks spread through the seas. These were the first cephalopods, the ancestors of squids, octopuses, and cuttlefish. Some grew long, pointy shells. Some shells curled around. A few were huge. The 6 meter (20 ft) long Cameroceras was the boss of the Ordovician seas. 4 In…

Humans live in all kinds of houses. And so do hermit crabs. If you were a hermit crab, what kind of shell (or other structure) would you like to call home? For this month’s contest, imagine an amazing, amusing shelly home for yourself, or your favorite hermit crab. Draw us a picture, and we’ll share a selection of the most stupendous in an upcoming issue of Ask. Contest Rules: 1. Your contest entry must be your very own work. Ideas and words should not be copied. 2. Be sure to include your name, age, and address on your entry. 3. Only one entry per person, please. 4. If you want your work returned, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. 5. Your entry must be signed or emailed by a parent or…

Oh, my. You’ve caught me at an awkward time. Let me explain… I’m a hermit crab. Most crabs grow a hard shell, or exoskeleton, all over. When they get bigger, they have to shed their old shell and grow a new one. That takes a lot of energy and time. But we hermit crabs have come up with a different way. We borrow mollusk shells instead! As you can see, my abdomen (back end) is soft. I only grow a hard casing on my head and claws. To cover my rear, I tuck it into any handy shell I can find. That’s quicker than growing my own. But sometimes we outgrow our shells and have to find new ones. That’s what I’m doing today. Um...no. There are more than 800…

It’s May, deep in the New England woods. New leaves are sprouting. High up in the branches, a small brown bird calls out a clear, trilling song, e-e-e-oh-lay. It’s a wood thrush, telling all the other birds that this is his spot. On a low branch nearby, his mate pats down a cozy nest of grass and mud. Soon she will fill it with small blue eggs. She hops down to the forest floor and looks around. Thrushes eat bugs, slugs, and berries. But today, Mama Thrush is looking for something special. She flutters down and starts flicking aside leaves. Soon, she has her prize. A fat little snail with a striped shell is crawling under the leaves. She gobbles it down, shell and all. Delicious! All through the spring…

Shells by S. Peter Dance If you’re heading to the beach to look for shells, this handy guide will be a big help in figuring out what you’ve found. It’s full of information about all kinds of shells around the world, and the animals that make them. It’s also fun to look at all the beautiful exotic shell photos when you’re inside, far from the sea, for a perfect beach vacation daydream. Wolfsnail by Sarah C. Campbell Under the porch a deadly game of hide and seek is playing out. The hunter is a surprisingly fierce snail, which stalks and eats smaller garden snails. This amazing photo book follows the hunt step by step with big close-up pictures as the wolfsnail sniffs out its prey, follows the trail, evades birds,…