Yarn
Half an hour before the meeting, I walked through the back yard of the library, throwing tiny pieces of colored yarn into the grass. Above me, I heard a knocking on the glass. I looked up. Zach was upstairs in Childrens', watching me out the window that overlooked the yard. He waved. I grinned and waved back, and then went back to work.
"Okay, guys," I said. "Tonight, we're working on flying creatures." Once again, Teen Paranormal was meeting in the Sloan Room. We had Jayden, Ellie, Riley, and a friend Riley had brought along, Connor. "As the name suggests, flying creatures are any creature with wings. The Thunderbird, the Jersey Devil, the Mothman...."
"I like that one," commented Ellie.
I grinned. "Thought you might."
"you didn't tell me this group was cool," Connor said to Riley. "I didn't know you did stuff like this!"
I slid him an application. "Get that fillied out with a parent signature, and you're in."
"I will!"
"So, one way that flying creatures stay hid is through camouflage. It's not just a cool-looking pattern that your camp stuff comes in. Camouflage is used among animals to blend in, to stay unnoticed. That's how they....Hey. Is it starting to rain out?"
"It looked like it when I came in," said Jayden.
"Okay, slight change of plan. We're going to go outside first---I got a project I want you guys to do. I'll explain why after."
"Out there, in the unmowed section---" I'd asked Bill to skip mowing the backyard for a few days, to make this a better excercise. "---I've thrown different colors of yarn, in one-inch bits. I want you guys to go out and find as much as you can---I'll explain why when we get back upstairs. You guys got five minutes---Go."
The kids ran out, searching the yard. I looked at the skies, which had gathering dark clouds. I saw the kids grabbing up bits of yarn, moving as a team across the lawn. I timed off a few minutes, until the wind began to kick up.
"Okay, guys, that's enough," I said. "Follow me; let's go back in."
Upstairs in the Sloan Room, I said,"Sort the yarn out into piles by color." I waited a moment while they did that, and said,"And that is how large creatures can stay hidden in the woods. The Jersey Devil, the Mothman---They're all described as browns and greys. Now, look at your yarn. I notice we only found one brown one---Connor found it. A few greens, but mostly, what you guys found were the ones that really pop---The reds, the blues, the whites."
I saw it dawn on Riley, what he'd learned. "Hey, yeah!"
"That's camouflage. It's why so many animals are brown or dull-colored, and how large creatures can stay hidden in the forest. The browns and dull colors blend in, so you could look right at them and not notice."
"That's pretty cool," said Ellie.
I grinned. "Next time, chemistry experiments. We're working on disappearances and spontaneous human combustion."
"Cool," said Connor.
"Okay, guys," I said. "Tonight, we're working on flying creatures." Once again, Teen Paranormal was meeting in the Sloan Room. We had Jayden, Ellie, Riley, and a friend Riley had brought along, Connor. "As the name suggests, flying creatures are any creature with wings. The Thunderbird, the Jersey Devil, the Mothman...."
"I like that one," commented Ellie.
I grinned. "Thought you might."
"you didn't tell me this group was cool," Connor said to Riley. "I didn't know you did stuff like this!"
I slid him an application. "Get that fillied out with a parent signature, and you're in."
"I will!"
"So, one way that flying creatures stay hid is through camouflage. It's not just a cool-looking pattern that your camp stuff comes in. Camouflage is used among animals to blend in, to stay unnoticed. That's how they....Hey. Is it starting to rain out?"
"It looked like it when I came in," said Jayden.
"Okay, slight change of plan. We're going to go outside first---I got a project I want you guys to do. I'll explain why after."
"Out there, in the unmowed section---" I'd asked Bill to skip mowing the backyard for a few days, to make this a better excercise. "---I've thrown different colors of yarn, in one-inch bits. I want you guys to go out and find as much as you can---I'll explain why when we get back upstairs. You guys got five minutes---Go."
The kids ran out, searching the yard. I looked at the skies, which had gathering dark clouds. I saw the kids grabbing up bits of yarn, moving as a team across the lawn. I timed off a few minutes, until the wind began to kick up.
"Okay, guys, that's enough," I said. "Follow me; let's go back in."
Upstairs in the Sloan Room, I said,"Sort the yarn out into piles by color." I waited a moment while they did that, and said,"And that is how large creatures can stay hidden in the woods. The Jersey Devil, the Mothman---They're all described as browns and greys. Now, look at your yarn. I notice we only found one brown one---Connor found it. A few greens, but mostly, what you guys found were the ones that really pop---The reds, the blues, the whites."
I saw it dawn on Riley, what he'd learned. "Hey, yeah!"
"That's camouflage. It's why so many animals are brown or dull-colored, and how large creatures can stay hidden in the forest. The browns and dull colors blend in, so you could look right at them and not notice."
"That's pretty cool," said Ellie.
I grinned. "Next time, chemistry experiments. We're working on disappearances and spontaneous human combustion."
"Cool," said Connor.