Summer's Love Bugs

By: Judi Stuart
Port Discover - Visitor Services Manager

Summer's Love Bugs
Just the mention of the word “bug” makes most people start scratching. However, there are insects that people, especially kids, love. For grown-ups, they bring back nostalgic memories of summers during their childhood. Who doesn’t remember the glass jar at the foot of the bed with those sparkling, enchanting lightning bugs flickering off and on?

Actually, lightning bugs aren’t bugs at all. They are part of the beetle family. While they appear all over the world, various cultures have attached myths to these magical creatures.

Aztecs thought they brought a spark of knowledge in a time of ignorance and darkness. Europeans believed that a person would die if a firefly flew in the window. Native Americans caught them and smeared them on their faces and chests as decoration.

Today, the firefly is the state insect of Pennsylvania and Tennessee. They are used for medical research in the areas of cancer, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis and heart disease. Fireflies are truly beneficial and don’t bite, have no pincers, don’t attack, don’t carry disease, and are not poisonous. Their larvae feed on the larvae of snails and slugs.

If you are really ambitious, you can become part of a lightning bug network and help with research. The Museum of Science in Boston allows you to sign up and send them data about the lightning bugs you observe once a week in your back yard.

So the big question is why do lightning bugs flash anyway? As you might guess, they are trying to attract a mate. The females perch close to the ground while the males fly around flashing, and then a dialogue soon begins. Each species of lightning bug has a unique flash pattern.

Bioluminescence is the ability of a living organism to give off light which is referred to as “cold light” because no heat is present. The firefly is the most common land animal that has bioluminescence, but certain types of worms, fungi and mushrooms also display light.

Fireflies are most often found around low, wooded areas that retain moisture like ponds and marshes. Adults sometimes feed on pollen and nectar. The female lays her eggs in the ground, and they hatch in about 4 weeks.

If you want to try to attract the golden creatures, there are several things you can do. Try to reduce the amount of light on your property so there will be no interference with the signals they are giving each other. Instead, install lights that are low to the ground and point straight down. Don’t use bug zappers or chemical pesticides. You could enhance the moisture available by adding more birdbaths. Allow for some tall grass in the yard where the males can rest during the day.

Take your children and yourself back to a slower, more beautiful time and have a lightning bug night often. The summer is short and so are childhoods. If you want to learn even more about fireflies, go to www.squidoo.com and research with your children.

Critters Among Us

By: Judi Stuart
Port Discover - Visitor Services Manager

Critters Among Us
Lilly and Squeakers are best friends and cage mates. They live in a four story condominium that was custom made for them and furnished with ladders, hammocks, and the finest of bedding. They get room service everyday with their favorite foods (corn, cheese, cheerios, lettuce, carrots, seeds, etc.). The two female rats are among the many critters that inhabit Port Discover.

Did you know that rats have personalities? Squeakers is a thief while Lily is a hoarder. The thief who was the first to move in is fatter than the hoarder. At first they didn’t have much to do with each other and slept in separate hammocks. Then one day when the center was opened one hammock was empty, and we thought someone had escaped. On second inspection, they were both in the same hammock on the top floor. Ever since that, they usually are found napping together.

Although sometimes reluctant, adult and kid visitors to the center enjoy holding the long tailed pets. The rodents use their tails to control their body temperature because they cannot sweat. A rat’s teeth are always yellow upon maturity and don’t stop growing until the animal’s death. Both of these characteristics make the creatures unappealing to some people. Once you understand them, you might accept them.

Rats have been proven to make a laughter like noise which is unable to be heard by the human ear alone when tickled and to dream while sleeping. They have terrible eyesight so you’ll rarely see them in the middle of a room where their whiskers aren’t touching the wall.

Normal lifespan for the friendly creatures is 3 years with the oldest having been 7 years and 4 months. Females can produce 1-20 babies every month until the age of 2. That’s a potential of 460 offspring.

Neighbors of the rats are a Cope’s gray tree frog, a toad, some Madagascar hissing cockroaches, Bess beetles, a variety of fish, and most recently 3 freshly hatched chickens.

The North Carolina Extension Service provided us with an incubator and some fertilized chicken eggs. We then set everything up so that the hatching process could be seen on our website. After 3 days we had 3 noisy chicks and lots of visitors to share in the excitement.

The next big animal event will be the creation of butterflies in the front window of the center. Right now the caterpillars are feasting on the parsley planted for their enjoyment. We await the day when beautiful butterflies appear for our enjoyment.

The emphasis on hands-on science at the center has reached a new level with the installation of the Kids Grow Garden. Lots of big and little hands have made the thriving garden a reality over the last month. A wide variety of vegetables and herbs live in the transformed downtown area. Both animals and plants live in endless varieties among us and bring us immeasurable joy.

The People You’ll Meet

By: Judi Stuart
Port Discover - Visitor Services Manager

The People You’ll Meet
One of the luxuries of semi-retirement is that you enjoy the gift of time and you can decide how you will use that time. Do you remember when “stop and smell the flowers” was a popular saying? Well, now I would say, “stop and enjoy the people.” In my mini-retirement job the thing I have enjoyed the most is meeting a greater variety of people.

Every day I am enlightened and surprised by the people that interact at Port Discover. An amazing array of folks come to both enjoy the benefits of the center and to contribute their talents to its mission.

Last year Port Discover had approximately 10,000 contacts which is about 200 per week. Most of the students are from ages one year to age 12. Some come with their parents and others come with school groups.

The students touched by the outreach education programs performed by the science educators is another big group. Students from Girls Inc., the Boys and Girls Club, La Casa, and the YMCA attend the monthly after-school programs. Birthday parties are held at the center and kids learn while they celebrate.

Parents of young children sometimes arrange play dates with friends so their children can enjoy the toddler section together. It is interesting to see the interaction between parent and child while they are both in the teaching-learning mode.

Grandparents are frequent visitors with their grandchildren. Often the kids are visiting, and the grandparent knows that Port Discover is a place where they can interact with a purpose. Both participants have a good time and leave feeling that the time was well spent.

Sometimes families who are taking extended trips by boat and are home schooling their children spend time using the educational resources available at the center. One family who visited the center had sold their home and business and had traveled down the Mississippi River and was on the way to Maine. They had spent a year on their journey and shared some of their adventures and observations about our area. Port Discover and the Museum were featured in their blog that week.

A family from Canada brought their year old son to experience the exhibits. They became so interested in the Kids Grow garden project that the father volunteered several hours laboring in the garden. Another family from Canada traveling by sailboat brought their children and spent the afternoon. The mother was a teacher of Eskimo children and was on a paid sabbatical leave.

Volunteers include students from ECSU, MACU, NHS, PHS, and NC School of Math and Science. Retired teachers, parents, grandparents, USCG members, Port Discover members, and other interested citizens volunteer their time to make the many activities at Port Discover happen.

If you’d like to be involved in helping kids broaden their horizons about science and education in general, come and join in on the fun. You’ll meet people who share your interests and are making their world a better place for today and tomorrow.