This is one of my kids’ favorite activities!
While learning about the different types of animals, most people begin by discussing invertebrates. Invertebrates make up about 95 percent of all known animals. Garden snails are a wonderful example of invertebrates that are easy to find and easy to handle.
Gather snails from around the yard or nearby park. Ours hang out in our flower pots in the front yard. You can cut the vegetation that they are on and put them in plastic storage containers for the day. Don’t forget to return them to the same spot when you are done. See also, How to Find and Catch a Garden Snail.
This Snail Anatomy Diagram from Education.com is a great free resource to go over the parts of the snail before looking at them.
Snail Racing Materials:
- Garden snails, 1 per student (or if you have 1 student, get as many as that student wants to race! Maybe 2-3.)
- Magnifying glass
- Construction paper
- Something circular (like a bowl) to trace
Procedure:
- Observe snails with magnifiers and fill out the diagram.
- Have each student draw the same size circle on their construction paper.
- Have each student pick a snail to race.
- On the count of three, each snail is placed in the center of the circle. The snail that leaves the circle first, wins! (You may find that some snails are amazingly quick!)
Go Further:
- Weigh and measure the snails. Did the lightest go fastest? The longest? Was their any correlation between length/weight and quickness?
- Repeat the race 5 times. Do you get the same result?
