Observing Snails
Date: 21st May 2020 @ 7:57am
Good Morning Reception!
Who would like to take part in a science experiment this morning?
Today we are going to be observing snails – a bit like the one from our story!
First, you need to make a snail home!
You can use any container with air holes as we are only going to be watching the snails for a couple of days, then you can release them back into your gardens!
After you have selected a container, use some soil/natural earth from outside to put in a layer at the base of the container/jar – fully covering the glass or plastic.
Add a layer of natural material at the top of the soil, like moss, compost etc. This traps moisture inside the soil, which creates good conditions for snails!
You could also decorate your snail’s home! Put objects in the container that snails can hide in or climb onto, which will make them more comfortable and more interesting to watch! You might find some of this material in your garden i.e small sticks or branches!
Finally, you need to find snails to put in your container! Look for snails in muddy garden area, old plant pots or other moist places (perfect with the wet weather today!)
Don’t forget – Garden snails are almost always safe to handle, but you must wash your hands before or after touching them!!
You can take care of your snails by, keeping the container moist with a spray bottle whenever the material at the base starts to dry out. You can also lightly spray the snails every day or two! Feed your snails clean food daily! They love fresh fruit and vegetables!
Below I have posted two links to support this activity:
The first link outlines another set of instructions on ‘How to Make a Snailery!’ if you would like to follow this experiment instead.
The second link is ‘My Snail Book!’ I thought it would be a lovely idea to document this process when observing your garden snails! Each page is filled with a fun activity linked to this investigation! See pictures below...
I hope you enjoy this investigation!! I can’t wait to see pictures of your snail friends! J