VanCleave's Science Fun

Your Guide to Science Projects, Fun Experiments, and Science Research

  • Home
  • ASK JANICE
  • Teacher Guide
  • Homeschool Science For Kids

Bug Treats?

By Janice VanCleave

Question: Do some people really eat bugs? Answer: Yes, some people eat bugs as part of their diet.  The practice of eating insects is called entomophagy. Insects are high in nutritional value, low in fat and inexpensive. Sounds like the perfect choice for a low-cal diet. Instead of spending money on sprays to kill roaches, […]

Filed Under: Biology, Insects Tagged With: cultural taboo, eating bugs, Insects

Butterfly Anatomy

By Janice VanCleave

Abdomen (noun) – The third and last segment of an insect’s body, located at the tail end.The heart, reproductive organs and much of the digestive system are located in an insect’s abdomen. Antenna (noun, plural: antennae) – one of a pair of slender structures located on the head of some insects. Butterfly antennae are used for balance, detecting […]

Filed Under: Biology, Insects Tagged With: butterfly

Are Flies Harmful?

By Janice VanCleave

When a fly lands on your food, it first uses sensory organs on its feet to “smell” the food. Unlike the boy in the diagram, flies do not have teeth to bite a chuck out of food. The boy is able to dip his cookie into the glass of milk to make it softer is […]

Filed Under: Biology, Insects Tagged With: digest, fecal spots, proboscis, regurgitate

Game: Paper Flea Jumper

By Janice VanCleave

Caricature of Janice VanCleave, short red hair and red framed glasses.

MA-SCI-YA  Week What fun it is to correspond with educators around the world. A teacher from the Philippines introduced me to a Tagalog word for happy, which is “masaya.” In her school, a week is set aside for kids to play and have fun with math and science games and activities. It is a Happy […]

Filed Under: Biology, Insects Tagged With: fleas, ma-sci-ya "happy", Tagalog, variables

BUG ID Cards: Insects

By Janice VanCleave

Bug is a term used for all creepy crawlers, including insects and spiders. An easy way to distinguish insects and spiders is called The 3 + 3 Rule. Insects have: three pairs of legs (3 legs on each side of its second body part) three body parts Let’s Get Buggy 1. On index cards, draw […]

Filed Under: Biology, Insects Tagged With: insect ID

Butterfly Wings-Two Pairs

By Janice VanCleave

Butterfly lesson for young learners. Butterflies have two pairs of wings.

Filed Under: Insects Tagged With: butterfly craft

How Do Flies Eat?

By Janice VanCleave

Flies have a special mouth part called a proboscis. Much like the way the boy in the photo is using a straw, a fly uses its proboscis to drink liquids. Since flies do not have teeth, can they eat solid foods? Yes, and it really is gross, so get prepared: Flies vomit their stomach contents […]

Filed Under: Insects Tagged With: animal, fly, insect, mouth, proboscis

Vision: Butterflies vs. People

By Janice VanCleave

People Can Only See Visible Light. Light is a form of wave energy called electromagnetic radiation. Visible light is the only kind of light that people can see. Visible light comes in different colors. Each visible light color has a different amount of energy. Each visible light color has a different wavelength (these are shown […]

Filed Under: Biology, Insects Tagged With: electromagnetic radiation, UV light, vision

Model a Butterfly Emerging from a Chrysalis

By Janice VanCleave

Child Models Emerging Butterfly from Chrysalis

Inside its chrysalis, a caterpillar breaks down into a “chemical mush.” This liquid goo is miraculously transformed into a  beautiful butterfly. When this transformation is complete, a weak, wet adult butterfly breaks out of the chrysalis. In a short time the butterfly dries and is strong enough to fly away. Play and Have Fun with […]

Filed Under: Insects Tagged With: metamorphosis

Insect Proboscis

By Janice VanCleave

Fly Straws Flies don’t chew their food like we do. Instead they drink their food through a straw-like mouth part called a proboscis. We don’t have to drink our food, but sometimes it is fun, especially if you have fun straws. Drinking liquids through a straw is easy, but if the food is very thick […]

Filed Under: Biology, Insects Tagged With: animal, flies, Insects, proboscis

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Topic Search

Visitors From All Over the World


Welcome to Janice’s Science Extravaganza!

The spoon hanging from the string vibrates when struck and these vibrations are transmitted through the string and the sound is amplified by the plastic cups. ABOUT ME: Hi, I am Janice VanCleave, author of 50 best-selling science experiment books for children ages 4 through high school. I taught science for 27 years. MORE.....

Copyright © 2025 · Janice Van Cleave · JVC's Science Fair Projects · Log in