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We had a fun time in the lab yesterday, experiment

We had a fun time in the lab yesterday, experimenting and creating some videos for our term 3 online resources.
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We can’t wait to share our creations with you. With colour-changing cabbage pH concoctions, terrific tie-dyed indicator textiles and delicious DIY strawberry DNA extraction, we hope to ignite the curiosity of your young ones at home, school, or wherever they may be!
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#discovery #voyageronline #onlineeducationplatform #onlineresources #playbasedlearning #handsonlearning #teachersofinstagram #cabbageph #tiedying #dnaextraction #strawberrydna

🦘Our mystery guest is the Parma Wallaby! The s

🦘Our mystery guest is the Parma Wallaby!

The scientific name of this animal is 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢.

You might see the scientific name of the Parma Wallaby given as 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢. Sometimes living things can have several different scientific names. This can happen as scientists discover more about the how living things have evolved, and how they are related to other living things.

Sometimes after a discovery, scientists will re-sort a plant or animal into a different grouping and may change the name of a species.

But what happens to the old name? It becomes what we call a synonym. A synonym of a species is a different scientific name that refers to the same species.

So, for our beautiful Parma Wallaby, it's accepted scientific name is 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢, and 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢 is a synonym.

You can learn more about the Parma Wallaby with the Australian Reptile Park here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq51EXleozo

For more What Animal Am I Wednesday challenges, and other STEAM activities for home and school, head to our resources page - link in bio.

It's What Animal Am I Wednesday! Let's hear from

It's What Animal Am I Wednesday!

Let's hear from this week's guest.

Hi everyone!

Thanks for having me as the mystery animal today! Can you guess who I am?

I am a small, grey-brown marsupial.
I have a white throat and chest, with a pale grey belly and a dark stripe on my back running from my head to the middle of my back.
I have a pale stripe on my cheek and my tail can have a white tip.
When I am hopping, I remain close to the ground with my forearms tucked tightly against my body. I usually live in forests with a thick, shrubby understorey.
I am nocturnal (which means I am active night). I feed at night, eating yummy things like grasses and herbs, and during the day, I like to shelter in dense bushes and shrubs.

Can you guess who I am?

If you think you know, tell us in the comments below!

For What Animal Am I Wednesday worksheets and more, head to our resources page - link in bio.

🎊CONGRATULATIONS Chandler Public School!! 🎊

🎊CONGRATULATIONS Chandler Public School!! 🎊
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A few weeks ago, we announced Chandler Public School (K-2) as the winner of the Term 2 LEGO Construction Challenge. .
The amazing LEGO Education SPIKE Prime set, kindly donated by our friends at @modernteaching , has arrived at the school and the students have already been busy building and coding! .
With the hardships of drought, bushfire and now COVID-19 hitting the Chandler community hard, the SPIKE Prime set was a wonderful surprise for the students and teachers:
. "We are so excited about winning the Lego Spike Prime. Here at Chandler we will be competing in the First Lego League Challenge and First Lego League Explore competitions for our second year this year. Unfortunately, last year we were unable to attend the competitions we worked so hard to complete due to awful bushfires that impacted our school community so much. We are looking forward to participating in this years First Lego League Showcase and we can't wait to incorporate the Lego Spike Prime into our STEM program and the Lego Challenges we participate in."
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We hope the prize continues to provide your students with opportunities for creativity, collaboration and confidence throughout your STEM programs!

For more STEM resources and activities for your your ones at home or school, visit Modern Teaching Aids and our Discovery Resources page - link in bio.
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#LEGO #winners #classprize #legoeducation #legospikeprime #competition #stem #steam #stemresources

It’s ‘Take Your Dog to Work Day’ in some pla

It’s ‘Take Your Dog to Work Day’ in some places around the world, but we feel all our furry, feathered and scaled companions deserve recognition today. .
With working from home arrangements still in place for the Discovery team, we wanted to give a shout out to our pets that have made the past few months a little easier.
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For a little ease into the weekend, here are some of our Discovery pals that love to get in on all the fun!! .
How have your pets helped you get through working from home? We’d love to hear your stories in the comments below!

🦎Our mystery guest is the Tree Goanna, otherwis

🦎Our mystery guest is the Tree Goanna, otherwise known as a Lace Monitor.
The scientific name for this animal is 𝘝𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘴 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴.
In Australia, monitors are more commonly known as goannas – a word derived from iguana, coined by settlers.
In breeding season, males will fight against each other while grappling and standing on their hind legs! Check out the video below showing this.
In late 2005, researchers discovered that monitors may be somewhat venomous. Previously, bites inflicted by the reptiles were thought to be prone to infection due to the large number of bacteria in the monitor’s mouth. Although, bites that produce swelling, pain and minor clotting have now been attributed to envenomation. Research continues into this.
Male goannas fighting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTfrAiuFZTU

For more information on these interesting reptiles, head to: https://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:6338346a-0f1d-4a49-82e8-5794a16899a8

It's What Animal Am I Wednesday! . Let's hear fro

It's What Animal Am I Wednesday! .
Let's hear from this week's guest:
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Hi Everyone!!
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Thanks for having me on What Am I Wednesday! Can you guess what animal I am?
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I’m a member of the monitor family native to Eastern Australia.
I’m a fairly large reptile, growing up to 2m and weighing around 14kg!
I like to spend much of my time in large trees and usually come down for food.
I am a carnivore and love to eat birds, insects, eggs, other reptiles and small mammals. I’ll also munch on carion if the opportunity arises!
If I have a big feed I’m usually able to go many weeks without eating again.
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Can you guess what I am?
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Do you think you know what animal this is? Tell us in the comments below!
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For more What Animal Am I Wednesday challenges and other resources, head to www.unediscoveryvoyager.org.au/resources/

🦎 Our mystery guest is the Eastern Blue Tongued

🦎 Our mystery guest is the Eastern Blue Tongued Lizard.
The scientific name of this lizard is 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴.
Not surprisingly, blue tongue lizards get their common name from their bright blue fleshy tongues. Blue tongues like to eat insects, snails, carrion (dead animals), wild flowers, native fruits and berries. If you have a blue tongue in your garden, it can help to keep down the number of snails and plant-eating insects! But be careful if you use snail baits and insecticides in the garden, because blue-tongues will eat snails and slugs poisoned by snail baits and can then be poisoned themselves.

Did you know that blue tongues are viviparous, which means that the females give birth to live young! The young are born self-sufficient (that is, they can look after themselves) and leave a few days after they are born.

For more What Am I Wednesday activities, head to the link in our bio!

It's What Animal Am I Wednesday! Let's hear from

It's What Animal Am I Wednesday!

Let's hear from this week's guest. “Hello! Thanks for inviting me to be the mystery guest today! Can you guess who I am?

I am an Australian native who lives in many parts of Australia. I can be found in coastal heaths, forests, woodlands, and grasslands. I am also very happy to live around people in their backyards, in places like rockeries, pipes and under houses.

My body is pale silvery-grey to brown in colour. I have broad dark brown or blackish bands across my back and tail. I can grow to nearly 60cm long. My legs are quite short and I move with a bit of a waddle.
A big hint for you is that I have a blue tongue that I will stick out at you if you frighten me!

Can you guess who I am?” If you think you know what this week's guest is, tell us in the comments below!

For more What Animal Am I Wednesday activities and other resources for home or school, head to the link in our bio.

🎊 LEGO Construction Challenge - Showcase of Win

🎊 LEGO Construction Challenge - Showcase of Winning Entries

Our collaborators at Modern Teaching Aids and Armidale City Public School were absolutely blown away by ALL the builds entered into the LEGO Construction Challenge!! Thank you, once again, to everyone that got involved.
Below are the Challenge winners by age group. Check out their awesome builds! A huge congratulations to the creative builders!

𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝟮:

First Prize: Hayley Waite

Second Prize: Hayden Wright

𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝟯 𝘁𝗼 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝟲:
First Prize: Luca Pine

Second Prize: Bella Fittler

𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝟳 𝘁𝗼 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝟴:

First Prize: Nina Taylor

Second Prize: Epping Boys High School Student

Keep an eye out for a showcase of the winning class entry over the next week!

For more resources, challenges, experiments and other science activities head to our resources page! Link in bio.

🦔Our mystery animal is the West European Hedgeh

🦔Our mystery animal is the West European Hedgehog!🦔
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The scientific name of this animal is 𝘌𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘦𝘶𝘴.
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Hedgehogs are thought to have evolved around 15 million years ago, now with around 17 species spread across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia. They are generally around the size of a teacup and only live from 2-3 years of age when in the wild.
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The hedgehog was named because of its funny foraging methods – they root through hedges and undergrowth in search of their food, which consists of insects, worms, centipedes, snails, frogs, and even mice and snakes. As they forage, they make a pig-like grunt – hence the name hedgehog!
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Hedgehogs hibernate in winter, burrowing into logs or caverns called hibernaculum, from the Latin ‘tent for winter quarters’. As they enter hibernation, their heart rate can lower from 190 beats per minute (BPM) to just 20 BPM.
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Some strange behaviours of hedgehogs have been observed, including lathering themselves in toxic substances such as turpentine. The animals have a strong resistance to these substances, but researchers think they might undertake the bizarre task to anoint the tips of their spines with substances that might be toxic to other animals. .
Curious? Check out our resources page for more info on these adorable creatures. Link in bio.

It's What Animal Am I Wednesday! . Let's hear fro

It's What Animal Am I Wednesday!
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Let's hear from this week's guest.
. "Hi Friends!! Thanks for having me on today, I’ve heard lots about What Am I Wednesday from my other friends in the museum!
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I’m not from around here. In fact, as my name suggests I’ve come all the way from western Europe! Some of my relatives live across the ditch in New Zealand, although they were introduced in the 1800’s. .
I’m small, brown, round and my back is covered in spines with yellow tips. I can have up to 7000 spines on my back! When I’m feeling threatened, I like to roll into a ball and use my strong back muscles to raise my spines. .
I’m mostly nocturnal and can be heard snuffing around people’s gardens at night looking for big crunchy beetles, earthworms and slugs – my favourite!
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What animal do you think I am? Tell us in the comments below!"
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For more What Animal Am I Wednesday guests and worksheets, head to our resources page! Link in bio. .
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#naturalhistory #naturalhistorymuseum #mysteryanimal #whatanimalami #specimen #spikes #smallbrownandround #guessinggame

🎊And that's a wrap!!🎊 . The Term 2 LEGO Con

🎊And that's a wrap!!🎊
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The Term 2 LEGO Construction Challenge, run in collaboration with Armidale City Public School and Modern Teaching Aids, is now officially closed. .
We have received an overwhelmingly spectacular array of entries from all over Australia - thank you to all our young LEGO Masters who got their build on and STEAM'd through the challenge. .
With over 200 entries, we have a very exciting few days ahead of us. We'll be announcing the winner of each category next Wednesday the 10th June, so watch this space!
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Good luck to all of our entrants!
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If you're curious for some more STEAM related activities, be sure to check out our resources page (link in bio). You'll find science at home videos, activity sheets, experiments and more. www.unediscoveryvoyager.org.au/resources/

24 hours to go!!! . With the LEGO Construction Cha

24 hours to go!!!
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With the LEGO Construction Challenge close extended to 12pm tomorrow (Saturday, 6th June), you still have 24 hours to get those submissions in! .
There have been some incredible builds entered - we are so impressed.
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Remember, individuals can win awesome LEGO sets and gift vouchers, classes can win a LEGO SPIKE Prime set of 3, donated by our friends at @modernteaching! .
We can’t wait to see the creations to come. As it’s World Environment Day, why not create a build surrounding the biodiversity theme! .
For more info and to enter, head to the link in our bio. .
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#worldenvironmentday #lego #legocreations #winlego #legochallenge #legomasters #lego #legomania #legobricks #biodiversity

𝐔𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄

𝐔𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐎 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒 - We have extended the LEGO Construction Challenge by 24 hours!
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We understand life is a little hectic at the moment, and having a competition deadline for 12pm on a Friday is also a little stressful. .
As a result, we will be extending the LEGO Construction Challenge deadline by 24 hours. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝟭𝟮𝗽𝗺 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟲𝘁𝗵 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬!
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We hope this will give teachers and individuals a little more time to collate their entries or even submit an extra build! Remember entries are unlimited!
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If you haven't already entered, and are curious about all this LEGO talk, head to www.unediscoveryvoyager.org.au/lego-competition-2020/ (link in bio) for more information and to enter. .
Happy creating!!
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Your Discovery Team.

🧱1 DAY TO GO!!! 🧱 . There are 24 hours remai

🧱1 DAY TO GO!!! 🧱
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There are 24 hours remaining of out LEGO Construction Challenge, in partnership with @modernteaching and Armidale City Public School. .
Individuals! Win LEGO packs and gift vouchers.
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Teachers! Win a LEGO SPIKE Prime set of 3 for your class, worth over $1400! .
The builds can be as simple or as complex as you like*, and there are unlimited entries!! .
We can’t wait to see your young ones last minute creations! Head to the link in our bio for details. Happy building!
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#unediscoverylegochallenge #legochallenge #lego #winlego #legocompetition #legomania #legoinstagram *build must satisfy terms and conditions, see website for details.

Today’s mystery guest is the Sunda Pangolin. .

Today’s mystery guest is the Sunda Pangolin.
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The scientific name of this animal is 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢.
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There are eight species (types) of pangolins in the world. Four species live in Asia (including the Sunda Pangolin) and four live in Africa. Sadly, Sunda pangolins are critically endangered because they are poached and killed for their meat and scales. If threatened, a pangolin will roll into a ball, hiding their vulnerable belly and other parts that are not protected by their tough scales. This behaviour unfortunately makes it easy for humans to capture them.
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Baby pangolins are called pups, and they are born with all of their scales! Newborns pups have soft scales, which harden after birth.
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Meet Honey Bun, an adorable and mischievous Cape pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWoYpjLmKmk
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For more information check out:
https://taronga.org.au/animals/pangolin
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/…/mamm…/s/sunda-pangolin/

It's What Animal Am I Wednesday! . Let's hear fro

It's What Animal Am I Wednesday!
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Let's hear from this week's guest.
. “Hello everyone! Thanks for having me as the mystery guest today! .
I am a shy and scaly mammal that lives in Southeast Asia.
My thick scales are made of keratin. Keratin is the same stuff that your fingernails are made of.
My scales protect me from predators, and from the bites and stings of the ants and termites that I like to eat.
I have a long, cone-shaped snout, no teeth, a long sticky tongue to lick up my food, and powerful front claws for digging and breaking apart ant or termite nests.
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Can you guess who I am?”
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If you think you know, tell us in the comments below!
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For What Animal Am I activity sheets, videos, experiments and other ideas to play at home or school, head to the link in our bio.
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#naturalhistory #whatanimalami #guesstheanimal #scales #keratin #naturalhistorymuseum

What we are reading right now. 📚📖 The hiatus

What we are reading right now. 📚📖
The hiatus in face to face visits with schools and community give us an opportunity to broaden our understanding of what we do, and why. .
#learningthroughplay #unediscovery #curiosity #creativity #collaboration #confidence #candoattitude #globalcitizen #play

It's What Animal Am I Wednesday! . Let's hear fro

It's What Animal Am I Wednesday! .
Let's hear from this weeks guest.
. “Hiya Friends! Thanks for having me today for ‘What Animal am I Wednesday’! .
Can you guess who I am?
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I’m one of the lovable larrikins of Australian bird life, and I’m the most abundant and familiar of Australian parrots, occurring over most of the mainland and some offshore islands. .
I’m very noisy and love to play with my fellow bird friends in large flocks in a variety of timbered habitats. .
I have a characteristic screech and beautiful distinctive colours that might make it easy to guess who I am!
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Can you guess who I am?”
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If you think you might know who this week's guest is, tell us in the comments below!
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For more What Animal Am I activity sheets, videos, and other ideas to play at home or school, head to the link in our bio. .
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#naturalhistory #mystery #guessinggame #teachersofinstagram #bird #whatbirdisthat