S-l-o-w d-o-w-n and learn about snails and slugs!

Today was an overcast, rather wet day where we live. We noticed there were quite a few snails crawling along the patio this morning. My kids were wondering where the snails were coming from, and where they were going. AH HA! One of those perfect, natural teaching opportunities! We wandered out to the patio to see what we could learn…

What You Will Need:

• Snails or Slugs


• Clear Observation Tank, such as our favorite 1-1/2 Gallon Aquaria/Terraria Tank with Cover


• Plants, or leaves from plants (we used hosta leaves, since the snails seem particularly fond of them)


• Magnifying Glass or loupe


• Paper or a small Blank Book


• Crayons or colored pencils

What You Do:

• Gather a few snails or slugs from your yard. The best time to find them is early in the morning, when the plants are still wet with dew. You can also find snails or slugs in moist, sheltered places like old flower pots or under boards or logs.


• Gently place the snails or slugs in your observation container, along with a few plant leaves.


• Watch the snails as they move around. Are they crawling up the walls of the container? Are they crawling on the plant leaves? You may want to add a short twig or even a craft stick to the container to see if the snails will crawl on these items.


• When snails crawl, they leave behind a trail of slime. Can you see this trail on all the surfaces the snails are crawling on? Does it matter if the surface is wet or dry? Smooth or rough? Place a small piece of black construction paper in the observation container and watch for the snail trails.


• Place small pieces of food and non-food items in the container with the snails. Observe what they like to eat. You might want to try apples, lettuce, grass, or even cardboard!


• Hold the clear observation container up so you can watch the snails as they crawl along from underneath! You might even be able to watch the snails eat! Use your magnifying glass to get a really close-up view of the underside and mouth of a snail. Amazing!


• Use a magnifying glass or loupe to look closely at the shell of a snail. Describe the shape, rings, and colors of the shell.


• Record your observations on a piece of paper or in a blank book – include things like the size of the snail, the color of the snail, the shape of it’s shell, and what it likes to eat. Draw a picture or sketch of the snails.


• Create a snail obstacle course or even a snail circus! Try to get the snails to crawl along a length of rope, up a ladder, or even along the bridge of your nose (as my adventurous son likes to do). Be creative!


• When you are finished observing and learning about your snails, make sure to release them back where you found them. Or, relocate them a safe distance away from the hostas!

Variations:

• We were curious to see how quickly a snail can actually move. We used chalk to place a small mark next to a snail on the patio, then measured 1 foot from that mark and drew a circle with a 1 foot radius around the original mark. As soon as the snail started to move, we timed the snail to see how long it would take for it to travel 1 foot. Of course, the snail didn’t make a straight trail, so we repeated this same procedure several times to get an average amount of time it took the snails to reach the 1 foot mark. After we recorded the average time, we poured water within the chalk circle and placed a snail in the center again. We tried this several times, timing each trip, to see if the snails moved quicker or slower when the patio was wet versus dry. Our patio is fairly smooth, so we tried this same procedure on the much rougher surface of the driveway as well. What did we find out? Well, you’ll just have to try this for yourself to obtain your own results – but let’s just say, no speed records were broken today!


• My kids wanted to see if a snail would travel faster uphill or downhill, or if the slope would even matter at all. My son positioned a smooth board at various angles and tried to coax the snails to crawl up and down the boards, timing them as they moved. I think we all learned a real lesson in patience during this procedure!


• Snail races?! Really?! Okay, we had to try it! We positioned snails at a starting line (drawn with chalk) and we each tried to entice the snails to move by placing bits of food in front of them. The first snail to the finish line, wins! Recommendation: Keep the race course very, very short – otherwise you might just fall asleep waiting for them to finish a long endurance race.

One Step Further:

• Did you know that snails have teeth!? Yep! Snails have a long tongue that is covered with roughly one quarter of a million teeth in different shapes and sizes. The teeth allow the snail to tear off small pieces of food to eat. Incredible!


• Many gardeners do not like having snails in their gardens. Some people use things like pennies or coffee grounds in an attempt to repel snails. Experiment with a variety of different household items to see if you can find out what will repel a snail away from your plants. Please make sure to use things that are safe, and with adult permission and guidance.


• With an adults help, research the different kinds of snails and slugs that are in your area. You could use books or the internet for your research. How many different varieties of snails and slugs do you have in your yard?

Next… we are going to observe the snails that live in the ponds! But that’s another adventure for another day…

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