Flashy Feathers

Populations change over time, but do you know how? Flashy Feathers will help any young biologist learn and test the intricacies that impact populations changing over time.

In this kit, students will play a game, build an ant farm, and make plants compete for resources to better understand how populations change over time. They will use math to better understand the role probability and genetic variation have on the species we share our earth with. Flashy Feathers comes with a full-color Student Workbook and Teacher Guide. This kit contains activities and information that focuses on the phenomenon of African Starlings and speciation.

As part of a special program from Home Science Tools, this Launch level kit will provide over 15 hours of knowledge, educating your student about population changes, as well as what that means for species.

In this kit, the student will partake in these fun activities:

1. Visualize how fast change can happen over time by comparing two genera of birds.
2. Use gaming to demonstrate how change happens over time.
3. Discover how genetic variability impacts the survival of individuals and populations.
4. Observe plants battling for resources.
5. Raise their own ant farm to learn about group behavior.

Use Flashy Feathers to answer questions such as:

• How do species change over time?
• Does group behavior impact the survival of individuals and the species as a whole?
• What is the role of genetic variation in speciation?
• How is probability related to populations changing over time?

NOTE: Life Studies, LLC monitors the weather before shipping ants. If you live in a cold weather area where the daytime high is below freezing, there will be a delay in the delivery of your ants until the temperature rises above freezing. This is for the survival and guaranteed live arrival of your ants.

Interested in learning more? Check out our Student Workbook Sample and Teacher Guide Sample!

More Information

• On Page 20 of the Student Workbook, there is an error in Step 1. You should label the cups 2C, 4C, 2R, 4R, 1C&R, 2C&R, and 4C&R.
• On Page 23 of the Student Workbook, there is an error in the chart. The left-hand column should state 2C, 4C, 2R, 4R, 1C&R, 2C&R, and 4C&R. 

• 1 Certificate for Ants
• 1 Bag
• 4 Game Piece Sheets
• 1 Pair of Gloves
• 2 Mini Poker Chips
• 1 Orange Construction Paper
• 1 Paper Clip
• 1 Peat Moss
• 1 Permanent Marker
• 1 Plastic Cup, 16 oz
• 7 Plastic Cups, 9 oz
• 3 Rubber Bands
• 1 Ruler
• 1 Sand
• 1 Corn Seeds
• 1 Radish Seeds

On hand, you will want to have:

• Plate or plastic bin
• Scissors
• Water

• Learning outcome: Play a game, investigate seeds, grow plants, and raise an ant farm to discover the intricacies of heritable traits.
• NGSS science standards alignment
• HS-LS2-8 Evaluate the evidence for the role of group behavior on individual and species’ chances to survive and reproduce.
• HS-LS3-3 Apply concepts of statistics and probability to explain the variation and distribution of expressed traits in a population.
• HS-LS4-2 Construct an explanation based on evidence that the process of evolution primarily results from four factors: (1) the potential for a species to increase in number, (2) the heritable genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction, (3) competition for limited resources, and (4) the proliferation of those organisms that are better able to survive and reproduce in the environment.
• MS-LS2-2 Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.