Creepy Crawlies! for beginning scientists 1. Search for bugs: in sidewalk cracks, on lights, on animals, or on plants. 2. Tell your child the names of the bugs you found. Did you find: ants, spiders, fleas, moths, flies, ladybugs? 3. Ask your child how the bugs are alike or different. Explain the difference between an insect and a spider (insects have six legs, spiders have eight), for example. 4. Watch ants in an anthill or around some spilled food. Explain that when an ant finds food, it runs back to the hill to "tell" the others. As it runs, it leaves a trail that other ants in the hill can smell. The ants find the food by smelling their way along the trail. 5. Use a magnifying glass to see the small bugs more clearly. More science activities: Bubbles for young children Plants and Light for more advanced scientists Source: Helping Your Child Learn Science. For more information, please contact the National Library of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20208, telephone 1-800-424-1616.