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The STEM Trail at Museum Sheffield Weston Park by Lois Lindemann is licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

Photos of Inuit people on pages 4 and 5 (Life in the Freezer) used with the kind permission of the

National Maritime Museum and Tom Olliver.

Insects, bugs and spiders are amazing; maybe that’s why some people find them a bit scary!

It’s a bug’s life for many of the Earth’s inhabitants. You can meet some of them in the Bug House. Why are insects, spiders and bugs so important to us? Find out:

Trail Guide: Go to the bug house, it’s near the main entrance

Who takes their hiding place with them?

Who traps their prey in a web?

Who communicates by chirping?

Who is well camouflaged?

Who injects their prey with venom from their fangs?

Who eats using a straw?

Choose one of the insects or bugs on

display. Estimate its length.

Imagine scaling this up to make a human size model. How many

times bigger will it be?

There have been lots of films made staring insects and bugs. Imagine that you have the chance to make a movie about bugs. Will the bugs in your film be big or small? Will they eat plants or animals? Will they be friendly or scary? How will they eat? Decide what the star bug in your movie will look like and sketch them here. You can include some labels to show the amazing things that your super-bug can do.

You’ve probably heard of the Arctic, but do you know where it is? Try to find out. During the last 50 years, things have changed for the people who live in the Arctic. Why do you think this is? Can you work out what has changed and what has stayed the same? You will have to use the information in the displays and your thinking skills to puzzle out the an-swers!

Trail Guide: Find Snowy the polar bear, then you’ll be getting warm. Or is it cold?

Where did I live? What materials was my home

made from?

What did I wear? What materials were my clothes made from?

How did I keep warm?

What did I eat? How did I get

my food?

What could I do to relax and have fun?

I lived in the Arctic 50 years ago

We all know that the Arctic is cold, but how cold is it? Try and find out what the temperature is in winter and summer. How much colder than Sheffield would that be?

The temperature inside your freezer is about –22o Celsius. Would that seem warm or cold in the Arctic?

Where do I live? What materials is my home

made from?

What do I wear? What materials are my clothes made

from?

How do I keep warm?

What do I eat? How do I get

my food?

What can I do to relax and have fun?

I live in the Arctic today

Photo acknowledgements: This page: Detail from Meeting an Inuit by Tom Olliver http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigfez/524865311/ (Used under Creative Commons licence)

Facing page: Detail from One of the Greenland Inuit, from the collection of the National Maritime Museum. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalmaritimemuseum/2842856517/ (No known copyright restrictions)

Sheffield is a very green city, in fact it has more woodland than any other city in Britain. Lots of plant and animal species live in these woods. Some wildlife relies on people’s gardens: you might see insects collecting nectar from flowers, or even a hedgehog eating some slugs.

Trail Guide: Are you underneath the old oak tree?

Species found in woodland

Some people try to make sure that their gardens are good places for wildlife to live. What kind of things can ordinary people do to make their gardens better places to support wildlife?

Look at the tree display. How many species can you find on it? Do you think that you would find these species in woodland, in a garden or in both of these? Fill in the Venn diagram to show the habitats used by some of these plants and animals.

Species found in gardens

HINT: Put any species that are found both in woodland and in gardens in this space.

Trail Guide: To understand the water cycle, seek out the mural near the back of the museum.

What happens to the water that is drunk by people or animals? How does it get back into the water cycle?

Believe it or not, you will have done this already! First find out how the water cycle works. Then add labels, notes or drawings to this diagram to explain what is happening.

Trail Guide: Can you find a giant poo? It’s probably as big you!

Who do you think is the fastest?

Who do you think can lift the most weight?

Who has the most powerful punch?

Some insects can lift several times their own body weight. Of course, insects don’t weigh much, so lifting a single leaf might be enough to win the weight-lifting event at the insect Olympics.

Select the creatures that you think are the most powerful. Try to back up your opinion with some facts and figures.

Who do you think can jump furthest?

Who do you think is the fastest?

Who can push hardest ?

HINT: If you can’t find all the answers, think about where you could learn more about the ideas in this part of the exhibition. The answers are all here if you look hard enough!

Most people think that they know who lives in their house. You might be surprised to learn how many unwanted guests could be sharing your home!

Find out who (or what) else might be living in your house.

Add some pictures or labels to this drawing to show what you have discovered.

Trail Guide: Can you stand the heat? Then head for the kitchen.

What can you do to make sure that your kitchen isn’t full of unwanted visitors?