Day Trip to the Gardens

Date: 11/29/2016
Weather: Sunny and unseasonably warm (45-52 degrees while we were there)
Activities: Explore and learn!

What we learned:

Hypothermia
Hypo means too little or low/below
Therm means temperature or heat
-ia is a word part that means a sickness (we'll learn the word "suffix" later)
Therefore: hypothermia means a sickness caused by having too little heat, which also means your body doesn't want to live if you get too cold.
Life application lesson: Let's not fall in the lake when it's 45 degrees outside!

Moss is a type of plant. It is like algae that grows outside of water. It grows mostly in places that are shady and not too sunny. It can grow on concrete, dirt, stone, and wood. It can be thin, soft, or fluffy/spiky and can be all different colors. Moss uses chlorophyll for photosynthesis like other plants do.

 

Arid: a type of climate that is hot and dry, like a desert. Cacti grow here, cacti have needles that are VERY sharp (cacti is how you say more than one cactus, not "cactuses" even though that would make sense). It's a good idea to believe mom when she says, "you can try poking it but it will hurt you." She is RIGHT!

Lithops are types of plants that live in the arid climates along with cacti and other succulents. They are very delicate and do not use needles or thorns to protect themselves from being eaten like the other plants. They use camouflage and look like stones! They also look a lot like butts.

Tropical: A type of climate that is hot and WET. Like a rainforest. There are many plants here with giant delicate leave and big beautiful flowers. Plants like this do very well when there is lots of water. but BOY was it warm in there!

Also discussed: How urethrae work and the fetal development of male and female genitals (and that genitals are private parts).