(Videoconferencing with the One Stop Richmond Hill Community Center)

Have you ever been to a zoo?  Maybe you have.  If you can't get to a zoo, the zoo can come to you.  You can have a videoconference.  That's what we are doing at the One Stop Richmond Hill Community Center technology summer camp.  We talked about amphibians and their natural habitats.  Amphibians are animals that can live on land and in water.  Ryan Schaffer was our host.  He taught us about frogs, toads, salamanders, and crocodilians.

We learned that frogs and toads are different.  Frogs have smooth skin and toads have bumpy skin.  We also learned that most frogs have longer legs than toads.  We couldn't believe it when Mr. Schaffer told us that an American Bull Frog can jump up to 18 feet.  He mailed us a piece of colorful yarn that was 18 feet long.  We held the yarn across the room.  We were amazed at the length. Imagine seeing a frog jump 18 feet all in one jump.

There were many other interesting facts.  Did you know that salamanders can camouflage themselves?  We saw a Tiger Salamander which was black with yellow stripes.  When salamanders want to protect themselves they might “pee” on their enemy or give off a slime.  The slime tastes really bad to their enemies.  To show us this, Mr. Schaffer did something really gross.  He told a student to eat a pretzel with soap on it.

Everyone thought that was GROSS! We got the point!

We learned a lot.  And the best part was that we had fun.  We loved seeing the animals or should we say amphibians.  Our favorite…the salamander.

Peach Faced AfricanParrot on Ryan's Arm	The short-eared owl turns his head	The owl must turn its head to see its surroundings

We also had videoconferences about birds and mammals. The male Peach Faced African parrot is bright and prettier than the female. It turns out that Rebecca in our group has one. Because it was so bright and colorful, her family thought the bird was a female. Looks like she'll have to find a new name for her parrot now that "she" is a "he".

We also met an owl and saw how it can turn its head ALMOST all the way around. Ryan Schaffer taught us that the only owls that spin their heads completely around are in cartoons.

One Stop Richmond Hill Community Center