If you enjoyed observing mini beasts in Denton Dene today, you may be interested in a career as an entomologist. Entomologists are patient and observant as they study insects and their relationships with other animals, environments and human beings. They are creative when finding new ways to use insects pollinate crops and to protect crops, trees, wildlife, and livestock from pests.

Rosie from Scotswood Community Garden has created some fantastic information pages here to tell you more about the mini beasts you may have found.

If you are interested in observing mini beasts at home, why not try our make a wormery activity? You just need an empty 2l bottle, some soil, leaves or vegetable scraps and of course some worms!

NUSTEM visited the Blossom Day at Scotswood Community Garden. We brought along some mini beasts samples and identification sheets, then challenged visitors to create their own mini beasts.

You might have completed the Scotswood Garden mini beast trail. Rosie from the garden has created some fantastic information pages here to tell you more about the mini beasts you may have found.

If you are interested in observing mini beasts at home, why not try our make a wormery activity? You just need an empty 2l bottle, some soil, leaves or vegetable scraps and of course some worms!

If you are interested in working with mini beasts, here are some careers you could go into:

This week the NUSTEM Pop-Up Shop visited Outer West Library on Tuesday and the Beacon Shopping Centre on Wednesday.

Out theme this half term is pollinators. Birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, small mammals, and most importantly, bees are pollinators. They visit flowers to drink nectar or feed on pollen and transport pollen grains as they move from spot to spot. It is through pollination that plants are fertilised and able to produce the next generation of plants, including the fruit and crops we eat. Pollinators pollinate over 180,000 different plant species and more than 1200 crops. That means that 1 out of every three bites of food you eat is there because of pollinators.  Pollinators also support healthy ecosystems that clean the air, stabilise soils, protect from severe weather, and support other wildlife.

You can attract pollinators to your garden by planting the seeds in the packet you made at the Pop Up Shop.

The careers we have chosen that link to pollinators are:

Ecologist– scientists who study how people plants and animals interact with each other in an ecosystem. They are collaborative, organised, communicators.

Environmental Scientist– scientists interested in the world around us and how we are changing it. They are passionate, creative and committed.

Entomologist – scientists who study insects. They are  logical, hard working and tenacious.

Apiarist (bee keeper) – manage and maintain bee colonies. They are observant, self motivated and patient.

Behaviour Scientist– scientists who study the way insects behave. They are curious, collaborative and resilient.

You might want to try our related STEM at home activities:

Make a wormery using an empty pop bottle.

Grow some seeds in a plastic bag in your home.

Make floating paper flowers – the folded petals of your flowers will open up and your flower will bloom when placed in water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What will you be?

We had our first pop up shop at Byker library today!  We had great fun with families participating in activities based on STEM careers.

If you’d like to find out a bit more about the different featured careers and try some activities for yourself at home, click these links:

The sound engineer (bagpipes)

The cryptographer (code breaking)

The botanist (seeds)

Do you have the skills and attributes needed to do one of these jobs when you leave school?