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Make a Wormarium

Discover why the earthworm is called a "gardener's best friend."

What You Need:

• 1 large, wide-mouthed jar
• 2 to 3 cups topsoil
• 2 to 3 cups peat
• 2 to 3 cups sand
• 2 to 3 earthworms
• handful of dead leaves
• 1 small paper bag
• water

What You Do:

• Fill the jar with a layer of soil, then a layer of peat, and then a layer of sand. Slowly add water until all layers are damp.
• Place the earthworms on top of the soil, peat, and sand layers. Cover the earthworms with dead leaves.
• Cover the jar with a paper bag and put the jar in a cool place.
• Check the jar each day, watering the soil when it looks dry.
• Watch the layers in the jar shift as the earthworms tunnel through the soil. Look for mounds of rippled soil on the surface. Tell your child that these mounds (called casts) are the earthworms' poop.
• After a few weeks, when you have finished watching the earthworms, release them in an outdoor garden.

Adapted with permission from Your Big Backyard.

More Observe and Explore Activities:

• Observe Bugs at Night
• Observe the Moon
• Observe Tree Buds