What is an ant farm?
In case you’re wondering what an ant farm is called in scientific terms, it’s called an anthill. You may be familiar with other places for things that live, such as terrariums (for land plants and animals) and aquariums (for plants and animals that live in water).
Agriculture… ants? Who has heard of such a thing? Sure, humans grow corn and tomatoes, but ants?! Other than chocolate-covered ants, ants don’t seem to be good to eat! So why do people create ant farms?
Have you ever wondered what is happening underground when ants enter and leave their nests? It is difficult to find out from the surface. If you dig up the nest, the ants get upset! So the easiest way to see what ants are doing inside their nest is to trick them into thinking they are underground when in fact they are not. You can do it by putting them in an ant farm.
Now, don’t mix an ant farm with the ants from that farm. Believe it or not, there is actually a type of ant that grows its own food, a type of mushroom. These are the leaf cutter ants. Can you imagine having an agricultural ant farm? That sounds complicated!
What do you take to make your own ant farm?
Good ant farms have clear, flat sides with a thin layer of soil sandwiched in between, so the ants can dig tunnels in the ground. They should also contain space towards the top where ants can search for food. Lastly, a good ant farm should be well sealed to prevent ants from escaping, because they are very good escapists. It’s no fun finding ants where they shouldn’t be.
If you look around the fabric you will see that ant farms come in many shapes and sizes. You can even buy an ant farm, but you can make one on your own if you want to(click the link above). It takes up two boxes of compact discs. It is easy to do, but if you are young you may need the help of a parent or teacher.
While you are doing your farm you will be thinking of good ideas for a science experiment and other creative ways to farm.
Ant experiments for your Ant Farm
This is when the fun really starts. You already have ants and they are on the farm, now what? How about you try our ant experiments? You may have experiments of your own that you want to do.
