The kids dissected worms today. They got so completely into it. And asked so many great questions:
- “Do earthworms have skeletons?” (Nope, segmented worms are invertebrates.)
- “How do they crawl?” (They stretch and contract their muscles and use their setae to move and stop.)
- “Do worms have eyes?” (No, but they have sensory receptors and can tell when it’s light or dark out. You know, to avoid predation.)
- “Why do worms come out of the ground when it rains?” (There’s a common misconception that worms come out of the soil to avoid drowning. But worms actually need moisture to breathe through their skin. So they probably come to the surface to migrate safely to new soil habitats!)
- “How do earthworms reproduce?” (Worms are hermaphrodites. I'll let Squirmin’ Herman tell you the details about earthworm mating.)
- “Do worms have blood?” (Yup. And they have 5 hearts!)
After we finished the dissection and cleaned up, we snacked on sour gummy worms. (Hey, it was thematic.)