Kate in Arabia Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 We should be traveling to the States in about a month or so, I'm making shopping lists! I was thinking to get an owl pellet kit. Ds (5th grade) will be back to biology again, and I'm trying to come up with whatever "extras" he might need/want. We have a couple of microscopes that were given as gifts, so I thought to use those and maybe buy a couple sets of biology-related slides? If I bought the owl pellets in the summer and didn't use them for 6+ months, is that a problem? Anything else along these lines you'd recommend? Maybe I should decide what we're going to use for science with him first, lol... tia! Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 I think the owl pellets would "keep". I understand that the commercially available ones are "sanitized" somehow. For science ideas, go to Homesciencetools.com and look at their catalog! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battlemaiden Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 We should be traveling to the States in about a month or so, I'm making shopping lists! I was thinking to get an owl pellet kit. Ds (5th grade) will be back to biology again, and I'm trying to come up with whatever "extras" he might need/want. We have a couple of microscopes that were given as gifts, so I thought to use those and maybe buy a couple sets of biology-related slides? If I bought the owl pellets in the summer and didn't use them for 6+ months, is that a problem? Anything else along these lines you'd recommend? Maybe I should decide what we're going to use for science with him first, lol... tia! Kate Yay Kate! Where are you headed? How long do you have in the States? I once bought an owl pellet kit that became maggoty. But I didn't know they could be sanitized- definitely look into that. I would gather what you can't find locally in the UAE. Pinecones? Moss? Perhaps seaside items- I'm completely at a loss for what your terrain and locale contains. I like Acorn Naturals catalogue. You can buy the coolest kits from them- skeletons of various animals, rock kits, etc. They are my favorite. Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted May 1, 2008 Author Share Posted May 1, 2008 Yay Kate! Where are you headed? How long do you have in the States? We'll be in Kentucky for a month. Looks like dh is going to stay behind and teach some summer classes, so it'll just be me and the kids. When we come back we'll be heading over to visit the inlaws in Saudi and will spend a month there before the semester starts up in August. I would gather what you can't find locally in the UAE. Pinecones? Moss? Perhaps seaside items- I'm completely at a loss for what your terrain and locale contains. It's mostly just desert. I haven't traveled much in the western US, but I assume it is similar in landscape, at least from what my mom has told me of her adventures ;) Actually where we are now is quite nice, we have the Persian Gulf and we have the Hajar mountains, we're kinda sandwiched in between (we're right at the Strait of Hormuz).. but still not a lot of greenery. ...and while I can order science supplies from the UK or US, the shipping is just killer. I would have loved to have done caterpillar/butterflies (we did that when we were living in the States) or something similar, but don't think it will work out. I'm looking I guess for things that aren't alive and will last until we need to use them for biology. I'll see about the Acorn Naturals catalog, and Jean, thanks for your website suggestion I'll take a look at that too.. Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battlemaiden Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Well, since the shipping to Hawaii from the mainland makes me gasp, I can only imagine the shock I'd get with your shipping costs. Dead things can be fun. :001_smile: That's a weird thing to say, isn't it? I was thinking about my "gathering" suggestion. Does Saudi or UAE have import restrictions? It would be like me to bring moss in ziplocks through the airport and have it confiscated! Kentucky is incredibly green! I remember when we moved from Minneapolis to Georgia. When we crossed into Kentucky we just felt soothed by the landscape. I hope you will have some fun biology related "field trips" while you're there. Maybe a zoo or butterfly garden or botanical garden? I hope you have a wonderful trip! Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted May 1, 2008 Author Share Posted May 1, 2008 Thanks, Jo, when we go we mostly try to soak up the green, lol. My mom keeps trying to arrange all these field trips, but frankly my kids just want to hang out in their large backyard and play on the slip-n-slide and roll around in the grass all day! There are import restrictions, but I don't know what all they are outside of drugs (even some non-recreational drugs like codeine). I was hoping to bring a lot of flower seeds back with me, maybe I should check into that before I actually try it, lol. Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 We should be traveling to the States in about a month or so, I'm making shopping lists! I was thinking to get an owl pellet kit. Ds (5th grade) will be back to biology again, and I'm trying to come up with whatever "extras" he might need/want. We have a couple of microscopes that were given as gifts, so I thought to use those and maybe buy a couple sets of biology-related slides? If I bought the owl pellets in the summer and didn't use them for 6+ months, is that a problem? Anything else along these lines you'd recommend? Owl pellets keep. They are quite dry. Will you have trouble with customs? I kept mine in a baggie and does hark back to the 70's, appearance-wise. Or would they be worried about germs once they got over their doubletake? Not that they are germy, but customs can be picky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 I brought back sand from the Phillipines and they were suspicious that this baggie of white "powder" was something else! Fortunately it is different enough that they let us through.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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