As the weather continues to warm (in the Northern Hemisphere) and students go on summer vacation, it’s time to think about learning experiences that they can have at home. The Boston Museum of Science’s Firefly Watch could be a fun learning experience for science students. The Firefly Watch is a collaborative project of volunteers who are willing to go out in their backyards and record their observations of fireflies. Firefly Watch provides participants with a form for recording observations. Throughout the summer the Firefly Watch will display updated observation records on a Google map.

Before students and parents go out to make observations they should take a look at the Firefly Watch’s virtual habitat. On the virtual habitat page students can learn about the various colors, patterns, and habit locations of fireflies.

Applications for Education
Before school gets out for the summer you may want to compile a list of activities that parents and students can do together to stay engaged in learning over the summer. Firefly Watch is one such activity that presents a good opportunity for parents and students to work together on a fun learning activity.