Happy Leap Year Day!! This year, February has 29 days, making it a leap year. But why??

Normally, the month of February has 28 days. Every four years, however, we add an extra day to the calendar, which is today. To better understand this answer, we need some background information about our calendar.

The calendar we use is actually pretty ancient. It was designed to document the Earth's annual trip around the sun through the changing seasons. Over the course of approximately 365 days, the Earth makes one full trip around the sun. The calendar we use today reflects that and is based on observations made by scientists going back to the 11th century in Persia.

Ancient astronomers quickly realized that the Earth doesn't take exactly 365 days to make a full trip around the sun. If one wanted to be more precise, there's an extra six hours to make it official. But what do you do with six hours over a long period of time? Scientists applied math to this problem and came up with the leap year. This is why, every four years, when twenty-fours hours have accumulated, we add an extra day in the month of February.

When you look at a leaf, what do you see? 

Here at the Kiddie Science Lab, and in our partner schools, we've dived into a hands-on exploration of leaves, trees, and plants. Our goal is to guide young scientists into looking at the trees and plants in their community differently. We want them to appreciate how amazing plants/trees are, and to look at them with scientific eyes. To reach this goal, we have spent the last six weeks exploring the anatomy of leaves, observing pine cones from near and far, learning basic leaf/tree identification, and providing direct care to plants.

With autumn upon us, it's a perfect time for leaf exploration! Some ideas you can try with your young scientist:

Collect Leaves
Go on a nature walk and collect leaves! Back at home, categorize them according to color, shape, size, ect. This simple activity helps young scientists compare and contrast observable features of leaves. Older scientists may wish to learn more about the trees in their community by learning how to identify the leaves collected. Common NYC trees include oak, maple, gingko, and ash. You can learn more about the trees in your neighborhood through the NYC Street Tree Map.

Leaf Rubbings
Combine science and art with a simple leaf rubbing. A leaf rubbing allows you to still explore leaf anatomy while not having to keep the leaves around for very long. We suggest finding a dry leaf that is fully intact and using regular copy paper (card stock paper is too thick). For younger scientists, the paper can be folded in half and the leaf placed inside. If you have a clipboard, you can clip the leaf's petiole with the paper on top. We recommend placing the leaf 'face down' so the rubbing is done from the underside of the leaf.

Leaves in the Supermarket
Once you start learning about leaves, you seem to find them everywhere! At the supermarket, take a close look at what foods are leaves. Here's a clue: it's much more than lettuce! See how many leaf products you can find.


Below is a snapshot of some of what we've been up to at the Lab-

Our planet is amazing and alive! As we transition from summer to fall,  we made observations about our changing planet.