Create Your Own Diary of a Worm and Raise Your Own Night Crawlers

By Blog Editor Susan Wells

We test and play with every product in our science toys catalog before selling them to our customers.During the month of August, we played with worms while learning more about their world in the Worm Vue Wonder.

Worms are a perfect tool to teach all kinds science – dissect them in biology  and anatomy, throw them in a composter for ecology and conservation and observe them for earth science and geology.

The Worm Vue kit comes complete with a worm home, activity guide, anatomy and fact poster, worm cutout, magnifying glass, tomato seeds and seed planter. It also has coupon to receive 200 worms, food and dirt in the mail. The postage is an extra cost, or you can dig them up in your backyard. We purchased a cup of night crawlers from  a tackle shop. They were a little sleepy from hanging out in a tackle store fridge and took a few days to recover and burrow down into the dirt.

I had already filled the worm house with garden dirt and a layer of sand. The sand isn’t a part of the kit, but I thought it could be fun to see what the worms would do with a different layer.

I took the worm house home for the weekend and let my daughters get acquainted with my slimy little friends. After they dug down into the dirt, it was hard to locate them. Over the course of a few weeks, we discovered tunnels and occasionally saw the worms sitting in them. We only had 15 worms, so it was more difficult to see very many. The more worms the better in this community.

I must admit, this isn’t the most exciting kit. Worms are amazing creatures, but not incredibly fascinating to watch. Raising worms requires patience and time to observe. If you are looking for an exciting and dynamic insect kit, try Antworks or Ladybug Land.

The worms may not be party bugs, but don’t give up on this kit. The activity guide comes with a ton of activities to do with your worms – test their sensitivity to light and colored light, their fertilizing abilities and physical characteristics. They are a great teaching tool for a classroom, homeschool or home lab.

You can also use a plastic tub, plastic soda bottle or other see through container. Just be aware that worms are incredibly sensitive to light, so don’t leave your see through container in the sun. The Worm Vue Wonder comes with removable sides and top that black out the light and keep the worms happy. It also allows easy access to the worms for activities.

So what are you waiting for? Build a worm farm and get up close and personal with some worm friends.