“A slug has teeth.” Zaahra

Bringing the slugs inside, we shifted our relationship with them. Outside, children joyfully searched for the slugs, handling them, giving them food to eat and rocks to climb on. In this way, children were researching slugs as they constructed habitats, manipulated the creatures, and observed their movements.

Bringing the slugs inside meant not handling them in the same way. We learned that our skin can irritate their bodies. The indoors also does not lend to endless habitat reconstruction. The purpose and focus of the play shifted with this new context. Slugs are also often hidden during the day, making them difficult to attract our young scientists! And so, we teachers have been exploring ways of making the slugs more visible within our studio.

How might different environments and media support our slug inquiry?

In small groups, we invited children to engage with slugs through video and clay—watching and building.