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Living Soil
 From microscopic bacteria to wriggly earthworms, soil is crawling with living things. What lives in your soil?
What You Need
• 1 sheet of paper towel
• 1 large, wide-mouthed glass jar
• 1 plastic pot scrubber
• 1 plastic funnel
• Scissors
• Garden soil
• Desk lamp (with a flexible arm)
What to Do
1. Place a damp paper towel on the bottom of the glass jar.
2. From the pot scrubber, cut a piece of mesh about the size of a postage stamp.
3. Cover the hole inside the funnel with the mesh.
4. Set the funnel in the mouth of the jar and fill the funnel with soil.
5. Shine the lamp onto the soil. Turn out the other lights, but keep the lamp on the soil for a few hours, or even overnight.
6. Check the paper towel. Did you find any animals? After you’ve had a look, put the animals back where you found them.
How it Works
Animals that live in the soil prefer places that are dark and moist. They burrow through the soil to get away from the light. Try this activity with soil from a variety of locations, such as a garden, a forest, or a lawn. Do different animals live in different soils?
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