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Sets >> Ant Works,
Ant Nest Toy with Blue Gel
Innovative Desktop Toy for the Office, or Cool Gadget for a kid's bedroom!
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AntWorks is based on a NASA Space Shuttle
experiment to study animal life in space and test how ants
successfully tunnel in microgravity. The Fascinations® AntWorks™
allows you to study the behavior of ants in a unique, self-contained
environment. Its special gel is full of nutrients specially
formulated for the needs of the ant. Because the gel is
clear, you can see tunnel architecture develop in 3-D. Our
Ant Works includes a container with a special gel formulation,
magnifying glass, 20 page booklet detailing fascinating
ant facts, and a special ‘extreme magnification lens’ with
which one can even see hairs on the ants! Simply insert ants into the clear nutrient gel, secure the lid and let the 3-D tunneling show begin! Either collect your own ants or order via mail (ordering details included in packaging)
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Price
£ 18.95
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The Original Ant Works™
The Ant Works is filled with a highly nutritious non-toxic gel into which you make four small holes to get the tunnel network started. Now add your ants into the Ant Works, replace the lid and watch. Within days the ants will burrow out an amazing pattern of channels, each clearly visible in cross-section through the walls of the container.
Maintenance is minimal. Besides providing a safe ecologically-correct habitat, the gel also provides the ants' food. You simply need to open the lid for a moment once a month to aerate the interior. Easy to care for, once inside the AntWorks the ants require NO aditional food or water.
Simply insert ants into the clear nutrient gel, secure the lid and let the 3-D tunneling show begin! Either collect your own ants or order via mail (ordering details included in packaging).
Package includes:
- Ant-Works Container with gel
- Jeweler's lens
- Magnifying glass
- Plastic rod
- Instruction manual
- Coupon for ordering ants (there is a small charge
for postage to be paid if you choose to use the voucher)
Age: 8+
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Ant Farm Features:
- Based on a NASA Space Shuttle
experiment
- Easy to care for - Ants need NO food or water.
- Add your
own ants, or send of a coupon (included) and have some
posted to you in the UK
- Approx.
17cm high X 14cm wide x 3.2cm deep
- Gel can
be used over and over again
AntWorks Packaging
Manual (PDF)
See also:
Ant Farm |
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Developed by NASA: Gravity is a great indicator of
direction. While we may not be certain which way north is
without a compass, up and down can always be determined.
To what degree, scientists wondered, do ants use gravity
in creating their tunnel network? If an ant colony were
in a zero-gravity (technically, ‘micro-gravity’), environment,
would they know to tunnel down – and how complex would their
tunnels be? NASA had been planning experiments around ‘life
in space’. The long-term goal, being to discover how certain
species react to a micro-gravity environment. - Would ants
tunnel downward? Would spiders spin webs? These are some
of the questions NASA set out to answer. Containers for
various forms of life were developed for space flight, however
a ‘cosmic colony’ of ants posed a unique challenge. With
a soil/sand-based habitat (such as used in our Ant Farm
product), NASA and the Space Shuttle crew had two, equally
problematic options. If ants were added to the habitat prior
to take-off, the tremendous G-forces would collapse any
tunnels, killing the ants. Trying to add ants to the habitat
in a weightless environment might make for an entertaining
news story, but would be counter-productive for research.
Even if this could be done without the Space Shuttle hosting
several rogue floating ants, the tunnels would still collapse
from the shaking caused during re-entry. It became clear
that NASA needed a habitat ants could live and tunnel in,
that could withstand a significant amount of shaking. A
special gel material was created which would serve as a
tunneling medium for the ants, as well as a nutrient source.
AntWorks is based on this technology. |
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