You have probably encountered a spider or two in your house or yard and reacted to it in a variety of ways. "cool!" "AHHHH!" etc. When we find a spider in the house, we use our rescue kits and release it outside. Spiders are one of nature's best allies in keeping away annoying pests.

Did you know…

many spider species are active at night? You didn't even know you were missing out! One of the most common of these nocturnal spiders is the wolf spider. Go on a shining walk and get to know these nocturnal spiders.

A Zoom-In of the Spider we Found on our Night Walk

Once you spot the shiny light (it almost looks like 1 speck piece of glitter!) walk closer to the shiny light and shine your flashlight nice and close to actually see the spider who’s shiny eyes you had spotted from so far away.

When we took a photo of the spider we found up close, we even saw the light reflecting off of the spider’s eyes!

Science behind it: 

Have you ever seen a cat or raccoon's eyes glowing at night? It is the same thing with spiders! Their eyes glow in the dark because of a special reflective layer in their eye called the tapetum lucidum. This glow you see is called Eyeshine. Eyeshine is caused when light (from your flashlight) strikes this special membrane behind the retina of the eye -the tapetum. It reflects the light back out of the eye to the light source, making it look like the eyes are glowing. Most animals with eyeshine hunt at night and are nocturnal.

Turn this fun activity into a wonderful learning opportunity!

• Math- count how many spiders AND how many eyes you have found on your shining walk

• Reading- read one of our many spider books to go along with this activity

• Writing- journal about the experience (before going on the shining walk and then after going) or have the learners write a story from the perspective of a spider

• Science- learn about the different parts of a spider and all about their eyes!

• Social Studies- learn about what spiders are indigenous to your area (are there any myths or folklores about spiders from different parts of the world!?)