Class Photos
During the Autumn term we borrowed the pet snails from New Mills High School as part of our Science project Animal Parts. The snails are called Bob, Gary, Cassandra and Speedy and we were lucky enough to have a visit from Mr Robertson, a science teacher at the high school, who shared his expert knowledge with us. We learned all about how to look after the snails and we studied them and undertook research to find out more about them. Here are a few snail facts that the children found out during their research:
- Snails belong to a group of mollusks known as gastropods.
- Snails have approximately 1200 microscopic teeth on their tongue. A snail will use its toothy tongue – called the radula – like a file, scraping off the softer parts of their food when eating.
- Snails are invertebrates, meaning that they don't have a backbone. Instead, they have their shell for protection.
- The head has a pair of tentacles or feelers. The larger set is located at the top of the head and contains the snail's eyes. The smaller set is located at the lower area of the head and the snail uses them to smell and feel.
- Snails do not drink water through their mouth, instead they absorb water through their skin.