Science
Interesed in learning more about horseshoe crabs?
Here’s a video I made about horseshoe crab molting. It’s also available through the Charlesbridge website.
If you’d like to learn even more about how horseshoe crabs molt, take a look at these pages from the wonderful Green Eggs and Sand education program: https://bit.ly/2Rix2Nj (scroll down in the link for a chart that can help you estimate how old the horseshoe crab was when it molted!)
You might also like this short video of a horseshoe crab molting: https://bit.ly/3bX4ssS
The website Horseshoecrab.org has a wealth of information for all ages and interest levels. They also sponsor a yearly art and poetry contest for students around the world!
Observing horseshoe crabs in the wild—on your own or with a group—is a great way to get to know them better. The very best place to see them is on the shores of Delaware Bay, especially on new- and full-moon nights in spring and early summer. You can also find them up and down the east coast of the United States, from Maine down into the Gulf of Mexico.
Many organizations that tag, count, or survey horseshoe crabs are open to assistance from both children and adults! This list is not comprehensive—if you live in the east coast of the USA, look for a tagging site near you:
https://www.horseshoecrabtagging.org/ (New Jersey)
https://www.delawarebayhscsurvey.org/ (Delaware and New Jersey)
https://www.inlandbays.org/projects-and-issues/all/horseshoe-crab-survey/ (Delaware)
https://dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/coastal-programs/education-outreach/horseshoe-crab-survey/ (Delaware)
http://nyhorseshoecrab.org/NY_Horseshoe_Crab/Home.html (New York)
https://www.mariamitchell.org/research-and-collections/ocean-harbor/horseshoe-crab-survey (Massachusetts)
https://www.greenwichct.gov/305/Horseshoe-Crab-Monitoring (Connecticut)
If you’re interested in conservation, you might like this video about one of my heroes, Rosalie Edge. In the 1930s, Rosalie started Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, the world’s first sanctuary for birds of prey (raptors). I’m working on a picture book about her, and I share her story here, and also talk with her granddaughter, Deborah Edge. There’s a short drawing activity and a craft at the end, too!
Art
If you’d like to make art for children’s books, a great place to start is the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, or SCBWI.
I have also learned a lot about drawing animals and nature journaling in general from John Muir Laws’ book and website.
If you’d like to know more about how science, art, and writing work together to make a picture book, you might enjoy this video I made about creating my book, High Tide for Horseshoe Crabs.
Writing
Interested in writing for children? You can find tons of support through the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, or SCBWI.
All together now!
As much as I love science, art, and writing individually, I’m especially curious about how they overlap and work together. Here are some resources I’ve come up with so far. If you have additional examples or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you! Contact me at lisakschnell @ yahoo. com and/or use #scienceartwriting on social media.
Creature Conserve, an organization started by Dr. Lucy Spelman, brings artists, writers, and scientists, together to study, celebrate, and protect animals and their habitats. In addition to taking several wonderful classes, I have also been involved with their mentorship program. In spring 2021, I was a mentee (mural artist Sophy Tuttle was my mentor). Since then, I have been a mentor for playwright Margaret O’Donnell, and more recently for wildlife manager and advocate Shirlene Chiam!
Another great resource that brings science, art, and writing together is the Wild Wonder Foundation, an organization dedicated to encouraging nature connection and conservation through attention, curiosity, art, science, and community. I have volunteered and worked for the Wild Wonder Conference over the past few years, and have come to know a fabulous community of presenters, staff, volunteers, and attendees. Also, check out the drawing resources John Muir (“Jack”) Laws, one of the founders of the conference, has on his website.
The SAW Trust finds interesting ways to remove barriers between science, art, and writing to encourage exploration and creativity.