Science involves finding answers to questions.
Some questions are answered through research.
Others are answered through experiments.

Our biggest unanswered question was how to flies come back to life in the spring?
Nothing but ravens are around in -40 C in January and February in northern Alberta.
So how exactly do the flies come back to life in the spring?

We thought we'd start with pupae. Can pupae survive being frozen?
Half our class hypothesized yes, the other half no.
We put them in the Kindergarten teacher's freezer with a "Do Not Disturb" sign on them (just in case).
(Ms Cochrane's fish for dissecting got thrown out of that freezer last year!)

Here's our experiment! It took 2 weeks to complete.

These pupae didn't hatch after being frozen.

As you can see, we didn't find out how the flies come back in the spring.
We need to keep researching and experimenting to find the answer.

Every experiment results in more questions.
Here are some of our next questions.
(We didn't try them because we didn't want to hurt our flies!)

1. If you trapped a fly and never gave it any food, would it survive for a week? (Alana)
2. If a pupa was cut in half, would it live? (like a worm) (Brandon)
3. Could maggots turn into pupae and then adults after being in a stomach? (Taylor)
4. What is inside a pupae that's been frozen? (Shaneil)
5. If you don't give an adult fly food for 5 days what would happen? (Victor)
6. What would happen if a fly went on a light bulb? (Logan)
7. Can a pupa hatch if it's been in an oven? (Laurissa, Riley, Avery)
8. Would an adult fly survive after it's been in a freezer? (Robbie, Bryan, Christine, Jessica)
9. Can a fly live if water's been poured over it? (Nicole)
10. Could a fly survive in a box of salt? (Britni, Carla)
11. Do flies die if they are in a closed in space for too long? (William)

Print off this experiment form and design your own experiment!
Make sure you get permission from an adult before you start.

Remember: You are only testing one thing. All the other things must stay the same.
(For example, in our experiment all the pupae were in the same container,
we kept them in the freezer for an even temperature,
we chose pupae from the same batch of maggots, and
we put in equal amounts of sawdust that the other maggots had.)