“Really?” I ask. That must be one amazing magnifying glass!
We spend a whole hour in my lab, looking at specimens and talking about what we should try to find next. I think my lab needs a plant or two. Cora says it needs a pet, besides the cricket in the jar, which I will let loose tonight. Miss Flippo says live specimens are for observing, not killing, so after we observe them, we need to return them to their habitats.
We both agree that a Mr. Bones would be a good addition to my lab, but neither one of us can figure out how to get a skeleton. Come to think of it, how did Miss Flippo get a Mr. Bones?
When Cora has to go home for supper, I head to the garage. In the scrap wood pile, I find a flat board that will work quite nicely for what I have in mind. I borrow a hammer and three nails from the work bench and take everything back to my playhouse. I mean, lab.
I get out the permanent markers and in big, brown letters I write LUCY’S LAB across the board. Then I go outside and nail it right above the door. I’ve never nailed without Mom or Dad helping me, and it takes longer than I think it should. Finally, I stand back and admire my work. It’s a little crooked, but at least no one will ever call my lab a playhouse again.
I step back inside and put the markers on a shelf.
Second grade has started out pretty well.
Miss Flippo is the best teacher ever, and she’s an astronaut.
Our classroom is filled with habitats for almost every living thing.
There is a new tree for the squirrels, even though I’ll be old and almost grown up before it’s big enough for a squirrel to climb. Until then, I’ll visit the squirrels in the park. Maybe by the time Thomas is in second grade, there will be a few squirrels running around in front of the school again.
And, there’s a science lab in Room 2-C.
Best of all, I have my very own science lab. I look around at my table, my goggles, my books, my specimens, and my magnifying glass. It’s absolutely perfect!
Nothing can ruin this very happy moment, I decide. Nothing.
And then, I hear a voice calling from the back door of the house.
“LUCY! Your father is missing two of his white dress shirts. Do you know anything about that?”
Whoops.
About the Author:
Michelle Houts is the award-winning author of several books for young readers. She lives on a farm with a farmer, some cattle, goats, pigs, and a Great Pyrenees named Hercules. She writes in a restored one-room schoolhouse. As a second-grader, Michelle begged her parents for a chemistry kit but wasn’t quite sure what to do when she actually got it. Lucy’s Lab allows her to be the scientist she always wanted to be.
About the Illustrator:
Elizabeth Zechel is an illustrator and author of the children’s book Is There a Mouse in the Baby’s Room? Her illustrations appear in books such as Wordbirds by Liesl Schillinger, The Little General and the Giant Snowflake by Matthea Harvey, and cookbooks such as Bubby’s Homemade Pies by Jen Bervin and Ron Silver, as well as a variety of magazine and literary journals. She lives in Brooklyn, NY where she teaches Kindergarten.
Nuts About Science Page 4
