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Cells and Systems 6-8 / Week 07 / Nature Day
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Week 07 · Senses and Signals

Nature Day

Nature Day: The senses walk
// Receptors notice, the brain decides
⏱ about 20 min

Nature Day: The Senses Walk

Saturday morning, the crew stands still at the edge of the garden with their eyes closed.

"Thirty seconds," Raven says. "Just listen." A bird. A far-off engine. Leaves. Someone's stomach growls, and Rocket snorts.

"Eyes open. What do you notice that you did not hear?" Raven asks.

"Everything that does not make noise," Rocket says. "Flowers. Clouds. That bee."

Nova hovers above the path. "Now the nose," she says. "What does the air carry here that it does not carry indoors?"

Rocket sniffs. "Wet dirt. Something sweet from the flower bed."

They walk, and every few steps someone names a new signal. Raven's list runs down two pages of the Log.

  1. Senses provide information about the body and its environment: sound, light, smells, tastes and touch.
  2. A sensory receptor is a cell specialized to detect one kind of stimulus.
  3. Sensory information is converted into nerve signals carried to the brain, where they become sensations.
  4. The brain may answer with immediate behavior, such as a reflex, or store the information as a memory.
  5. The retina handles light, the inner ear sound, the nose lining smell, taste buds taste, and skin receptors touch.
◇ FAMILY SENSES WALK
Stand still together for 30 seconds with eyes closed. Each person names one sound.
Walk slowly. Every ten steps, someone names a sight, a smell or a texture underfoot. Keep a tally by sense.
Back home, each person writes down five things they remember from the walk without looking at the tally.
Talk it over: which sense collected the most signals? Which memory was easiest to keep?
For a grown-up
This walk is about noticing from where you stand. Flowers, bees, nests and birds are observed, never touched.
Smelling means noticing the air, not sniffing anything up close. Nothing is tasted outdoors.
Wash hands after the walk, especially if anyone touched leaves or soil.
The facts this week come from the MedlinePlus medical encyclopedia and OpenStax biology texts, both free online.
Safety first
Never touch an insect, a nest or an unknown plant or berry. Look from where you stand.
Do not sniff anything up close. Notice the air as it comes to you.
Wash your hands when you come back inside.
THINK IT THROUGH
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
You smelled wet soil on the walk. Which receptors noticed it?
Later you listed five things from the walk without looking. What did your brain do?
A bee buzzes past your ear and you flinch. That quick move is closest to:
Which sense organ converts light into nerve signals for the optic nerve? Type one word.
WHY THIS EXERCISEEvery sight on the walk started at this receptor layer.
Draw the garden with four labels: something you saw, heard, smelled and felt. Add a note saying why nothing was tasted.
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