Lesson 4 Life Science: Study of Terrapin and Robo Dance

Lesson 4 dated 29th September 2006
Subject covered
Green Turtle
Lego Robo (Turtle) Dance

Yellow Mud Turtle
Kinosternon Flavescens

The fleshy knobs on the chin that you can see in this picture are found on all
of the mud and musk turtles. These are used to feel for insects and other food
items in the muddy water in which these turtles often feed.
The Yellow Mud Turtle is found in rivers, ponds, and ditches with muddy bottoms.
It is fond of small bodies of water that dry up before the end of summer;
when this happens, it burrows into sandy soil nearby and stays there until
the following spring. • Look For: A turtle with a smooth brown upper shell
and a yellowish throat. Lower shell yellow with 2 hinges. • Length: 4-6".
• Habitat: Quiet waters. • Range: Central and southwestern U.S.
• Related Species: • Eastern Mud Turtle: Kinosternon subrubrum
• Loggerhead Musk Turtle: Sternotherus minor • Common Musk Turtle: Sternotherus odoratus.

Gopher Tortoise
Gopherus Polyphemus

True to its name, the Gopher Tortoise is a champion digger.
Its burrow may be more than 40 feet long. The burrow serves as a shelter
from the summer sun, winter chill, and predators. Many other creatures,
including Eastern Indigo Snakes and Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes,
may share this tortoise's burrow. Gopher Tortoises eat leaves, flowers,
and fruits. • Look For: Burrows and mounds of sand. A large, dark,
heavy-shelled land turtle with shovellike front feet and rear legs
shaped like those of elephants. Its head is large and rounded.
• Length: 6-15". • Habitat: Sandhills, pine flatwoods, beach scrub.
• Range: Extreme southeast from Mississippi through Georgia.
• Related Species: • Desert Tortoise: Gopherus agassizii.

Green Turtles live in the seas and coasts around Australia, mostly in tropical waters.

This baby Green Turtle has just hatched out of its egg and is making its way down the beach to the sea.
Young Green Turtles eat tiny marine animals. Adult turtles eat seagrasses, seaweeds and mangrove fruits.
Green Turtles use their senses of smell and sight to find food.
Young turtles float together near seaweed. They catch small crabs and shrimps
in their mouth and swallow them whole. Adult turtles use their sharp,
serrated jaws to tear off pieces of seagrass and seaweed to swallow.
Sharks and fish eat Green Turtles. Crabs and birds, especially sea gulls, eat hatchlings.
Green Turtles swim with their flippers when in the water.
They move slowly on land using their flippers in a rowing action.
Every two to eight years Green Turtles come ashore and lay up to one hundred
round eggs at a time. When they hatch young Green Turtles look after themselves.

Photos of Turtles

Robo Dance Rules

Photos of green turtle in class room

Video of green turtle in class
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3

Lego Turtle
Video 1
Video 2

Video trying a lego turtle on a rough terrain
Video 1
Video to guide the green turtle with color stick
Video 1

Photos to prepare robots for robo dance