Hamster Wheel and Insect Hotel Do You Know?

# There are lots of things all around us

# Exciting things that surround us

-# But how does it work?

-Do you know?

-# How is it made?

-Do you know?

# Things that go up Things that go down

# Things that go pop Things that go round

# With special cameras to show you inside

# It's going to be a big surprise

-# But how does it work?

-Do you know?

-# How is it made?

-Do you know?

-# Do you know?

-Let's find out!

-#

Hello! I'm Maddie and today I'm going for a run.

I love to breathe in the fresh air and get my body moving.

It's called exercise.

What kind of exercise do you like?

Another reason I like to go running is so I can look around

me and see what I can find.

Today I'm trying to count how many wheels I can see.

Can you see any?

Look! There's four on that car.

Ooh! Look.

Do you know how many wheels a bicycle has?

Yup, two wheels.

What about that pushchair?

That pushchair has one, two, three, four wheels.

Whew!

I've lost count. There are wheels everywhere.

And it's not just us people who like wheels.

I'm about to meet a little friend who loves wheels.

This is a pet shop.

Hello.

Can you guess which animal here likes to use a wheel?

Is it a kitten?

Hmm, don't think so.

Maybe a dog...

No? OK, then.

How about a bird?

Oh, no wheels there.

The correct answer is...

hamsters.

This is Herbert the hamster. Hello, Herbert. And his friend, Helena.

I love hamsters. You might have one at home.

Just like me, Herbert and Helena like to have a lot of exercise.

So, they run around in a wheel, just like this.

Here you go, Herbert.

But do you know how a hamster wheel works? Let's find out.

Hamsters are nocturnal,

which means they're awake at night and they sleep during the day.

Well, it's nearly bedtime.

So, what do you think would happen if we turned the lights off?

I've got a special camera with me that will let us see in the dark.

Let's see if Herbert and Helena

fancy some exercise on their wheel now.

Ohh!

Here he comes.

There he goes.

Look at his little feet, spinning the wheel round and round and round.

He's going really fast, isn't he?

Listen to the sound the wheel makes.

WHEEL SQUEAKS

Ooh, has he had enough?

MADDIE LAUGHS

No, he's still going.

Well done, Herbert.

But do you know how a hamster wheel works?

Well, let's find out.

This is a wheel just like the one in Herbert and Helena's cage.

This bit inside is called the running track because that's

where a hamster runs.

And can you see, if you look closely,

these little ridges on the inside of the running track?

This is where a hamster uses its paw to grip on to the ridges and

pushes the wheel around and round.

Let's take a closer look to see how the wheel spins.

Herbert's paws grip on to the ridges inside the hamster wheel,

pushing the wheel behind him.

As he runs, this makes the wheel go round and round.

In the middle of the wheel you can see a small piece of metal,

like a rod.

This is called the axle.

At one end, the axle is fixed to the cage to keep it in place.

At the other end,

there is a small bolt which stops the wheel falling off.

But the wheel can't spin until something moves it,

which is where a hamster comes in.

When a hamster like Herbert starts running,

the wheel spins round and round on the axle.

Let's see Herbert in action again, but this time in slow motion.

You can see how Herbert's paws grip on to the ridges inside the wheel.

As his legs push down, they push the wheel round behind him.

But how far do you think Herbert can run?

I'm going to the top of this tall building to show you how far

Herbert runs in his wheel on a single night.

When you're up high like this you can see for miles around.

It's amazing, isn't it?

You can see lots of tall buildings, houses and streets.

Now, can you see that building all the way over there,

the one with the big pointy bit on top?

It's a long way away, isn't it?

Well, in one night, Herbert could run all the way from that

building to here in his wheel.

That's up to five and a half miles.

Phew! What a workout.

I loved watching Herbert on his hamster wheel. Did you?

Do you remember the name of the metal rod the wheel spins around on?

That's right, it's called the axle.

Did you hear the sound of Herbert scurrying along the running track?

WHEEL SQUEAKS

And did you see how far Herbert can run in one night?

It was a really long way, wasn't it?

So, now you know how a hamster wheel works and just how far

Herbert could run in a single night.

I think he deserves a rest now.

Did you notice all this soft bedding in Herbert and Helena's cage?

These are wood shavings.

Different animals like to live in different places.

Some birds build nests in the trees.

Rabbits bury under the ground and live in burrows.

Fish hide behind weeds in the water, but what do you think lives

in something like this?

Do you know?

This is an insect hotel and it's been made for the types of

insects you might find in your garden.

There are lots of different types of insects, aren't there?

And they like to live in the nooks and crannies they can find in

the wild. All places that they can hide.

I've got my special camera with me.

It's called a microscope and it lets me see things that are really small,

up close and big.

So, let's find out if any insects have come to stay in this

insect hotel.

Oh!

Ohhhhh, can you see that?

Those are called woodlice. Look!

Do the woodlice have any neighbours? Let's have a look.

Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes!

So, there was a little spider scurrying away there.

Aww, look, can you see that?

That's a slug. Look at it, it's all slimy and slippery.

That's amazing, this insect hotel is quite full.

But do you know how an insect hotel is made?

Let's find out.

Making an insect hotel starts with this -

wood.

All this wood comes from a forest which grows trees especially

to be used to make things.

And this wood is going to be used to make an insect hotel, like this one.

This is Rory, and he's going to be using this big green machine.

It's called a plane.

MACHINE BUZZES

A plane is a bit like a giant potato peeler.

As Rory pushes the piece of wood through the plane, it peels

off the top layer, just like potato skin.

It means he can get the wood to just the right thickness for the

insect hotel.

Next, Rory cuts the wood to the right length using a saw.

Now Rory uses a different saw, which is on a slope,

so he can cut the ends at angles.

Cutting the ends at angles mean the pieces of wood fit together

nicely, like this.

But what shape do you think our insect hotel is going to be?

We have three sides. Let's try and fit them together, shall we?

We have one, two, and a third piece, which makes...

a triangle with one, two, three sides.

But if I put it down the insect hotel just falls apart.

So, we need to stick it together.

Rory's fixing the three pieces of wood together using screws

and an electric screwdriver.

He's also adding an extra piece of wood in the shape of

a triangle to make the back.

Now the frame is made smooth with a sander,

and then it's painted with wood stain to protect it from the rain.

So, the frame is ready, but what about all the bits that go on

the inside?

Well, first we need a block of wood for all the insects to crawl into.

But for that we need to make them some hiding places.

Do you know how we might do that?

Rory's going to make some holes using a drill.

Wow, the drilling is happening so fast.

I think we should take a closer look using my special slow motion camera.

This camera lets me see things that move quickly, slowed right down.

Are you ready? Let's go.

Can you see the drill has sharp edges? And, as it turns round

and round, it cuts through the wood and churns it out as dust.

And this is what it looks like when all the holes have been drilled.

And the block fits inside the insect hotel just like that.

But there are more nooks and crannies to be made.

And that's where all this comes in.

It's called bamboo. Bamboo is a type of plant.

It's a panda's favourite food and it grows in long, hollow tubes

that we call cane.

Hello! Can you see me?

The best thing is, when you blow down it in

a special way, it makes a lovely whistling noise.

WHISTLE Ooh.

SHE WHISTLES SOME NOTES

Hey!

The great thing is all this bamboo cane makes

a fantastic home for spiders, woodlice and even earwigs.

They love just creeping into all of the holes.

So, Rory and I are going to fill the leftover space in the insect

hotel with the cane, and Rory's going to let me help him.

I'm adding a big splodge of glue to hold everything in place.

-Grab a handful of the canes.

-Yep, any size?

-All the different ones.

We've got to use a lot of bamboo canes to fill the spaces.

What do you reckon?

That'll do.

And here it is, our finished insect hotel.

I wonder who's going to end up living in here?

There we go, a new home for lots of insects.

Tell me, what was your favourite bit about seeing how an

insect hotel was made?

Can you remember the name of the long pieces of wood with the

holes inside?

That's right, they're called bamboo canes.

Did you hear the sounds the bamboo canes made when I blew threw them?

WHISTLE Ooh.

SHE WHISTLES SOME NOTES

Hey!

And did you see how the drill turned the inside of the wood into dust?

So now you know how an insect hotel is made and how

a hamster wheel works.

Animals are great fun and I love being with them and seeing

them outside, and I hope you do too.

So, from Helena, Herbert and me, see you next time.

# There are lots of things all around us

# Exciting things that surround us

# But how does it work?

# Do you know?

# How is it made?

# Do you know?

# Do you know?

# Let's find out! #