The Billy Lids

Collect one or two worms from a garden or field. If you water a little patch of grassy ground this will often bring worms to the surface.

Fill a large jam jar to 2.5 cm (1 inch) from the top with alternate layers of damp sand and soil. Place a few leaves on top and cover the sides of the jar with brown paper so that the worms will burrow near the sides of the glass without being put off by the light.

Put the worms on the top of the leaves and then leave them. After a day or two, remove the brown paper and have a peek at the patterns made by the burrowing worms.

Place a worm carefully on a piece of paper and watch it stretching and contracting its body to move itself along.