After-school STEAM: Web Design Spider Web

Not all spiders build webs, but the ones that do are engineering the tools to help them capture prey, protect their homes, hold their egg cases, and move around. Spiders build webs that will transfer movement across the web (so that the spider can be alerted when prey enters the web), but that doesn’t fall just because one part of the web is disturbed.  Spider are the consummate conservationists because in order to rebuild they can consume the broken part of webs and recycle the silk to rebuild.    Spiders that spin webs use silk.  These spiders make two types of silk.  They make a sticky silk which helps in capturing prey and a non-sticky silk which helps to reinforce the structure.  There are also different basic web structures:  orb webs, funnel webs, and irregular webs. For our project, we are going to make an orb web.