Most ant species build underground nests filled with chambers and tunnels carved out of the soil. A good science experiment is to examine how an ant tunnels through wet soil compared to dry soil. For this experiment, you will need two clear aquariums or bowls where you can observe the ants at work. One should be filled with dry sand. The other should contain wet sand. Divide up your ant colony. Put half in the wet sand and the other half in the dry sand, and time how long it takes to build a one-inch tunnel. Shake the contents when they are finished to see how well the tunnels hold together. The experiment should answer how ants build a nest and which environmental conditions are most favorable to nest building.
Ants flourish in all sorts of environments and climates. They are found everywhere in abundance except places like the Arctic and Antarctica that are subject to extreme cold weather. You can test out an ant's ability to adapt to temperature change in its environment by placing your aquarium or bowl inside a cooler or refrigerator. The first step is to monitor ant activity at room temperature for 10 minutes. Observe how they move around. Then place the bowl or aquarium in your designated cool spot for 10 minutes. You will notice their movement slows down dramatically because ants become sluggish when exposed to colder temperatures. It is important to note their movement will return to normal after the ants are returned to normal temperatures.
Ants are not picky eaters. These insects will eat a variety of things including nuts, honey, cookie crumbs and dead insects. You can observe the dining habits of ants firsthand by putting them in a sealed bowl and placing food on the lid to see what foods they eat. You can vary the experiment by putting two different food items at varied distances. Then, note which food the ants gravitate to over time and how long it takes for them to find and reach that particular food item. Your experiment will offer an idea on what foods not to bring the next time you go on a picnic in the park.
Some species of ants do basic activities, like gathering food, based on available sunlight. Bull ants, which are native to Australia, will actually wait until twilight before leaving their nest to gather food and supplies. They rely on light as their main factor in determining activity. You can tell if different ants prefer to operate in light or in darkness by placing a couple dozen ants into two separate aquariums. Keep one in the dark, and place the other in the light for a couple of hours. At the end, you can tell how the species operates by noting the amount of activity -- from gathering food to building tunnels -- done in each aquarium.