Maryland Week
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Bat/ slinky/biofact/true/false
Bat/ Moth Game
Bird Migration Game
Oh Deer Activity
Owl Biofact Station
Beaver pond(heron fishing)/otter biofact station
Frog/Lily pad
Live insect demos/ quality control on toy insects
Bee Flower and Waggle dance – possible felt bee activity too
1. Bat Slinky Activity
“Like dolphins, most bats communicate and navigate with high-frequency sounds. They hunt
insects and avoid collisions at night by sending out "echolocation" beeps and analyzing the echoes
that come bouncing back. Using sound alone, bats can see everything but color, and in total
darkness they can detect obstacles as fine as a human hair.
This unique biological sonar system is considered far more efficient than any similar system
developed by humans. In addition, bats are not blind and many have excellent vision”. - From bat
conservation international website
When the top coil of a metal slinky is placed against your jaw bone and the bottom coils are
dropped and allowed to hit a hard surface like a table or the ground, the sound vibrations created
by this impact will continually bounce back and forth between the jaw and the ground much like a
high-frequency impulse sent by a bat strikes surrounding objects and bounces back to them. The
metal in the slinky creates a ray gun sort of sound which is undoubtedly not the sound a bat would
hear while echo-locating. The demonstration is simply a way to show the process of sound-waves
bouncing back to the original release point of the sound vibrations (really the ground although the
release of potential energy that produces the impact occurs at the jaw-bone) not to simulate
exactly what a bat hears. We can use the jaw line because our jaws are connected to our ear bones
and any vibrations striking the jawbone can be heard – especially when our ears are covered to
eliminate external sounds and allow us to focus on the vibrations hitting the jawbone.
After the returning sound is captured by a bat’s specialized ear membranes, neural signals are sent
to the brain that enable the bat to map and identify the objects around them including, in the case
of native bats, their food – flying insects. After locating their prey, the bat swoops in, continually
updating the prey’s location with sonic , and captures it in its mouth or in its wing or tail webbing.
You can show these structures to visitors using the
Materials: bat puppet, quiz cards (T/F), bat skeleton & mounts, bat pictures, Metal slinkies
Purpose: Try to improve their perception of bats before they enter.
Procedure:
1. Discuss bat anatomy, behavior and diet using bat mount and skeleton
2. Give people true/false quiz on bats. Expound upon each question asked.
3. Have students cover their ears with their hands and stick chins out.
4. Taking care not to put top end of slinky in their mouth, place the top coil of the slinky
against the student’s chin.
5. While still holding top coil of slinky against chin, release the remainder of the coils so
bottom coil strikes a solid surface – works best on blacktop or wood table but also
works on lawn surface they should hear the sound rebounding back and forth from
their chin to the floor.
6. Repeat with next student.
7. Discuss after everyone has gone (kids really like this)
2: Bat Moth
There are other great echolocation activities. A version of Marco Polo, where a blindfolded bat
(student A) tries to capture a sighted moth (student B). The rest of the students circle around
the pair to make sure the bat doesn’t wander away. The bat tries to catch the moth by using
echolocation. To do this, the bat cries “Bat” to which the moth is obligated to answer “Moth”.
The bat uses these answers to try and locate the moth by sound. A variation of this has one
student as the bat and all the others as trees. Instead of trying to catch the trees, the bat tries
to avoid them based on the “tree” answers.
3. Bird Migration Game
Background: Insect-, fruit-, fish- eating birds and some birds of prey often migrate south to spend
the winter in warmer areas where food is more plentiful. However, as the days lengthen, these
migrants begin their journey northward to breeding areas that will have plenty of food resources
when they return (hopefully anyway). Most songbirds migrate at night. This allows them to use the
stars as a navigational guide, use favorable night-time winds or lack thereof, prevent over-heating,
stopover and feed during the day and encounter fewer predators while in flight. However, with the
advent of huge lighted buildings, bridges and towers, night-flying birds face a new obstacle.
Attracted by the lights, the birds don’t realize that a structure comes with the lights and will fly into
building windows, tower struts and bridge supports. Also, birds sometimes get lost and often perish
because new areas might not have the proper resources for their survival.
Materials – cones or flags to mark playing area, signs with summer, wintering grounds on them
Procedure:
Migration game
o Discuss the reason for and the mechanisms of bird migration
o Large rectangular playing field
o Birds migrate from one endline (wintering grounds)to the other (summer breeding
area)
o Hawk tries to catch them by tagging them
o Caught ones freeze and turn into tall building who’s lights (arms) reach out and try to
get birds as they fly by(these represent obstacles that night-flying migrants often run
into because they are attracted to lights) – like buildings their feet must stay planted
in the ground
o Birds that go out of bounds (get lost while migrating) also become buildings
o Play until all bird run into buildings
o Discuss habitat destruction, endangered and extinction
4. OH Deer
Materials:
This activity works best outside. No other materials.
Lesson objective:
Students will understand and graph population change over time according to
habitat availability.
Content:
This game looks at the numbers of an organism over time. Deer are often used so that
you can have a cute title; however, any animal could be used. The word deer will be
used in this activity, but you may change it to fit your situation. Many factors affect the
ability of wildlife to survive over time. Weather conditions, disease, predators, pollution
and habitat destruction are some examples. Habitat is the key to wildlife survival and
population size.
For the purposes of this exercise, habitat is defined as food, cover and water. If any one
of them is lacking or restricted in availability then wildlife numbers are reduced. In the
accompanying exercise, participants learn that organism numbers will be governed by
the availability of habitat elements.
Procedure:
1. Divide the class into two smaller groups; one of deer and one of habitat
components. (Groups may be equal in size or with only one or two deer.
Having only one or two deer tends to show population growth better.)
2.
Explain that we are using three elements to define habitat for the purpose of
this exercise - food, water, and cover. Demonstrate how to make the symbols
for each habitat component. For food, place both hands over the stomach.
For water, hold the fingers to the lips. For cover, touch the hands together
over the head.
3. Establish two horizontal lines approximately 18 meters apart in an open area. Put the
deer behind one line and the habitat components behind the other.
4. Have the deer and the habitat components turn around on the line so that they
cannot see one another. Everyone will decide on a habitat component. The deer are
deciding what component they need or want; the components are deciding what they
are. Each person makes the symbol for his or her chosen component. Once they are
ready, count slowly to three, and then allow both lines to turn around.
5. Everyone mills about throughout the space between the two lines. The deer are
looking for their habitat component; once the deer have found the component they
want, they link hands with that component and walk back behind the “deer” line.
Since this deer has found the component it needed, it will “use” the component and
be able to survive and reproduce, so the person who was the component will now
become a deer. Note: Neither the deer nor the habitat can change symbols once
they have decided on one during each bout of selection.
6.
Any deer that fails to find the habitat element they needed “dies” and will become a
habitat symbol. (Once the deer dies, its nutrients will nourish the grass, which would
be eaten by the deer; therefore, a dead deer is kind of a part of the habitat.) The
habitat person can only satisfy one deer, so if two or more deer try to get the same
one, only the first one to reach the habitat person survives.
7. Starting with number 4, repeat the process as many times as you’d like with the new
assignments.
8. The leader should record the number of deer at the beginning and end of each bout
or round. Running about 10-15 rounds of selection is usually adequate to let
participants see how population and habitat quality interact. At the end of the game,
plot the deer numbers against “years” (bouts). Discuss axes labels so that students
will make sure to graph appropriately. Note the change in behavior of the deer as
well. As the habitat becomes more limiting, the deer will run or compete to get the
needed habitat first. The leader could also record the numbers of habitats and graph
those results.
5. Owl Biofact station
Background: Owls are supremely adapted for nocturnal hunting. They locate their prey
using sight and hearing. With incredibly large eyes relative to the size of their heads,
they easily capture the diminished light of night. Special retinal cells called rods are
extremely sensitive to light and increase the owl’s ability to capture light. Mirror-like cells
behind the retina, called a tapetum, reflect light back onto the retinal cells further
improving their ability to see at night.
Owl’s ears are large holes in the side of their head. Though some owls look like they
have external ears like us, those are actually feather tufts that can be raised or lowered
when owl is trying to look like a broken branch, communicate its mood to another owl or
identify its species to a potential mate. On all owls the wide, human-like face spaces the
ears apart horizontally so sound reaches them at different times. This allows owls to
triangulate on a particular sound and locate where it came from on the horizontal plain.
On some owls, the ears are at two different heights on the skull allowing the owl to
triangulate on the sounds both vertically and horizontally! Although they don’t have true
earlobes or pinnae, their stiff facial discs, round in true owls and heart-shaped in barn
owls, serve to capture and focus sound waves into the ears. Studies done on barn owls
proved that the owls could hunt in complete darkness through hearing alone. Strictly
nocturnal owls like barn owls and boreal owls, have better ability to hunt purely by
hearing than crepuscular and diurnal owls like snowy and great-horned owls.
Once prey have been located, most owls fly silently because frills on the edges of their
flight feathers disrupt the airflow over the wing and prevent the whooshing sound heard
when other birds fly. Thus, not only can they sneak up on their prey but they also can
listen for them as they fly about. Once they are locked onto a target, they swoop down
from the sky or perch and grab the animal with their powerful feet and sharp talons.
Then, they either swallow it whole or tear it up with the sharp, hooked beak. All of the
non-edible parts of their prey – scales, hair, bone, feathers- are separated from the meat
in a special muscular stomach called a gizzard. Then, they are coughed up as a pellet.
Owls are not particularly bright despite misconceptions to the contrary. With huge eyes
and ears and most of their brain capacity used in sensing prey, there is not a lot of brain
capacity left for critical thinking. They are largely creatures driven by the instinct to hunt
and reproduce. They also cannot turn their heads all the way around. That would kill
them. Owls do have more neck vertebrae than mammals – in fact twice as many with 14.
This and flexible tendons provides owls with the ability to turn their neck 270 degrees.
Why? Their eyes are fixed forward in their head to provide them with binocular vision to
help with depth perception. Therefore, to see to the side or behind them they have to
swivel their heads.
Materials: Owl skull, Owl feathers, great horned owl model, owl pellets, eagle talon,
plastic connect toys to show how more vertebrae improve flexibility, giraffe vertebrae,
owl pictures, bird caller with owl sounds, mouse and rope
Procedure:
1. Using the owl skull and owl model, discuss the sensory abilities of owls.
2. Using the owl skull, talons and feathers, discuss the hunting adaptations and
techniques of owls including comparing feet of owl to those of a hawk (hawks
have 3 toes in front 1 in back, owls have similar configuration but one of the
toes can be rotated backwards and forwards.
3. Using connect toys, owl model and giraffe vertebrae, demonstrate why and
how an owl turns its head.
4. Using bird caller, or if proficient with owl noises, play or imitate owl sounds.
5. Using mouse box and rope, have students close eyes and while they are
standing still pull box by them and see if they can tag box just using their ears
like an owl!
6. Beaver Pond/Otter Biofact/Heron Fishing Station
Background: Beavers are large rodents with a complex against running water! Actually,
similar to humans, they create their own habitat by damming up streams and creating
ponds. They use their 4 front incisors (in top and bottom jaw) to gnaw down trees both
for using in the dam and lodge and also for feeding on the inner bark. The habitat
created by beavers also serves other freshwater animals that survive better in slowmoving, often silt-laden, waters like catfish, bullfrogs, snapping turtles, muskrats and
puddle ducks. Otters will sometimes take over beaver lodges as dens. Some birds, like
red-headed woodpeckers, wood ducks, tree swallows, great crested flycatchers and
chickadees nest in cavities excavated in the wood of trees that die from increased water
levels created by the dam or are girdled by the beavers themselves.
Because beavers create this habitat, many other freshwater animals are dependent on
them, especially in places like Maryland where they are very few natural lakes and
ponds. Because the stream water slows, a lot of the nutrients carried in the water settle
out making the pond a very nutrient rich habitat compared to a fast moving stream. The
deposited silt provides cover for animals like freshwater clams and mussels which can’t
find proper shelter in fast-moving stream. In addition, the presence of the pond increases
the diversity of the watershed by allowing species which are better adaptated to slower
more nutrient-rich conditions, some of which may be relatives of stream dwellers but are
adapted to more nutrient-rich, less oxygenated conditions.
River otters are close relatives to terrestrial mammals but have developed adaptations
that enable them to live a highly aquatic life style. Looking at the pelt of the otter, one
can see the very streamlined shape and slightly flattened tail that enable the otter to
undulate its body up and down and swim quickly enough to capture fish and other
aquatic organisms. In addition, their webbed hind feet when held tightly on either side of
the tail add surface area to the power strokes. The fur also has two layers and is very
thick. This allows them to stay in water for long periods of time as well as stay active in
winter. Their whiskers allow them to probe muddy areas for clams and their short,
powerful jaws allow them to crack or crush the shells of mollusks and arthropods to get
to the good stuff.
Aquatic turtles have hydrodynamic, flattened carapices (top shells). They also have
distinctly webbed feet to propel them through the water. While most aquatic turtles, like
painteds and sliders, have broad flattened plastrons (lower shells), snapping turtles have
a tiny plastron. Because of this, snapping turtles are unable to pull themselves into their
shells effectively. However, they have strong jaws, long necks and surly personalities
that make messing with a snapping turtle a difficult endeavor. Snapping turtles are less
aggressive in the water where there are few if any animals that prey on mature turtles.
But when, like all aquatic turtles, they have to come on land to nest, they are vulnerable
to attack and readily bite. Pond turtles like painteds and sliders eat invertebrates and
small vertebrates when young but become more herbivorous as they mature. Snapping
turtles are carnivorous and hunt live animals and eat carrion.
Waterfowl, particularly puddle ducks (feet centered on body, tip-up to feed, can fly from
sitting or standing position ex mallard), geese and wood ducks, use beaver ponds to
raise and raise their young. Because ducks molt all their flight feathers at once after
breeding, they need deep water areas to forage and loaf so predators cannot get to
them as easily. Many other types of waterfowl, diving ducks (feet rearward, dive well
below surface, must run along water to get airborn ex canvasback), mergansers, loons,
cormorants, grebes and coots will also use ponds for wintering areas (larger diving
ducks, cormorants and loons need longer stretches of open water to get airborne so
really small beaver ponds may not provide them with good habitat. Waterfowl have
webbed or lobed (coot, grebe) feet for propulsion in the water. They also have
waterproof feathers which give them a streamline shape for both.
Wading birds, like herons and egrets, stalk the banks and shallows liking for aquatic
animals. Some species, like the great egret, great blue heron and green heron are very
patient and will wait a long time before striking at prey. Others like snowy and reddish
egrets, jump around trying to scare or stir up prey. Their long legs and long, flexible
necks allow them to catch prey with lightening quick strikes.
Materials: otter pelt, otter foot models, otter scat, beaver skull, snapping turtle shell,
duck feathers, duck foot replica, Duck and Pond animal posters, magnetic fish, lily pads,
magnetic fishing rods, heron puppet, frog metamorphosis magnets.
Procedure:
1. Show and discuss beaver skull with visitors.
2. Show them pictures of beaver, lodge, pond and dam and discuss
3. Show otter biofacts and discuss the aquatic adaptations of an otter and its
use of beaver lodges – also compare and contrast skull of otter with that of
beaver and discuss the significance of otter droppings
4. Show snapping turtle shell and discuss the aquatic adaptations of snapping
turtles and other pond turtles
5. Talk about aquatic adaptations of waterfowl using feather and duck foot and
ponds as breeding habitat for native wood ducks and black ducks, and as
wintering areas for all forms of waterfowl.
6. Spread out fish magnets and lily pads into area designated as the pond area.
7. Participants use pipe insulation with magnets to catch the magnetic fish.
7. Frog/Lily Pad
BACKGROUND





Camouflage helps animals to blend into their habitat either to hide from predators or hide
from prey (giving them the element of surprise). Colors, patterns, body shape, and
movement are all factors which contribute to effective camouflage.
Many amphibians are prey to a long list of predators; reptiles, birds, mammals, fish, and
even other amphibians.
Some frog species’ survival (Poison dart frogs, Panamanian Golden Frogs) actually depends
on their ability to stand out in their habitat as opposed to using camouflage to hide.
Bright colors act as a “warning” to potential predators, “Eat me and you will get sick or
DIE!” These brightly colored amphibians secrete a poison toxic their skin for their
protection and are even toxic to the touch and would not make a good meal.
These toxic amphibians are toxic as a result of their diet. For example, the toxins found in
the skin secretions of the Panamanian Golden Frog is found in high concentrations in the
prey they eat ( various insects and invertebrates) in fact it is said that the more varied the
diet the more toxic they become. Panamanian Golden Frogs and the like are not toxic if in
captivity due to the diet they are provided.
Frog life Cycle=METAMORPHASIS
EGG  TADPOLEFROGLETADULT FROG
True Frogs (Family Ranidae)
Skin
Teeth
Eyes
Moist and Smooth
Teeth in upper jaw
Eyes bulge out from body
Hind Legs
Long, powerful jumping
legs, most frogs have
webbed hind feet
Eggs laid in clusters
Eggs
True Toads (Family
Bufonidae)
Bumpy and Dry
No teeth
Eyes do not bulge; poison
gland located behind each
eye
Shorter legs (for walking)
Eggs laid in long chains (but
a few give birth to live
young)
Objective: Students will learn how camouflage and “warning colors” help different frogs survive in
their habitats.
Materials and biofacts (*):
-
Laminated pictures showing frogs and toads using camouflage and warning colors
Laminated construction paper lily pads (variety of colors)
Plastic frog(variety of colors)
Metamorphosis display *
Frog (mounted)skeleton *
Procedure:
1. Display 6 different colored laminated lily pads.
2. Place one frog of each color on each lily pad.
3. Challenge students to “camouflage” the frogs and move them to the corresponding
color lily pad. Variations of the activity may include timing the students with a stop
watch to see how fast they can complete the game, and discussing animal warning
colors as another type of animal defense. Extension activity (for use with older (3rd
grade) students) - this involves some strategy which is why it is more appropriate for
older children; challenge students to camouflage all frogs on corresponding lily pads
as previously instructed however, instruct them that once they move a frog to a lily pad
they can only take a frog from the lily pad they added one to and continue that system
until all frogs are placed on matching color lily pads.
8. Creepy crawly stations*
Background: Insects and spiders belong to a special group of invertebrates known as arthropods
(invertebrates with jointed legs). All insects have 6 legs, 3 body parts (head, thorax, abdomen), 0
(all young insects, some adults), 2 (flies only), or 4(the usual for winged insects) wings, antennae,
compound eyes (some insects), simple eyes. The head contains the antennae which insects use to
feel, smell, taste and even hear with, eyes both compound (faceted like flies and dragonflies – see
color and images) and simple (only see darkness and light) and mouthparts that are essentially legs
that were modified for various feeding styles including, but not limited to, chewing (caterpillars),
piercing (mosquitos), sucking (cicadas), grabbing (dragonfly larva) and sponging (houseflies). The
thorax of insects contain the wings and legs and thus is important in helping insects move. The
abdomen contains most of the vital organs. Unlike vertebrates, which breathe through their noses
or gills,, insects breathe through holes in their abdomens called spiracles. The abdomen also
contains the ovipositors (or egg-layers) of the female insects. Some of these are inconspicuous, but
others, like those of cicadas, katydids, ichneumon wasps and crickets can easily be seen. The
stingers of bees, wasps and ants are ovipositors. Only females of these animals can sting (this is not
so with stinging hairs of some caterpillars).
Materials: Insect poster with velcro’d body part labels, toy insect & spiders, bug eyes,
hornet’s nest (VC), Tarantula shed, cicada shed
Procedure: Set up the insect chart with labels in proper place. Invite the students to help
you out. Hand out the toy insects and spiders. (Gently remind them that they cannot keep
them). Go through each characteristic of insects.(6 legs, 3 body parts (head, thorax,
abdomen), antenna, usually 4 wings but can be two (flies) or none) Have them count out
the legs etc. After going through all the characteristics, ask if any of the toys were missing
one or more characteristics. Ant toy doesn’t have wings (only queens and drones have
wings). You don’t have to have wings to be a insect. Spider toys don’t have wings, three
body parts, six legs and antennas etc. because they aren’t insects. After doing the activity,
bring the artifacts out to show. (having the artifacts in sight is distracting to the activity).
Show them the bug eyes.
9. Bee Flower Matching and waggle dance Bees, butterflies and hummingbirds can all see colors.
hummingbirds like red flowers because bees can’t see red well and don’t compete well for the nectar of
these flowers.

Worker bees will often lock onto a particular color flower that is producing well at that point
during the season.
1.
Have child pick a color of flower
2.
Search for paper flowers that are that color!
Waggle Dance Game -Worker bees tell other workers where to find flowers by doing the waggle dance.
3.
Hide plastic flower
4.
Do waggle dance to show child where flower is hidden.
5.
Waggle dance is simple – just do a figure 8 and line up the intersection of the loops so you
are heading in direction of flower. Waggle your hips when heading in direction of flower!