Materials:

• Pen or pencil
• Nature journal
• Hand lens (optional)

Doing the Activity:

• In this activity, you are going to be going outside and exploring different habitats (natural home of a living organism, providing creatures with food, water, shelter and space) around your home, local park, or any outdoor space you have permission to explore. 
• Take out your nature journal to make your own survey sheet on a blank page (see below for an example survey sheet)
• When you have found the habitat you want to explore, find a comfortable place to sit for 3 minutes and listen. Do you hear any animals or creatures around? What are they?
• After you have listened for a little while, start exploring the area with other senses. What signs of life can you find? 
• Record your findings in your nature journal. When you are recording what you have found, consider the following;
  • What animals did you observe?
  • How many animals did you observe?
  • What do these animals need to live?
  • Where do these animals get water?
  • Can you find any evidence of animals eating, or being eaten by something else?
  • What kind of shelter is available to these creatures?

Complete the following information while you’re observing!

Date:

Weather:

Time:

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Spring is here! And Summer is not far behind, which means birds are more active now than any time of year! What can you learn about a bird from observing them for a day? Let鈥檚 find out!

Materials:

• Pen or pencil
• Nature Journal
• Binoculars (optional)
• Bird Identification Guide (optional)

Doing the activity:

• Start by writing down some questions that you have about a bird’s daily behavior. 
• Head outside and look for a bird! You can choose any bird you please, however, be aware if you are deep in a forest, it might be hard to see the bird in the treetops! An open area might be best for this observation activity. 
• Once you spot the bird, get ready to sit for a while and make observations. You can sit for 30 minutes, or the whole day!
• Below are a few observations to consider, but remember the questions you came up with as well, and try to answer those from watching the bird. 
  • Appearance & Flight; 
    • What does it look like?
    • How does it flap its wings when in flight? Is there a pattern to it?
    • How and where does it land?
  • Behavior & Communication;
    • What kind of behavior does the bird exhibit when defending its territory?
    • Does a pair of birds guard the nest or feed young? How do they act?
    • How do they communicate to each other?
  • Hunting / Foraging;
    • What kind of food does the bird hunt/forage for?
    • How far does it go from its perch and where does it go?
    • How much time does it spend eating and gathering food?
  • Adaptations;
    • What special adaptation does the bird have for camouflage?
    • For flying?
    • For protection?
    • For communication?
  • Habitat;
    • What habitat has the bird chosen for a nesting site?
    • For food gathering?
• Map it!
  • Create a map of the area where the bird lives. Include the nest site, how far the bird flies to get food, and how much territory the bird defends.
• Take it further! Identify the bird!
  • Reference 黑料不打烊鈥� Backyard Birding & Citizen Science lesson on www.vinsweb.org under 鈥淎t-Home Education Resources鈥� to learn the 4 simple steps to identifying birds!

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Materials: 

• Nature journal or piece of paper
• Pen / Pencil
• Tree Identification guide or

Doing the Activity:

• If there are no leaves on the trees you are identifying, you can look at the twigs on the trees! Below you will see examples of leaf patterns. If you look closely at the twig, you will see leaf scars (where the leaves used to be attached) or buds coming out. By looking at these indicators, you can tell if the leaves grow in alternate, opposite or whorled patterns – see below for explanation!)
• Head outside with your nature journal or piece of paper
• Pick which tree you want to identify 
• Determine whether or not your tree has needles or broadleaves

• Observe and take note of the shape of the leaf. The overall shape of the leaf is a great clue to the tree鈥檚 identity. They can be notched, rounded, pointed, and so on. Below are a few examples. You can always draw the leaf shape and identify it when you are indoors!

• The edges of leafs, or margins, are also helpful to look at. Some look as though they have teeth (serrated), some are smooth.

• Observe and take note of the shape of the leaf. The overall shape of the leaf is a great clue to the tree鈥檚 identity. They can be notched, rounded, pointed, and so on. Below are a few examples. You can always draw the leaf shape and identify it when you are indoors!

• The edges of leafs, or margins, are also helpful to look at. Some look as though they have teeth (serrated), some are smooth.

• Observe how the leaves are attached to the stem. Is there one leaf, which means it is 鈥渟imple鈥� or are there several leaflets branching off, which means it is 鈥渃ompound鈥�

• Look at the arrangement of the leaves on the branch. Many trees have alternate leaves staggered along the twigs, some have pairs that grow along the twig, and some grow in whorls!

• Once you have taken note of all of the above, you can head indoors and either open up a field guide for trees, or check out Arbor Day Foundation online , it will ask you a series of yes or no questions about your tree, and guide you through the identification process! Have fun!

The post Name that Tree! appeared first on 黑料不打烊.

Materials:

• Small bottle of concentrated flavoring (lemon, peppermint, vanilla, wintergreen, etc.) – if you do not have any concentrated flavors, perfume or cologne, or any scented spray will do
• Cotton balls
• Yarn or string聽
• Flagging materials, clothes, rags (something to mark boundaries)
• Science journal

Preparation for adults or students not doing the activity

• Flag or mark boundaries in an area with trees
• When students are near ready to do the activity, head outside and 鈥榮centmark鈥� some of the trees in the area (wet your cotton ball with the scent and wipe it on the tree)
• You can use more than one scent to mark different trees

Doing the Activity:

• Think about how your sense of smell is important to you. Think about a time when you could not smell as well as usual, how did this affect you?
• Take out your science journal and reflect on how animals use their sense of smell in order to survive. What purpose does smell serve for these animals?
• Head outside with some yarn and go to the activity site, you are going to be locating a type of beetle that has left a very strong smell on some of the trees. 
• Explore the trees in the boundary by smelling them. You are searching for a scent that was left behind. If you think you have found a tree that has been marked, tie some string around a branch.
• Keep exploring the area to find all the trees that have been scentmarked!
• When you believe you have found all the trees, walk the scent trail that the 鈥渂eetle鈥� left behind. Take out your science journal and reflect on the activity with the following questions:
  • Why did the animal mark those trees?
  • Where might this animal’s trail be headed?
  • How does scent benefit animals? How might it hinder them?
  • If an animal could not leave a scent, how else might they make their presence known?

Continue smelling!

• You can make 鈥淢ystery scent鈥� canister to see how well you and your family can recognize smells. Put a was of cotton into different film canister or yougurt containers (any container that you can poke a hole in will do).聽
• Put different smelly substances into separate containers (vanilla, perfume, garlic, food flavorings) and poke a hole in the top of the container.聽
• Test your sense of smell and see how many scents you are able to distinguish!

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Materials: 

• Small scraps of cardboard
• Several large paper clips

Doing the Activity:

1. Cut out several circles or squares of cardboard, be sure they are big enough聽 to make a good sized 鈥減atch鈥� on a leaf of a tree, shrub, or plant
2. Go outside and with a paper clip, attach your piece of cardboard to several leaves of a plant or tree. If there are not leaves out yet, you can cover a patch of grass, or an evergreen tree that is exposed to the sun!
3. After four days, remove the piece of cardboard and closely observe the part of the plant that the sunlight was blocked.聽
4. In your science journal, or on a piece of paper, write down you observations and think about the following;
   1. What caused the spot to appear on the leaf?
   2. Have you ever seen this happen before?
   3. How are leaves important to plants, and how might sunlight affect plant leaves?
5. Create, by drawing or writing, a model of photosynthesis.聽 Consider the following when creating your drawing.
   1. What different parts of a tree or plant work together in photosynthesis?
   2. What would happen if the sun stopped shining?
   3. Does photosynthesis take place at night?

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Materials:

• Science journal
• Pencil

Doing the Activity:

1. Find an outdoor area that you want to explore. It can be in your yard, your driveway, the park, a parking lot – any area that you want to create a study plot, or area you wish to investigate!聽
   • The plot can be a large space, where you mark your boundaries with sticks. Or it can be within a smaller area that you can mark off with string, or even a hula hoop!
2. Create a list of both living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) things that you think you will find in your plot. Make sure you note whether those things are biotic or abiotic.
   • For example, a spider is biotic, a rock is abiotic聽
3. Examine your plot for signs of animal life. Look for tracks, scat, burrows, spider webs, etc.聽 Be sure to write down any signs you find!
4. Now look for signs of plant life.
5. Inventory all you see! If you are not sure what you found, you can sketch and label the organisms to identify later. Make a tally of all the things that you find! If you found 3 spiders, be sure to note that there were 3.
6. As you are observing your plot, keep these questions in mind;
   • Is there evidence that the plot is used by animals?
   • Is there evidence that the animals prey on other organisms?
   • Do certain plants grow better in certain locations?
   • What interactions did you observe among the plants and animals?
   • How do the organisms in your plot get the water they need to survive?
   • How do you think the plants got to where they are?
   • How have people used this site, and what impact do you think they have on this ecosystem?
   • Are there signs of pollution?
7. After you are finished at your site, head inside and share your findings. Some further questions to consider are;
   • What elements of this site help to support the plants and animals living there?
   • Were there organisms you expected to find but did not? If so, why do you think they were not found?
   • What might be done to this site to make it better for plants? Animals? People?
   • How do the biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) elements of this ecosystem interact or depend on each other?

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Materials:

• A variety of seeds 
• Cups or containers (optional)

Background: For a seed to germinate and grow into a mature plant, environmental conditions must be just right.聽

• If a seed drops from the parent plant, it might compete with the parents for essential resources and have difficulty growing. Therefore, most seed-bearing plants have developed a way to disperse seeds (and or fruits) away from the parent, giving the new plant a better chance to find what it needs to grow.
• Some plants rely on wind for seed dispersal, many plants depend on animals for seed dispersal, some even eject their seeds away from their parent plant.

What to do:

1. Go out and collect numerous seeds. They can be bird seeds, seeds from the kitchen, or gathered from the outdoors. 
2. Closely examine your seeds and come up with a system for classifying them. 
3. Write down different ways the seeds are dispersed. Here are some example categories of seed dispersal:
   • Floats in the air – dandelion, cottonwood, milkweed
   • Flies through the air – maple, ash, tulip, poplar
   • Floats on water – mangrove, cranberry
   • Bounces or rolls – acorn, tumbleweed (whole plant rolls)
   • Eaten by animals – cherry, peach
   • Stored by animals –  acorn, beech, hickory
   • Sticks to animals – burdock, Queen Anne鈥檚 lace
   • Thrown – locust, lupine, witch hazel
4. Group your seeds according to dispersal categories. 
5. Answer some of the following questions:
   • How do seed鈥檚 shape and size affect dispersal?
   • What other parts of the plant help it to reproduce?
   • Why is it important for seeds to be dispersed in different ways?
   • How far can seeds be dispersed? (seeds can glide on the wind for several miles, float on water for hundreds of miles, or travel with a bird for thousands of miles.)
   • Can some seeds go further than others? How is distance important? (reduces competition for a plant鈥檚 needs in a particular area. Widespread plants increase species鈥� chances of survival.)
   • What value might seed dispersal have for plants, wildlife, and humans?

Enrichment:

• Plant some of the seeds you collected so you can observe plant germination.
• Design your own seeds with specialized dispersal mechanisms (you can use toothpicks, cotton balls, string, rubber bands, and add these to collected seeds to make a new seed design.) 
• Drop seeds in front of a fan and note differences in movement, direction, speed, and rotation. You can graph the distance each seed traveled. 
• Not all plants reproduce from seeds. Research to find out about other plants (ferns, mosses) and other species (fungi, algae) that don鈥檛 bear seeds and generally use spores or buds. Compare the reproductive system of such species to those of seed bearing plants.

The post Have Seeds, Will Travel appeared first on 黑料不打烊.

Materials:

• Science Journal
• Optional: field guides, hand lenses, bug boxes

Background: 

• A habitat is the place where a plant or animal gets all the things it needs to survive (food, water, shelter and space for having and raising offspring).
•  A tree may serve as a part of an organism’s habitat, or it may be the organism鈥檚 entire habitat. 
  • an oak tree may provide food for squirrels and nest sites for crows. But lichens and moss get everything they need right there on the tree. 
• Snags (standing dead trees) provide habitat for a number of different species. 
  • Tree frogs and bark beetles live under the bark. 
  • Woodpeckers and other birds feed on the insects that live in snags. 
  • Chickadees nest in the holes created by woodpeckers and squirrels store food in them. 

What to do:

1. Go outside and find a tree to study. Make some observations and write them in your science journal:
   • What other plants depend on this tree?  
   • What animals depend on this tree?
   • What plants or animals visit this tree?
   • What plants or animals live on or in it?
   • How do you know?
2. Draw pictures of the plants and animals you found on the tree, this will be especially helpful if you cannot identify the organism. With a labeled drawing, you can identify it inside with the help of field guide or the internet
3. Organize your findings:

• where on the tree the organism was found?
• Does the plant or animal only visit the tree or do they live on it?
• Does the organism eat parts of the tree?
• Does the organism store food in the tree?

4.  Identify how each plant and animal you observed benefits the tree, and how it affects the tree.

5. Research local tree species to find out what adaptations trees have that prevent them from becoming a habitat for other organisms. For example, some trees have high levels of tannin in the bark which keeps away insects and fungus diseases.

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 &  Video

Monday, April 27, Premier at 12:30pm

This video is part of The Night Sky Video Series.

Join 黑料不打烊 Science Educator Michelle Amato on a night sky adventure.  Learn about a few constellations you can find in the night sky during this time of year and how to find them.  She鈥檒l go over some tools you can use and learn how to create your own constellation, including the story behind it!

The post Video Investigation: Stargazing appeared first on 黑料不打烊.

Materials:

• Large paper, cardboard, or multiple papers taped together
• 3 Paper lunch bags or other containers 
• Resources to research animal and plants

Copy the sample chart (see below) onto a large piece of paper. Make enough copies of the student pages for each student. Gather resources for students to do research on plants and animals (field guides or other books, encyclopedias, access to credible websites).

What to do:

1. Ask students to name different types of environments in which animals live, and write these on a piece of paper (ex: forest, desert, arctic, ocean). Ask students if the animals living in these environments have special characteristics – or adaptations – that enables them to survive in their environment or habitat (ex: fish swim, antelopes run really fast). Tell students they are going to do an activity where they鈥檒l look at animals and determine how each is different and has special adaptations to that environment. 
2. Have students copy their chart (see below) onto a piece of paper
3. Give each student a copy of the student pages and 3 lunch bags (or other containers) and have them label each bag or container as follows:
   • Where It Lives
   • How It Moves
   • What It 鈥淲ears鈥�
4. Have students cut out individual squares in the first column and put them into the 鈥淲here It Lives鈥� bag. Then have them cut out individual squares in the second column and have them put it into the 鈥淗ow It Moves鈥� bag, cut squares in the third column to be put in the 鈥淲hat It 鈥榃ears鈥欌�� bag. Have them shake the bags to mix up squares. 
5. Have students take a square from each bag. Then, from top to bottom, have them write the word associated with the picture in the appropriate columns on their chart. They should do this until all bags are empty. When they are done, they can put the squares back into the appropriate bags.
6. Time for research! Explain to students that they will be completing the 鈥淲hat Am I鈥� column by filling in the name of an animal species that has all three of the characteristics listed in a row. 
   • For example, if a row lists forest, flies, exoskeleton, the student should research to find one or more examples of an animal living in the forest with those two adaptations.
   • If there is a combination of habitat and adaptations that students cannot identify (for example, an animal in water that has fur and hops), they can pick another characteristic from their bag to replace the characteristics that do not work. 
7. When they are done with their research, have students present their findings. For each species they identify, students should say how that species is adapted for the environment they live in. 

Variation:  Plants! 

• Ask students whether plants are specially adapted for different environments (when thinking of plants, remind them to include trees, shrubs, fungi, and aquatic plants). Give examples of adaptations such as air bladders that keep them afloat (seaweeds), tasty fruits for animals to eat and spread their seed (apple tree), structures for storing water (cactus) and so on. 
• For categories for the chart, you can suggest 鈥淲here It Lives鈥� 鈥淗ow It Reproduces鈥� 鈥淗ow It Gets Food鈥� 鈥淗ow It Looks鈥� 鈥淗ow It Protects Itself鈥�
• Students should make cards similar to those used for animals. They will identify 4 characteristics (4 cards) in each plant category. For example, if they use the category 鈥淗ow It Reproduces鈥� they may want to list characteristics such as 鈥淗as Tasty Fruit鈥� (for spreading seeds), 鈥淗as Bright Flowers鈥� (for attracting pollinators), etc. They should put these cards in appropriate bags.
• Students should make a blank chart as before with animals, but with the plant categories instead. Students pull out the cards from appropriate bags and fill in the appropriate words on their chart. Then they will research to see what plants have those three characteristics!

Sample Chart 

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