Audubon Center and Birds of Vermont Museum

We went to the Audubon Center and Birds of Vermont Museum. We got to experience and learn so much more about birds on this trip! We had a scavenger hunt in the museum and saw over 500 carved wooden birds. They were almost all carved by Robert Spear, Jr., a native Vermonter. 

We loved seeing all of the intricately carved and painted birds and especially loved seeing his workshop! We looked at feathers under microscopes, learned about owl pellets, and looked at different eggs under magnifying glasses.

 At the viewing window, we used binoculars to see different birds at the feeders. We loved seeing all of the squirrels, but also saw gold finches, cardinals, blue jays, and woodpeckers!

 We went on a walk and used guides to identify different birds. We saw red winged black birds and swallows! We also learned some different bird calls and tried them out!

 As we got further into the woods, we got to play a game of "find the bird." There were different stuffed birds hidden throughout the woods. We had to use photographs of birds and find them in the woods!

Our guide, Gwen, showed us different bird nests, including a humming bird's nest! It was so tiny! Then we got to build our own nests using nonliving things in the woods. When we were done we returned the woods the way we found it!

We had such a fun and memorable day! Ask your ornithologist what his/her favorite part of the day was!

Chicks!!!

We have been following our chicks' development for 21 days and finally - they hatched! We were able to watch almost all of them hatch on our big screen (thanks to our iPad and projector). What an incredible experience!

Once they hatched, we moved them to the brooding box, taught them how to drink, and watched them "fluff" up. We talked about safety and health rules for handling birds and then were able to hold them!

Check out the collage below for some photos and videos of our week with the chicks!

Beak Experiment

We have been learning about birds! Last week we investigated bird beaks.

For our investigations, we used three types of beaks: stork (wood skewers), wood pecker (tweezers), and spoon bill (spoon). At each station we had different types of bird food: seeds, worms, and fish. Our job was to see how many pieces of food we could pick up (one piece at a time) in two minutes. This was a true test of perseverance, patience, and fine motor skill. ;)

After two minutes, we recorded how many food items we collected with our beak and then switched beaks. Eventually, we had used every type of beak for every type of food. Then we compared to decide which beak was best for each food type.

Ask your scientist for more details on this experiment!

Engineering Projects

We have been doing lots of engineering projects lately! We've been learning about biomimicry (using nature as an inspiration to solve human problems). We've also been learning about beans and birds! In both units, we had engineering projects. Check out the slideshow below for pictures and videos of our plans! (You can click videos/photos to enlarge).