Science & Nature Activities for Cooped Up Kids
Whether you’re a teacher who needs to share easy-to-implement content with your students, or you’re a parent striving to best engage and educate your child at home, you’ll find these materials relevant and fun! With engaging, self-paced slideshows, these activities can be self-guided for kids in grades 3-8, while K-2 learners will probably need an adult guide.
Being in nature decreases stress and boosts creativity, so encourage kids to complete the outside portions as much as possible.
To help students get the most out of the activities, we recommend you start with week one and complete the activities in order. But here are a few options for grouping if you have limited time.
- Life Cycles – Activities 2-4
- Backyard Birds – Activity 5 & 9
- Birds Around the World – Activity 1 & 8
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Activity 1 – Diversity
From their dinosaur ancestors, birds have evolved into an amazingly diverse group. Discover diversity and adaptation through fun hands-on activities. Take the quest and share your experiences with our Facebook community!
Activity 1 Activities – Diversity
Activity 2 – Courtship
Known for their glorious songs and early dawn choruses, birds rely heavily on sound. Why are they so noisy? Find out as we explore the first two stages of the nesting cycle in this week’s activities and quests.
Activity 2 Activities – Courtship
Activity 3 – Life Cycles: Nests and Eggs
What do leaves, twigs, mud and hair have in common? They’re all used in nest building! Explore life cycles by engaging in hands-on activities and quests all around nests and eggs.
Activity 4: Life Cycles – Birds Growing Up
Getting ready for adulthood is hard work. Take a look at what life in a nest is like for baby birds. Discover similarities between human babies and baby birds.
Activity 5: Bird ID
Have you ever come across a bird and wondered, “what is that?” In this week’s activities, we’ll give you tools to solve your bird ID mystery.
Activity 6: Flight and Migration
Preparing for take off! If you have ever wondered how birds stay up in the air, why they migrate, and how they relate to airplanes, explore this week’s activities.
Activity 7: Bird Behavior
Discover some common and surprising bird behaviors, what they mean, and how they help birds survive!
Activity 8: Earth Expedition
Pack your bags and take a trip around the world to discover amazing birds and the scientists who study them!
Activity 9: Feeding Wild Birds
Get to know your neighborhood birds by inviting them to dinner! Find out what birds eat, how birds’ beaks are related to their diet, and design your own bird feeder.
Activity 9 – Feeding Wild Birds
Activity 10: Observe and Question
Focus in on the first two steps of the scientific process with activities designed to inspire curious questions. Explore ways to observe and ask questions about the natural world whether outside or from a window.
Activity 10 – Observe & Question
Activity 11: Bird Anatomy
How do birds spot prey from a mile away, and fly higher than Mount Everest? The secret lies in their bodies. In these hands-on activities, kids will explore the amazing anatomy of birds, and discover how their adaptations help them thrive.
Activity 12: Crows are Cool
What bird lives in family groups, keeps an eye out for its neighbors, solves puzzles, and remembers human faces? The American Crow! Kids will learn more about the amazing lives of crows through videos and interactive activities, make a crow tool, and create a comic.
Quests
Chose from a list of exciting weekly quest options to engage the entire family! Complete one or all quests and share your findings.