Virtual Saturday Family Science

Animals All Around Us
Saturday, May 16, 10am

Close your eyes and picture this: Birds singing on a sunny day, squirrels chasing each other up a tree, ants carrying a cookie crumb through your kitchen. We live in a world full of animals that we can learn so much from, and all we have to do is pay attention.  This week we’re taking a closer look at the animals that surround us and explore concepts like habitat, adaptation, and evolution. Any and all animals around you can be included like grey squirrels, song birds, and any animals you have in your own family!

Live Stream Link

Join Aemelia Thompson at 10am on Saturday, May 16 for the live stream portion of Virtual Saturday Science.

HELPFUL TIP: Please change your Zoom screen name to your child’s name. This will help Aemelia to call on and interact with your child directly.

Learn

This week we will look at observing animals and their adaptations. In this video, Hitchcock Center Educator Aemelia Thompson explains what an adaptation is and observes one of the Hitchcock Centers animal ambassadors!

Explore

Here there are two Hitchcock Animal Observation Sheets.  The Beginner observation sheet is more compatible for a few words and pictures.  The Detailed observation sheet is for learners who want to write more.

Good animals to observe for this activity:

• Birds in a nest
• Spider in a web
• Ant nest
• Animals in pond
• Pets living at home
• Squirrels in a tree

Take a walk around or block or in the woods with this Local Animal Scavenger Hunt.  See if you can notice these animals and their behaviors.

Make

Make an Animals Movement Dice! Need to move in a more creative way? Here is a craft activity that will get you up and moving, like an animal that is!

Make these eye focusers for the whole family to help you in far off or small observations.

Watch

This amazing video of scientists observing squirrel behavior from a squirrels points of view with a robotic spy squirrel!

If you’d like to observe live animal behavior of an animal not from Massachusetts you can find many windows into those worlds at the sites below.

There are some live streams of animals in their natural habitat. There are also many animals in zoos or aquariums. These establishments work hard to recreate the animals habitat to encourage them to behave as if they were in the wild.

Curious about upcoming Virtual Saturday Family Science programs? Registration opens each Tuesday prior to the Saturday program.

Did your family have fun and learn from this content? Consider making a donation of any amount to help support Saturday Family Science.