Birds

How does an animal's structure help it eat?

Different living things have special structures to obtain food, reproduce and protect themselves. Plants have special structures like leaves, roots and stems. Animals have special structures like horns, wings, and gills. Ask your child, what special structures do humans have? As your child watches the programs, think about the special structures in each animal and how their structures help them get food. After watching, explain to your child that special structures (size and shape) of a bird’s wings affect its speed, distance and ability to move around quickly. This is important for hunting.

Key Vocabulary: Structure

Watch an episode of Wild Kratts.

Wild Kratts airs Monday - Friday on WITF TV at 7:30am and 12:30pm. You can also watch on WITFK 24/7 at 6pm and 6:30pm. The Wild Kratts episode you choose will help you explore animals and where they live.

Design and build a paper glider to test how wing size and shape affect the distance and speed a bird can fly. Take a piece of paper and fold it in half lengthwise and then unfold it so there is a fold line down the center of the paper. Fold the top two corners down so they meet at the fold line. Fold the paper back in half along the first long fold line you made. You can design the rest of the glider anyway you want. You can cut, glue, and/or fold the sides and back to make your glider’s wings and tail. Go outside and test your glider. Now, design and build a different shaped glider. Make sure the sides and back of the glider look different. Test your second glider. How did the structure of the glider affect its flight?

Materials: Paper, scissors, glue

Extension: Design and build a third glider. Fly all three gliders and create a way to measure the distance they fly. You could use footsteps or a ruler or a large piece of string. Create a way to graph or show how far each glider travelled.

• What a Piece of Paper!

• Top Flight

• Animal Defences: How Animals Protect Themselves by Etta Kaner

• Animals Brag About Their Bottoms by Maki Sato

• The Big Book of Birds by Yuval Zommer

• Kids' Paper Airplane Book by Ken Blackburn and Jeff Lammers

Also check your local library! You can find a list on our main page of local library systems.

If you enjoyed this week's activities and resources, you could be an Aerospace Engineer! Aerospace Engineers, like Neil Armstrong, design and build airplanes and spacecrafts.

• Check out this PBS Kids game on space exploration.

• Learn more about the Four Forces of Flight with this activity.

• Create a Leaf Glider.

Also check out our STEM Career Connections page for more ideas about STEM Careers!