Conservation

What happens to animals' homes when their habitat is destroyed?

Things like fires or floods can destroy an animal’s home. Humans can also destroy animal habitats. Ask your child what happens to birds and their nests when we cut down trees? There are birds that find it difficult to find nesting places in certain areas because people destroy their habitats by clearing land to build homes and buildings. Ask your child how humans can help birds and other animals whose habitat has been destroyed. Humans helping living things is known as conservation. Scientists have studied birds and their habitats to learn how to build birdhouses that can accommodate their needs to survive in the area where natural habitats have been eliminated. Ask your child why humans build birdhouses in different sizes and shapes? The type of bird and size of the bird are important factors to consider before building.

Key Vocabulary: Conservation

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 birdhouse to fit the nest you created last week. Sketch your ideas for the birdhouse design on paper and show it to an adult before building. To build your birdhouse, you can use recyclable materials such as a cereal box, cardboard, construction paper, a milk jug, a plastic container or any other materials you can find. Be creative. Your birdhouse must fit your nest, have a hole for birds to enter and exit the house, and a door that you can open and close to put your nest inside.

Materials: Recyclable materials (cereal box, cardboard, plastic containers, milk carton), glue, scissors, paper

Extension: After building your first birdhouse, think about improvements you could make. Build a second birdhouse based on those improvements. Include three different geometric shapes in your new birdhouse.

• Homemade BIRD HOUSE

• Design a Cute and Easy Birdhouse

• Bird House by Libby Walden

• Buster Bear and the Bird House by Merrily Home

• The Perfect Birdhouse by Shannon Cascarini

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 architect. Architects design structures like buildings, parks, and homes. Zaha Hadid is the first female architect to earn architecture's highest honor, the Pritzker Architecture Prize (2004).

• Discover more about what architects do at Wonderopolis.

• Explore architecture with Minecraft.

• Watch this YouTube Video which explains what it takes to be an architect.

• Design an Earthquake Resistant Structure with this design challenge - just like an architect would.

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