(All text and photos for this post are contributed by 3rd grader Abigail Middaugh.)
Our Field Trip
My grade
took a field trip to the Leslie Science and Nature Center. We first rode on a
yellow school bus for about 20 minutes until we arrived. Then we all filed into
a large room. There, we got to meet a barred owl!
We talked about what character
traits the owl had and what they were meant for. After that, we split up into
different groups with our own specific tour guides. My group’s tour guide was
named Michelle. We then discussed what adaptation meant and what different
adaptations different birds have. As we toured some birdcages, we noticed what
adaptations they had and for what
purposes they were.
I think my favorite bird that I saw was the turkey vulture.
I had never seen it before!
We soon gathered in a rocky clearing to examine
some bird body parts. First, we looked at a turkey wing, which was stiff as a
newspaper hot of the press! The other things we explored included a duck scull
and a pelican beak bone (Those bones were surprisingly hollow! Michelle told us
that birds that can fly have hollow bones whereas birds that can’t fly have solid bones, such as
penguins or ostriches.).
We also identified some very (and when I mean very, I mean that they were the largest eggs in the world, literally!)large eggs as ostrich's eggs. One was black — as black as a cat on a halloween night!
We then went to another (bigger) clearing to play a game. Before we started, though, we discussed how birds migrate and if it is hard for them or not(which it is). Then we played a migration game. Here is how it went: There were about 20 stations (pieces of paper lying on the ground) that each said something different on them. You would role a die, then move that many stations. When you stopped at the right station, you would do what the card said. By the end, you either "made it" or "didn't make it". That was probably one of my favorite parts about the field trip.
Next, we went into the large room that we started in. There were stations too! At each of them, there was a bowl of something and 3 utensils, resembling bird beaks, to pick the thing(s) in the bowl up. The object of the activity was to find out which utensil beak picked the thing(s) in the bowl up best.
By the time we walked outside, we were almost done with the field trip! We were going to walk on a nature trail next. Before we started, Michelle told us to be very quiet so we could listen to all the different bird calls. She also told us that there are millions of different kinds! In other words, as many bird calls in the world as there are pennies in a million dollars! By that time, it was so hot outside, I felt like I was in the middle of a burning house!
And I bet you can't guess what happened next. As if I had called it down from the sky, it started to rain! What a relief! Before long, I felt much better. Also at that time, we had to get back on the bus to go back to school.
I would have much to tell when I got home!
 |
| some type of owl |
 |
| peregrine falcon |
 |
| turkey vultures! |
We also identified some very (and when I mean very, I mean that they were the largest eggs in the world, literally!)large eggs as ostrich's eggs. One was black — as black as a cat on a halloween night!
We then went to another (bigger) clearing to play a game. Before we started, though, we discussed how birds migrate and if it is hard for them or not(which it is). Then we played a migration game. Here is how it went: There were about 20 stations (pieces of paper lying on the ground) that each said something different on them. You would role a die, then move that many stations. When you stopped at the right station, you would do what the card said. By the end, you either "made it" or "didn't make it". That was probably one of my favorite parts about the field trip.
Next, we went into the large room that we started in. There were stations too! At each of them, there was a bowl of something and 3 utensils, resembling bird beaks, to pick the thing(s) in the bowl up. The object of the activity was to find out which utensil beak picked the thing(s) in the bowl up best.
By the time we walked outside, we were almost done with the field trip! We were going to walk on a nature trail next. Before we started, Michelle told us to be very quiet so we could listen to all the different bird calls. She also told us that there are millions of different kinds! In other words, as many bird calls in the world as there are pennies in a million dollars! By that time, it was so hot outside, I felt like I was in the middle of a burning house!
And I bet you can't guess what happened next. As if I had called it down from the sky, it started to rain! What a relief! Before long, I felt much better. Also at that time, we had to get back on the bus to go back to school.
I would have much to tell when I got home!
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