Animal Adventures
Habitat Engineering: Nests
In this science experience, your child will explore habitat engineering.
Animals across all walks of life build their homes using nothing more than discovered materials. From webs and hives, to dams and burrows, animal architects are busy at work all around us. Building a nest is a really important part of a bird's life. It is the home where they sleep, where they raise babies, and how they find their mate!
In this activity, you are going to build a bird's nest using materials you find outside! When engineering your nest, make sure it is big enough for a bird to sit and lay eggs, and soft enough for a bird sleep.
While constructing these habitats, here are some questions to investigate with your child:
What materials are you using to build your animal habitat? How are these materials similar to and different from the materials that animals use?
What tools are you using to build these habitats? How to animals build their habitats?
What shapes and patterns do you see in animal habitats? Why do you think these patterns occur?
Materials:
Paper plate
Yarn/String
Cotton balls
Tissues
Leaves
Twigs
Grass
Scrap cloth
Directions:
Build the nest frame. Lay twigs around the circumference of the paper plate
Using grass or string to tie the twigs together
Use twigs and string to build up the walls, weaving the twigs into the base
Use additional materials such as cotton balls, tissues, and grass to make a comfortable nest
Things to Try:
Using a hairdryer, test how well your nest holds up to wind. Did your nest survive the storm, or did it collapse? What can you do to make your nest more durable?
How well does your nest handle water? Using a hose, watering can, or water faucet, test whether your nest holds water, or lets it drain away.
Examining the Experiment: Building with Beaks
Birds use their beaks to construct their nests. The shape and structure of beaks allow birds to manipulate delicate materials, tucking and weaving into tight gaps, building intricately woven nests.
Beak shape have a huge impact on the type of nests birds can build. Compare the needle-like beak of a humming bird and the wide, hook shaped beak of the Bald Eagle, and the long wide-beak of the Toucan. How do you think these beaks hurt or help these birds as they build their nests? How might their beak-shape affect the size and type of nest their species builds?
