Every spring, birds build nests to lay their eggs and raise the new baby birds in. How does a bird create its home? You’ll find out today when you make one yourself! This is officially a no glue and tape zone. We’re using organic materials only for these STEAM enriched bird nests!
What you need:
- Scissors
- Paper Plate
- Twigs, grasses, leaves, mosses
What you do:
There are many ways to build a bird nest, and it’s up to students to find them! Use the twigs, grass, leaves, and moss to construct a nest on top of the paper plate. The scissors are a handy tool for snipping and sizing the materials to best fit what nest you would like the build.
Let students put their problem solving and engineering skills to work. If their nest won’t stay together, challenge them to find creative ways to solve that issue. As a result, they will come up with creative self-made solutions to their problems!
Questions to consider:
- How do you think a bird builds its nest?
- In what ways could you make your bird nest stronger?
- Could your bird nest stand up to different weather conditions?
Why it works:
Birds make nests, not to flex their STEAM skills, but in order to keep their eggs and babies safe from predators and the elements. Not all bird nests are the same, and some birds don’t make nests at all! The ones that do, however, use the materials found their habitat to create their homes.
This can include the materials we used — twigs, grass, leaves, and moss — as well as mud, fur, lichens, paper, plastic, and yarn. Nesting doesn’t just occur in trees, either. You can find nests on the ground, in burrows, in man-made structures, and even sitting on the sides of cliffs!
