In the Museum
When the groups arrive, they start
by watching an 8-minute video that gives the students background
information regarding the Museum, and introduces them to the
founder and carver, Bob Spear.
After the video, students travel
through the Museum using age-appropriate scavenger hunts.
The scavenger hunts focus on topics such as bird identification,
migration, adaptations, and nesting habitat. All scavenger
hunts have been designed to coincide with Vermont's Grade
Expectations.
Our collection of biologically accurate woodcarvings offers a unique opportunity to observe birds that will not fly away! Each of more than 120 free-standing displays includes a male and female pair, their nest and eggs, and vegetation typical of their habitat.
A viewing window allows protected audio/visual learning from live birds (when they come to the feeders). We have guide books for identification, bird anatomy, and more. We also have some audio devices for exploring and learning about bird communication.
There is also an exhibit on North American Endangered and Extinct Species, two Wetland Dioramas of birds that can be found on Lake Champlain, and a collection of information about native butterflies.
|
Outdoor Learning
We have 100 acres and trails throughout
the property. We are an Audubon Important Bird Area and a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat.
On our land, students may develop bird identification skills, explore the Natural/Unnatural Trail, write poems and essays, investigate the different bird species in forest upland and successional habitats, and enjoy picnic lunches. If your group is interested in further outdoor education, we encourage you to combine your visit here with one to our neighbor, Green Mountain Audubon.
Scheduling a Visit
It's easy! Call the Museum at (802) 434-2167
or e-mail museum@birdsofvermont.org.
Our indoor program generally lasts 1½ hours and can be combined
with a visit to Audubon Vermont. Students can also have lunch
at our picnic tables, or take a walk on the Museum grounds. School and camp groups get a discounted admission of $2.50 each for students age 17 and younger.
Expanding your visit with Green Mountain Audubon
In 2007
the Museum began partnering with Audubon Vermont to create
an indoor / outdoor experience for your students. For more
information please read our brochure, All About Birds (3.2MB PDF)
Before leaving, encourage your students to enter our Art Contest!
|
Bird Identification
By studying the bird carvings or
looking at live birds at our bird feeders, students can practice
observation and identification skills. Novice birders can look for differences
in size, color, and preferred location. More advanced birders can look
for ID marks such as eye rings and wing bars, and preferred foods and perches. They may relate these to habitat requirements, protection and camoflage against predation, and breeding success (or not).
Habitats
Some birds prefer conifers, some open
meadows and others Lake Champlain. By studying the bird's
preferred nesting habitat, students can see the different
types of habitats needed to sustain our diverse population of birds.
This introduces students to other topics such as the need
for habitat diversity, the importance of land protection, or the ways in which Vermonters' changing land use habits has affected both which birds and how many are where in Vermont.
Migration Migration
is when birds travel, often great distances, in order to survive. Using the carvings and the corresponding
range maps, students can learn where Vermont's summer birds
go in the winter and where the winter birds spend their summers. This leads directly to studies in geography, navigation, and habitat, as well as to biology concepts such as energy use and storage in a body, survival strategies, or generalist/specialist adaptations.
|
Adaptations
Birds are a special type of being. Although
other creatures can fly; only birds have feathers. Birds have
many special adaptations for flight. Birds fit into many
ecological niches, from high forests to open farms to wetlands and shorelines. Their food choices vary at least as much as ours do: it would be impossible for a hummingbird
to gobble up a mouse, and it would be just as impossible for
a hawk to slurp up some nectar from a flower. Using biologically
accurate carvings, discover how the structure of a bird's body
and its behavior fit it to its niche in the
environment.
Nesting
Birds build their nests in all kinds
of places. Some nest high in trees while others nest on the
ground. Birds also use a variety of nesting materials to build
their nests, including sticks, mud, stones, grass, spider
webs, and even snake skins. See how different nesting
styles reflect birds' ingenuity at using the materials provided
by their environment for protection of their young. Expand this into concepts of bird growth and development from egg to adult, competition for resources, bird reproduction and parenting strategies, variation in nests between species, and variation in nests between individuals within species. What nesting behaviors are learned and which are instinctive?
|
