Select Page

Fill the Bill

Fill the Bill

We had a very special lesson on bird beaks and bills and how they are designed to get food in different ways.  To do this, we had four different stations:

  1. Vase Station –  We had water in tall narrow vases.  The students had to see which worked better to get water out of the vase – a straw or a slotted spatula.  This was to simulate nectar eating birds like the humming bird.
  2. Marshmallow Station – At this station, the students had either chopsticks or small fishnets.  They had to try and catch small marshmallows tossed at them.  This was to simulate birds trying to catch insects out of the air.
  3. Macaroni Station – This station had two big bowls of macaroni floating in water.  The students had to see which worked the best to get the macaroni out – a straw or a large slotted spoon.  This was to simulate birds like a pelican getting fish out of the water.
  4. Log Station – At this station, grains of rice were put on the log.  The students had to use a small fishnet or tweezers to get the rice off the log.  This was to simulate birds like a woodpecker.

After the stations, we gathered in the cork to discuss what seemed to work the best.  The only place there was some disagreement at was the log station.  Some students had some great success with the net. 🙂  Make sure to ask your student what station they liked the best and which tool worked the best at each station.

Finally, a big “Thank you” to Mrs. Halverson and Mrs. Dow for coming in to run a station.  Also, thank you to everyone that was able to send things in to help us out in any way along the way.