McGlone Goes Batty for In-Class Program
The SOLE team visited McGlone Academy during Bat Week to educate 4th graders on these terrific flying mammals! To their dismay, we did not have live animals to show, since bats are wild and difficult to keep alive in captivity. The youth passed around and inspected other real specimens, such as a tiny bat skull and a fragile skeleton.
We also dressed kids up in bat costumes to demonstrate exceptional adaptations! We can show that bats have fur as mammals, that they use large ears for echolocation, and that their wings are evolved hands.
“Whoo” is the predator of bats? What do bats eat? We played a game that illustrates bats within a food chain. Students gathered tokens to imitate male mosquitoes feeding on nectar. Bats who tagged mosquitoes collected their tokens to survive. Owls preyed upon bats and collected their tokens. Generally, bats limit mosquito populations and feed owls, who are apex predators.
The final activity, to show batty behavior, involved smelling and hearing! Kids paired up as mother bats and bat pups. Blindfolded mother bats had to find their bat pups using senses alternative to sight! To be found, each pup waited with a unique smell, and emitted a unique call.
Students enjoyed using their classrooms in a new way with our movement-oriented bat program. Thanks for having us out, and we will see you all again at Family Nature Night on December 6th!
