Winter Ecology

Winter has arrived at Pok-O full-force, and with it comes our winter curriculum! Although we still offer many of the same classes regardless of the season, during the winter we lose some of our fall/spring classes (canoeing, for example) and gain some new ones, including Winter Ecology.

Winter Ecology is a class that looks at the challenges animals face in the winter, and the strategies that they have developed to address these challenges. We discuss migration, hibernation, and other adaptations, all the while doing some hands-on activities to help the kids really understand what the animals go through.

In the photo below, we are checking the results of an experiment about finding warm places to hibernate. Students are each given a small container filled with hot, liquid jello, and need to find a place that will keep it warm over the next 10 to 15 minutes. If they find a place that will keep their "animal" warm, the jello remains liquid. If their burrow is too cold, however, the jello congeals.

In the next picture, you'll see students playing the "Tracking Game." In this game, the students pair up, with one playing the role of the predator, and the other the prey. The "prey" walks across an area of clean snow, leaving tracks that they hope will confuse their predator. Then the "predator" gets a chance to try to follow the tracks, and see if they can end up in the same place as their prey. (In the picture, the predators are trying to figure out which way their prey went.)

After students track each other, we head into the woods to look for, identify, and follow real animal tracks. In a recent class, we followed a set of deer tracks for quite a distance, and were able to find branches that the deer had nibbled on and places where the deer had gone to the bathroom. (The students were especially excited to find the deer poop, as pictured below.)

Winter at Pok-O is a great time to head outdoors and learn more about what's going on in the cold. We'll try to post more about our other winter classes soon!