“I Scienced” At-Home Activities Recommended Grades: PreK-2

©2020 Chicago Zoological Society. The Chicago Zoological Society is a private nonpro�t organization that operates Brook�eld Zoo on land owned by the Forest Preserves of Cook County.

This week, Brookfield Zoo’s Animal Care staff are presenting animals that have special abilities or body parts that help them find food and water or escape predators.

Work with your family and take a closerlook at these photos from some animals highlighted last week.

Now it’s your turn to design an animal you think would be good at finding food or escaping predators. Use recycled materials and items around your house. Or you can use Play-Doh, paper, and markers or crayons to create your creature.

Circle the body parts that help the animals find food or water.

Draw a box around the body parts that help the animals escape predators. 1 2

My animal is good at (circle one):

FINDING FOOD

ESCAPING PREDATORS

We’d love to see the animals you create! Share your photos with us — #BrookfieldZoo

My animal lives (circle one):

in a TREE

on the GROUND

in the WATER

My animal EATS:

“I Scienced” At-Home Activities Recommended Grades: 3-5

©2020 Chicago Zoological Society. The Chicago Zoological Society is a private nonpro�t organization that operates Brook�eld Zoo on land owned by the Forest Preserves of Cook County.

Animal You Watched

Physical Feature or Trait Advantage of Having Trait

This week, Brookfield Zoo’s Animal Care staff are presenting species of animals that have physical features that help them find food and water, find a mate, or escape predators. These physical features are also called “traits.” As you view Brookfield Zoo’s Animal Care team this week, listen and watch for some of the traits that help the animals thrive.

VariationsThe traits you listed are passed on from parent to offspring, but do all babies look exactly like their parents?

Think about African painted dogs, for example (see photo below). What differences or variations do you see among this group?

What advantages or disadvantages do you think an individual painted dog might have based on what you observe?

Think About It...Spend time looking out your window at wildlife in your backyard or around your neighborhood. Watch animals such as birds, squirrels, or rabbits. Use the circles at right to track your observations.

Which traits do the animals have that are advantages, or help them thrive in their habitat?

Which traits are disadvantages, or prevent them from thriving in their habitat?

What do the animals give to their habitat and what does the habitat give to the animals?

“I Scienced” At-Home Activities Recommended Grades: 3-5

©2020 Chicago Zoological Society. The Chicago Zoological Society is a private nonpro�t organization that operates Brook�eld Zoo on land owned by the Forest Preserves of Cook County.

“I Scienced” At-Home Activities Recommended Grades: 3-5

©2020 Chicago Zoological Society. The Chicago Zoological Society is a private nonpro�t organization that operates Brook�eld Zoo on land owned by the Forest Preserves of Cook County.

Colorand Pattern: Overall Size:

Length of Legs:Size of Ears:

Notes and Observations

on Traits

Based on your observations, what statement can you make about variations in plants or animals?

You can even explore spring plants and look at variation in flowers.

For instance, what happens to dandelions that have long stems when it’s time to cut the grass?

What happens to those with very short stems during grass cutting?

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