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Animal Homes
 What makes a good home for an animal family? Find out where different types of animals like to live and how they build
special homes for themselves and their families!
Observe an Animal in Its Habitat
One of the best ways to learn what makes a good home for an animal is to
observe animals that have already built their homes. Here are some things
to look for:
- Out in your backyard or in a park, look for homes such as a bird's
nest in tree branches,
a raccoon hole in tree trunks, a rabbit hole in the ground, a spider's web
on bushes, and any other places
you think an animal may be living.
- Without getting too close to this possible home, watch for signs of
activity. Are there any birds flying close to the nest? Do you see a
squirrel looking for food?
- If you see an animal or insect, watch what it is doing and where it is
going. Is it gathering or finding food? Is it making any noise? Is it
cleaning itself? If you watch long enough, you may be able to see where its
home is.
- If you know where an animal keeps its home, look around the area at how
good that home is for the animal. Is there plenty of food? Is there a source
of water nearby? Does its home provide shelter from the weather like sun or
rain or snow? Is there enough space for the animal and its babies? How well
does the home protect the animal family from danger?
- Write down the interesting things that you saw and found in a nature
notebook or journal and draw pictures of the animals and their homes.
Make an Insect Habitat
 If you observed an insect in the wild, such as a ladybug, a beetle, or an
ant, try making a home for it based on what you learned. Collect the items you
will need as you answer the questions below.
- What was the insect's environment like? Was it in the
grass, on a tree, in a bush? Was it crawling on sticks? Try to include all
these things to help make your bug happy.
- Where did it make its home? Did it bury itself in sand? Was it hiding
under a piece of wood? Include something similar in your habitat.
- What about water? Insects don't need a lot of water, but they probably
prefer the dirt in their habitat to be moist or the wood to be damp.
- Does the insect have food? If you watched it chomping on a particular leaf,
add it to the habitat.
- Does the insect like to hide? Try to make a shelter where it can feel
safe. Use leaves, twigs, sand, or anything you saw the insect using in
nature.
- To prepare a home for your bug, find a clean, empty container, such as a
jar or bug habitat. Make sure the container has plenty of air holes that are
smaller than your bug so that it won't climb out. Add the leaves, twigs, dirt, sand, gravel, or anything
else you collected while observing your bug in nature.
- Once the habitat is ready, put your bug in it and watch some more. How is it doing? Is it
acting similar to the way it was when you observed it in nature? (You may have
to let your bug get used to its new environment for a few hours before it
will
start acting the way it did in nature.)
What's Happening?
For an animal to be happy and healthy in its home, it needs food, water,
shelter, and security. Observing an animal in its natural environment is one of
the best ways to learn what an animal needs to survive and for you to make a
home for it. However, animals also need to roam and generally need a larger territory than
you can provide for it in a bug habitat, so it is best to release the bug back to nature after a couple of days.
Make a Bird's Nest
If you found a bird's nest in your neighborhood or park, don't touch it, but
look at it carefully. What is it made of? How do you think a bird made it? To
help get an idea of what great architects birds are, try your own hand at
building a bird's nest, using the same materials birds use!
Materials:
- Twigs, grass, mud, leaves, pine needles, straw, and anything
else you have seen birds using
- Newspaper or drop cloth
What to Do:
- Spread the newspaper over your work surface to help keep the area clean.
- Use the materials you gathered to build a nest like the nest you found.
Try to make it as strong and as sturdy as possible.
- To test your handiwork, try placing it outside on a tree branch or
someplace where you think a bird would like to have a nest.
- Wait a few days or weeks and watch to see if any birds use your nest as their
home.
Was it hard getting all those materials to stick together and make the shape
of a nest? Imagine building that nest using just a beak and in the branch of a
tree! Isn't it amazing how well birds can build their own homes?
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