Discover a Habitat

Topic:
Researching on the Web

Type of Web activity:
information gathering, graphic arts, building an ecological habitat.

Materials / Software needed:
Web browser

Materials for construction

11x14 sheet of paper (colored or white)

glue stick

scissors

Audience:
Student
Teacher

Grade Level:
8 - 12

Time involved:
2 hours

Created on:
7/26/00...

The Web Science Workshop lessons were created in cooperation with the Exploratorium Teacher Institute .

This site developed and maintained by Deborah Hunt and Eric Muller .

3601 Lyon St.
San Francisco, CA 94123

©2000 The Exploratorium

Discover the ecology of an area you would like to study. In this activity, you can make a little book about a habitat in a location you are interested in studying. The book might contain a snapshot of the range of animals, plants, insects, geographic and weather information in a particular area.

The book you make is the start of an engaging exploration to create a backyard or school habitat garden. After doing your web research, the book contains information about some of the flora or fauna you might find in a specific place. You can use the web to do research, download pictures, and print out information.

Make a simple book or use a small notebook. To make a simple book fold the 11x14 sheet of paper in half lengthwise. Then fold the long rectangle in half and then half again. Open the paper up all the way...fold the top half down. Make a cut in the paper in the middle fold. Reopen page, accordian the middle where the page is cut and fold like a book.

Go to the website enature.com . Type in the zip code or city that you are interested in researching the habitat. Print out the pages with 3 birds, 1 mammal and 1 reptile or amphibian that you are interested in learning about.

Go to the website insects.org . Goto the entophiles section. In the first paragraph you will see a button for search. Do a search for the city that you used in the query above. (This site is good for San Francisco bugs) Print out the bug page. Look around the website to find another cool bug and print it out. Paste it in your handy notebook.

Go to the California Native Plant Society site. At the bottom of the home page there is a search the site feature. Do a search for your city. Go to the "Gardening with Native Plants" link. Identify three plants that attract wildlife and put them in your book. Find out about what it takes to make a good wildlife habitat.

Go to the California Academy of Sciences Wildflower Site and find two wildflowers that attract wildlife. Look up Coastal Buckwheat and Sticky Monkey flower and print out those pictures.

"To be finished at a later time.