Sensory Sensation School Activities

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SENSORY SENSATION - Worksheet 1

Activity 1 - Bats - echo-location

EcholocationIn the 1930s it was discovered that bats use high pitched sounds like a natural sonar to locate food and to navigate. When these sounds bounce off objects bats are capable of listening to these echoes and are able to judge the object’s distance, movement and size.

Bat Echolocation Fun Facts:If you’re an insect flying 5-7 metres away from a bat in complete darkness - you’ve had it! Humans generally cannot hear the high pitched sounds that bats make.Some bats send echolocation sounds though their nose but most bats use their mouth.Remarkably, bats prevent damage to their own ears by closing them at every wing stroke.All bat species in Wyre use echolocation as they eat insects. (Although fruit bats in other countries use their eyesight and sense of smell).Amazingly even when thousands of bats are flying out of a cave they can still use their echolocation despite the noise.Different species of bats use different patterns of echolocation frequencies to find food and to navigate.

You will need:Blindfold

One person volunteers to stand in the middle of the circle with a blindfold on, and be the bat. Two or three children are chosen to be moths. The bat shouts “bat bat bat” continuously whilst tring to catch the moths (who are continually shouting “moth moth moth”) whilst running around within the circle made up of the remaining children. Once the bat catches a moth, the moth joins the circle. When all moths are ‘eaten’, another player becomes the bat.

Activity 2 - Animal sounds

You will need:EnvelopesPrinted cardsMap

Split the main group into 3-5 smaller equal sized groups. Give each group an envelope with enough cards for each member of the group. Send each group off to a different area marked within the vicinity. They open their envelopes to discover cards with animal names printed on them. (Note: Each group has exactly the same cards). The cards are handed out and each child runs around making the sound of their animal. The idea is that they have to pair up with similar animals from the other groups and then in their new group get back to a finish point which will have been pre marked on the map. The first full group back wins.

Did you know?

Sharpest hearingThe Owl: These birds have phenomenal hearing. Their large ear holes are at slightly different heights, above and below eye level, helping them pinpoint the vertical positions of sound sources. But what is truly astonishing is their reaction time. In complete darkness, it takes tawny owls less than 0.01 of a second to assess the precise direction of a scurrying mouse, for example.

Best hearing defenceTiger Moths: Bats use echolation – to detect prey in the dark. However some moths, such as the tiger moth have evolved super sensitive ears that can hear bats’ ultrasonic chirps. So when they hear a bat closing in on them – they can take evasive action, often resulting in a dramatic aerial acrobatic contest between predator and prey; which the bat should win. So moths have become smarter. Instead of just taking evasive action, they emit sound back to the bat, often emitting as many as 450 clicks in 1/10th of a second. Such action effectively jams the bat’s sonar and confuses them, allowing the moth to fly another day.

Cuckoo Raven

Bat Tawny Owl

Woodpecker

Fox Cricket

Honeybee

SENSORY SENSATION - Worksheet 2

Activity - Scent game

You will need:10 tubs with lids painted black with small holes pierced in the lids and numbered 1 to 10 clearly10 strong smelling foods (inc 1 inedible) eg:

Camembert cheeseTunaEgg mayonaiseMint sauceTar/bitumenChocolate sauceCoffeeMushroom soupLemonsCurry

Sit the group around in a circle with a piece of paper and a pen each. Write down numbers 1 to 10. Pass the tubs around. Each person has 5 seconds to guess what is in the pot before they pass it on to the person next to them. Once everyone has had chance to smell all 10 and write down their answers the tubs are collected and the answers revealed.

Did you know?Best ‘mate’ detectionThe moth: Imagine being able to sniff your future wife from 6-7 miles away. Well, that’s what a moth does using its feathery antennae.

Best air snifferThe snake: We’ve all seen a snake flick out its tongue. They do this because, unlike us, they smell with them. So when a snake starts flicking its tongue rapidly, it’s a sure sign it has smelt something interesting in the air.

Best bird sense of smellAlbatross: (not in Wyre!) Most birds rely on keen eyesight and have a poor sense of smell. The albatross is one of the exceptions. This great bird spends its time hovering above the ocean on the look out for food. And to help it do this, it has an extra-large nose on top of its beak. This over-sized honk helps the albatross detect food floating on the sea, even when it is dark.

Awesome poo shootersThe caterpillar: Caterpillars can shoot poo with such power that it can land a metre away. One species, the silver spotted skipper caterpillar (not found in Wyre), can even fire its faeces a colossal 1.5 metres from its nest. In equivalent terms, that would be like us casually firing our poo straight across a tennis court. Apart from being a great party trick, such ballistic poo power comes in handy against predators such as wasps, who use a caterpillar’s faeces to locate their prey.

SENSORY SENSATION - Worksheet 3

Activity - Sight game

You will need:Print outs of the animal silhouettes on A4 (minimum)Masking tape or drawing pins to fix silhouettes to the trees

Find a position in the woods where you can see several tree trunks going into the distance. Group members take it in turn to stand in one position and try to name the animal silhouettes and write down the answers. The one with the most correct answers wins.

Did you know?

Sharpest eyesightBirds of Prey: The eyesight of birds such as eagles, hawks and buzzards is 3-4 times sharper than ours. Eagles can spot rabbits from several miles away while hawks and buzzards often scan the earth from a height of 3-5,000 metres looking for tasty rodents! And when they spot one, these birds can dive at over 100mph and still keep their target in complete focus.

Best bird night visionOwls: Despite their smaller size, owls have eyes almost as big as ours and their huge pupils capture lots of light. In fact, an owl could probably spot a mouse on a football pitch lit by a single candle. Secondly, like other birds, their brains can capture an ‘at a glance’ picture that a human eye would have to scan back and forth to understand. However because their forward-facing eyes are so big, they can’t move them. Which is why, like eagles, they can swivel their heads 270 degrees - allowing them a wide field of vision.

Best colour visionBirds can see ultraviolet light. A drab bird to us, may in fact be incredibly radiant to other birds in colours we cannot see.

Best motion detectorsInsects: Whereas we only have one lens in each of our eyes, an insect can have hundreds. Eyes likes these are known as compound eyes. And instead of seeing one clear image , each eye of the insect sees a little bit of the overall picture. Whilst our eyesight is far superior to that of most insects, compound eyes are incredibly good for detecting movement. With complete 360 degree vision, the merest twitch will be picked up by your common house fly.

SENSORY SENSATION - Worksheet 4

Activity - Touch game

You will need:Blindfold

Blindfold one person in the group and then lead them to a tree. Give them 1 minute to feel the tree and familiarise themselves with the bark and the girth of the trunk and the general size and any distinguishing features (eg holes or branches). Lead them back to where they started and then turn them round in circles 5 times. Remove the blindfold and then ask them to try to find their tree again, using their sense of sight this time.

Did you know?

The most sensitive noseMole: This poor-sighted creature’s unique nose has almost six times more touch receptors than a human hand and it uses its nose more for feeling than smelling. As it makes its way down a tunnel, it sweeps its 22 fleshy tentacles back and forth with incredible speed touching 10-12 different objects per second. And as soon as a tasty worm is detected, it’s eaten within milliseconds.

Most sensitive hairsThe cricket: When you have a lot of predators, it makes sense to stay alert. The cricket is helped in this quest by possessing incredibly sensitive hairs below its abdomen. These hairs are able to pick up the faintest change in air flows produced by attacking predators such as flying wasps and running spiders.

Good VibrationsThe spider: A male spider will often cause the web of a female spider to vibrate in a special manner to alert her that he is about to approach. The vibrations tell the female that the intruder on her web is a potential mate and not a juicy insect ready to be eaten.

SENSORY SENSATION - Worksheet 5

Activity - Magic spots

You will experience so much more of the forest if you can be quiet and still!

Take a mat each to sit on or choose dry weather! Choose a quiet part of the forest – perhaps along a deer or badger track. Choose a “magic spot” along the track so that you are not near enough to anyone else to distract them or be distracted by them. (With older children or adults you can be out of sight of each other). Sit still and in silence for 10 minutes (or less with young children). When the time is up the person at the end of the line should gather up the others.

Tell each other:• What you heard• What you saw• How you felt

Images of downloadable Spotting Flowers and Spotting animal clues sheets

SENSORY SENSATION - Worksheet 6

Activity - Spotter guides

You will need:Print outs of Wyre spotter guides as follows: Animal clues Minibeasts Birds Leaves Butterflies Plants Aliens

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/recreation.nsf/LUWebDocsByKey/EnglandWorcestershireWyreForestAreaWoodlandsWyreForest

Print out of “What did you see in the Wyre Forest?” sheet (next page)

Take these guides with you when you visit Wyre and see how many things you can find.

Children should be encouraged to use all their senses to try and find things. This activity will work best if they are encouraged to be quiet and use their sense of hearing and if they are given a period of time to themselves to stay still and see what comes along.

TIP:The “What did you see in the Wyre Forest?” sheet is a good one to use alongside other activities that you might be doing in the forest.

Spotting animal clues

Hedgehog droppingsRabbit droppings

Hazelnut shell opened by Dormouse (toothmarks around hole on shell surface)

Fox-chewed bird feathers

Hazelnut shell opened by Woodmouse(toothmarks around inside of hole) Pine cones stripped by squirrels

Fox droppings

Badger footprintsDeer footprints

Fallow Deer droppingsOwl pellets

Snail shells opened bythrushes

Love me and leave me - please don’t pick or remove wildlife from the forest

when you find me

Spotting flowers

Wood CranesbillBilberry

Narrow-leaved Helleborine

Wood Anemone

Lily of the ValleyBluebells

Foxglove

Wood SorrelWood Spurge

Hemp AgrimonyCommon Spotted O

rchidToothwort

Love me and leave me - please

don’t pick or remove wildlife from the forest

when you

find me

What did you see in the Wyre Forest?If you saw it, tick it!

Did you see anything else that was interesting? ____________________________

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