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Course Catalog
The CI Bird Sanctuary offers a variety of hands-on, interactive STEM programs designed to inspire an appreciation for birds and the local environment. Each program can be tailored to your location, curriculum, and the diverse needs of your students. We offer both classroom-based and outdoor nature sessions, ranging from 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on the activity. All materials are provided.
Next Generation Science Standards
Our catalog of lesson plans is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), a set of K–12 science content standards that outline what students should know and be able to do at key points in their academic journey. Developed by states to strengthen science education, the NGSS are research-based and reflect the most current understanding of how students learn science best. These standards give educators the flexibility to create engaging, hands-on learning experiences that spark curiosity, deepen understanding, and prepare students for college, careers, and active citizenship.
PreK - 5th Grade Programs
Toxin Transfer
Students will investigate how toxins move through a bird’s ecosystem, focusing on how chemicals like DDT travel through the food chain of the Osprey. Through interactive activities, students will model bioaccumulation and biomagnification, observing how toxins build up and become more concentrated at higher levels of the food chain. Students will also construct nests using available materials, including natural items and human-made debris like plastic and netting, to explore how environmental changes impact bird survival. The lesson highlights how human actions can affect entire ecosystems, influencing the health and survival of birds and other wildlife.
Next Generation Science Standards
5-LS2-1: Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
5-ESS3-1: Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s
resources and environment.
3-LS4-4: Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of
plants and animals that live there may change.
Crosscutting Concepts
Cause and Effect: As toxins like DDT accumulate in organisms, they cause harmful effects such as weakened eggshells and reduced survival in birds like the Osprey.
Energy and Matter: Matter in the form of toxins is transferred and concentrated as it moves through different levels of the food chain.
Stability and Change: Human-introduced toxins can disrupt ecosystem balance, leading to population declines and long-term environmental change.
What's Underfoot?
Students will explore how birds’ feet are specially adapted to help them survive in different environments. After learning what adaptations are, students will work in groups to examine a unique artifact representing a bird’s foot, carefully observing and recording its features. Using their observations, students will make evidence-based predictions about what the bird eats and how it uses its feet to live and thrive in its habitat. The lesson highlights how different foot structures, like talons, webbing, or gripping toes, are directly connected to survival, helping birds hunt, perch, swim, or forage effectively in their environment.
Next Generation Science Standards
K-LS1-1: Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.
1-LS1-1: Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external
parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.
3-LS4-3: Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some surviveless well, and some cannot survive at all.
4-LS1-1: Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support
survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
Crosscutting Concepts
Structure and Function: The shape and structure of a bird’s feet, such as talons, webbing, or gripping toes, determine how it moves, finds food, and survives in its environment.
Cause and Effect: Specialized foot features allow birds to perform specific tasks, like catching prey or swimming, which directly impact their ability to survive.
Patterns: Birds with similar diets and habitats often have similar foot structures, revealing patterns that help us predict how they live.
Systems and System Models: A bird’s feet are part of a larger system, working with its beak, habitat, and behavior to support survival.
Birds, Boats, & Bernoulli's
Students will explore how Bernoulli’s principle helps both birds and boats move through the air. Using the Turkey Vulture as a model, they’ll investigate how wing shape and moving air create lift, allowing vultures to soar with little effort. Through hands-on experiments and movement activities, students will test how changes in air pressure generate lift. The lesson ends with students applying these ideas to explain how a sailboat moves, connecting wings to sails.
Next Generation Science Standards
K-PS2-1: Plan and conduct an investigation to compare the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes
and pulls on the motion of an object.
3-PS2-1: Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the
motion of an object.
3-PS2-2: Make observations and/or measurements of an object’s motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.
Crosscutting Concepts
Cause and Effect: Differences in air speed create changes in air pressure, which generate lift and allow birds to soar and sailboats to move.
Structure and Function: The curved shape of a Turkey Vulture’s wings and a sailboat’s sails are designed to move air in ways that create lift and motion.
Systems and System Models: Birds and sailboats are systems that rely on interactions between air, shape, and movement to travel efficiently.
Osprey Adaptations
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Students will explore the unique physical and behavioral adaptations that help ospreys survive in their environment. Through interactive, hands-on activities, they will investigate how traits like reversible toes, sharp talons, and preening behaviors support hunting and survival. By the end of the lesson, students will understand how an organism’s structure and behavior are closely linked to its success in its habitat.
Next Generation Science Standards
1-LS1-1: Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.
1-LS1-2: Read texts and use media to determine patterns in behavior of parents and offspring that help offspring survive.
K-LS1-1: Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.
K-ESS3-1: Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans)
and the places they live.
3-LS4-3: Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat, some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
Crosscutting Concepts
Structure and Function: Physical features (reversible toes, talons, waterproof feathers) relate directly to survival and function.
Cause and Effect: Behavioral responses (preening, hunting techniques) have observable outcomes on survival and reproduction.
Stability and Change: Adaptive traits have developed over time to ensure species success in specific habitats.
Turkey Vulture Adaptations
Students will investigate how turkey vultures are specially adapted to their role as scavengers in the ecosystem. Through engaging experiments and sensory activities, they’ll discover how features like a featherless head, strong stomach acid, and an exceptional sense of smell keep vultures healthy while feeding on carrion. The lesson highlights how these adaptations allow vultures to locate food efficiently and maintain balance in their environment.
Next Generation Science Standards
1-LS1-1: Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.
3-LS4-3: Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat, some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
3-LS2-1: Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive.
Crosscutting Concepts
Structure and Function: Each physical trait (bald head, acidic stomach) directly supports a function (disease prevention, digestion).
Cause and Effect: Behavior (scavenging safely) results in survival advantages.
Systems and System Models: Vultures contribute to ecosystem stability by removing dead matter and preventing disease spread.
Owl Adaptations
In this lesson, students explore the unique adaptations that help owls survive as skilled nocturnal predators. Through hands-on investigations, they dissect owl pellets to uncover what owls eat, examine feather structures to understand how silent flight aids hunting, and model owl hearing through a sound-mapping activity. These experiences help students connect structure and function in living organisms, recognizing how physical and behavioral traits support survival. By observing, modeling, and analyzing evidence, students think like scientists while deepening their appreciation for how animals are adapted to their environments.
Next Generation Science Standards
4-LS1-1: Construct an argument that animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
4-LS1-2: Use a model to describe that animals receive information through their senses, process it in the brain, and respond in different ways.
3-LS4-3: Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat, some organisms can survive well, some less well, and some not at all.
Crosscutting Concepts
Structure and Function: Each adaptation (digestive system, feathers, ears) supports a function essential for survival—digesting prey, silent flight, precise hearing.
Cause and Effect: Adaptations such as fringed feathers and asymmetrical ears lead to improved hunting success.
Systems and System Models: Sensory and digestive systems work as interconnected parts to support owl survival.
Guided Nature Walk
Our program guide will lead students on a local nature walk to explore the world of birds and connect with nature. Students will learn how to use binoculars, listen for bird calls, and observe birds in their natural habitats. They will collect data on the birds they find and reflect on how humans and animals share the environment. Through mindfulness and perspective-taking, students will practice seeing the world through the eyes of another living thing.
Next Generation Science Standards
1-LS3-1: Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents.
2-LS4-1: Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.
K-ESS3-1: Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants and animals and the places they live.
3-LS4-3: Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some less well, and some cannot survive at all.
4-LS1-2: Use a model to describe how animals receive different types of information through their senses and how they respond to that information.
5-LS2-1: Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
Crosscutting Concepts
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Patterns: Students identify patterns in bird behaviors, colors, and habitats.
Cause and Effect: Students explore how human actions affect birds’ presence and behavior.
Systems and System Models: Students consider how birds, plants, and humans are all part of an interconnected ecosystem.
Structure and Function: Students observe how physical traits help birds survive in their environment.