Close Encounter of the Avian Kind

I opened my front door this morning to be greeted by a hummingbird flying straight at me, in a friendly way. I assumed it would fly off immediately but no, it kept coming back to the porch four or five times.

public domain

What is it about interacting with an animal that is so captivating? An even better experience is when it is aware of your presence and seems to acknowledge it in some way. Don't you just wish you could have a real conversation with them. 

 

Photo: Kristin Harris

I was saddened by the fact that I had recently pulled up scores of zinnias that had attracted the hummingbirds and many other birds and insects, especially the yellow finches. Maybe the hummingbird this morning was registering a protest or asking where they went?

Hummingbirds can be belligerent  little bullies. I was quite surprised to learn this recently. I didn't see this behavior with the zinnias. Perhaps I would have seen it if I had a hummingbird feeder. I makes sense that they protect their sources of food and mating territory. They don't look like toughies!

What kind of close encounter did you have today?


Related Post:

Have You Thanked a Tree Today

https://anim8nature.blogspot.com/2018/03/have-you-thanked-tree-today.html


Animating Nature & Science

I see a world where the transformative power of art and the creative problem solving of science blossom together. This is possible when we encourage our children to explore science with art and allow them time to imagine and create. Anim8Nature is dedicated to promoting environmental stewardship by exploring science with art and encouraging careful observation of the natural world.

Learn more about Anim8Nature.com on this blog and our website. I have assembled a team of experts to create media, lesson plans and workshops to help students and families explore science with art. We want to spark curiosity and get kids outside as environmental stewards. Join us.

How Students Make Science Come Alive

Animating Science Workshops

I recently taught Animating Science for kids 8 to 14 at the Academy Center of the Arts in Lynchburg, VA. I am offering these kinds of workshops at the McLean Project for the Arts, the Bower Center and other venues. As I am doing more research about best practices in science education, I am finding evidence supporting my use of both phenomena based learning and animation. 

What is Phenomena-Based Learning?

Educators are using observable events in nature to explain or predict core concepts in science. Their curiosity sparked, students work to understand the phenomena in their own words/way.  This is done by presenting the events for the students to experience and then discussing, questioning and pondering.

This makes sense to me. When something peaks my curiosity, I start asking questions.  

I want to understand what I am seeing. This is what scientists do. In Anim8Nature workshops, students have the opportunity to then animate a science phenomena. How is this a powerful educational tool?

Artist's Intuition Meets Science Fact

Falling Leaves

I love watching leaves falling. I created this short animation last Fall to celebrate this annual event. In the process, I researched why leaves fall. Something I had never really questioned before...it just happened. Turns out, trees release their leaves because they are a liability during winter. Maybe everybody else knows this, I just had not wondered. I was too caught up in enjoying the show.

I believe my anecdotal experience indicates that focusing on even brief phenomena in the natural world can generate questions and substantive learning experiences. A new resource is providing evidence from science educators that this is true.

NAAEE

My stumbling onto the North American Association for Environmental Education website, via Twitter was a very fortuitous event. I am discovering a treasure trove of opportunities and resources for my project Anim8Nature, helping children connect to nature.