Hello Scientists!  Welcome to the Unit on Adaptations!  Today we’ll be getting to the bottom of the age old questions: who would win a fight-a grizzly bear or a moose?!  Er… Something like that.  We’ll be examining different animal adaptations-characteristics that help them survive in their environment.  By the end, we’ll understand what sort of timeframe adaptations happen over, and the different kinds of adaptations that exist (Hint: it’s not just wings, sharp teeth, and camouflage, it’s mimicry and living as a pack too!) Let’s go!

• Is a human an animal? Why or why not? 
• What adaptations do humans have? List at least 5. 
• Make a list of as many different animal adaptations you can think of! Come up with at least 15!  (*hint: the longer your list, the better off you will be for a game later in this lesson) 
• What adaptations would an animal living near the summit of Mt. Hood need? Mt. Hood is an alpine environment, so it has extreme weather: sometimes snowy, stormy, and cold, other times very sunny with a high UV index (sunburn!); the vegetation is “scrubby” (low to the ground with tough leaves), and the slope of the ground can be quite steep!

• If you’ve ever seen deer in the wild, you might have noticed that they were looking right at you!  That’s because they likely heard you, before you saw them!  Humans rely on our eyesight as our primary sense for understanding and interpreting the world (Scientists estimate we get 90% of our information through our eyes!).  Due to deer coloring, they blend right into their surrounding environment, making them difficult to spot (what is the science-y way to describe this? … C_______)
• Deer on the other hand, use their hearing as their primary sense.  Consider the shape of a deer’s ears: 
• What do you notice about them?  Do they remind you of anything? 
• Now, we’re going to experiment with using our senses differently! First, get your field journal and a pencil (you may be adjusting your data as you move through this experiment, so pencil > pen!), and draw a chart like this:

• Next, turn on a sound (TV, music, someone talking, etc.), and listen just normally with your regular human ears.  In the appropriate box of your chart, rate your level of hearing from 1-10, 1 being least, 10 being most.  

• Next, cup your hands behind your ears and push them forward, keeping your hands cupped to capture sound.  (What animal’s ears are we mimicking here?) Listen. Rate your hearing again from 1-10 and record your rating in your chart.  

• Did listening this way affect your rating of listening regularly? Feel free to retroactively change your ratings as we move through this experiment.  You may realize you thought you could hear at a level 10, but then try something new only to find you’re hearing even more!!  
• Optional: you can also try cupping your hand backwards to see how that affects your hearing

• Next, get an empty toilet paper or paper towel tube (or roll up a piece of paper into a tube) and hold it up to your ear.  Listen.  Rate your hearing and record in your chart.  Does this style remind you of any animal, ears, or otherwise?

• Finally, go through each of these exercises again, this time with your eyes closed.  By the end you should have 6 ratings.  Feel free to adjust your ratings and try each way of listening more than once. 

When you’re finished with all your ratings, below your chart write a few sentences describing this experience and what you noticed, what, if anything, you were reminded of, and what you wonder still about ears and hearing. 

 To better understand adaptations and how they come to be, watch this video:

Now, let’s think about what we’ve learned from that video and what it all means for living things.  Take ~20 minutes to complete the: Unpacking the Mouse Skit Worksheet. You can print the "Adaptations -  Unpacking the Mouse Skit Worksheet" page or just write it into your field journal. 

Now that we understand how long it takes for adaptations to occur (GENERATIONS!!!), let’s consider the different types of adaptations.  Remember, it’s not just big ears and sharp teeth!  Watch the following video: 

Spend at least 15 minutes creating a list in your filed journal (or you can print the Types of Adaptation worksheet) of all the physical and behavioral adaptations you can think of!

Before we play our Creature Creation Game, here is a final opportunity to consider even more animal adaptations - both physical and behavioral, and add them to the list in your field journal!  With parent permission, go outside for a 10 minute walk in your neighborhood and fill in the Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt below (you can draw this sheet in your field journal or print the Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt and fill it in)! 

Creature Creation! Now that you have a full list of different adaptations to pick from, we’re going to create a couple crazy creatures to survive some extreme environments.  Check out this Creature Creation Chart and then, write in your field journal write a description of, and a drawing of the Creatures you create with adaptations to survive in each of the 3 environments.  Using the list of behavioral and physical adaptations you created, add at least 3 physical and 1 behavioral adaptation to each of your creatures.  Don’t forget to name your creatures!

When you finish your 3 creature creations, move to the next section.

To finish our adaptations lesson, spend 5-15 minutes answering these Reflection Questions in your field journal:

• Why do adaptations happen?
• What adaptations of humans have allowed us to advance to the top of the food chain? 
• Who would win in a fight--a grizzly bear or a moose? Defend your answer. 
• Which adaptations are best? Why? 

Adaptations Answer Key