STEAM Challenge

This activity is from the following site. For full instructions, visuals, etc., visit here: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/build-bird-nest?from=Blog

Materials: 

• • Eggs or small rocks that you can pretend are eggs
  • Assorted natural materials that you find outside such as twigs, grass, leaves, dirt, rocks, sand, etc. The materials you have available will depend on where you live.
  • Bucket or other container to collect materials

Important tip:

1. This activity can get messy. If possible, do your work outside. If you are working inside, build your nest on a tray to make cleanup easier.

Instructions:

1. First, go outside to see if you can find any bird nests nearby. If you find one, observe it carefully from a distance—do not get too close and disturb the nesting birds! Can you tell what materials the nest is made of?

2. If you can’t find any bird nests outside, search for pictures of bird nests online. How many different types of nests can you find? What are the nests made out of?

3. Now, look around you for materials you can pick up easily, like twigs and rocks. Think about the purposes different materials could serve.

4. Use your bucket to gather a bunch of materials. Note that the bucket is a convenient time-saver for you, but birds don’t have that luxury. They have to make many back-and-forth trips, often carrying one twig at a time!

5. Now, use your materials to try and build a nest that will be able to safely hold at least one egg. This is an open-ended process—there is no single “correct” procedure to follow.

6. “Test” your nest (gently at first!). Can you blow on it (or aim a fan at it), pick it up, or place an egg inside it? Does the nest fall apart or stay together? If it falls apart, what can you change to make it sturdier?

7. When you are done with your bird nest, dump all your materials back outside where you found the

Key Concepts:

Habitat, climate, material properties

How did it go?:

You might find that building a bird nest can be surprisingly difficult! If you just made a pile of dry materials like sticks or grass, your nest probably didn’t stay together very well. It might fall apart if you blow on it or try to pick it up. You can make your nest much sturdier by weaving the materials together to form a basket, or using a binding material like mud as “glue” to hold the pieces together. Now the next time you see a bird nest, maybe you will be a little more impressed with these natural feats of engineering!

Dig a little deeper:

Depending on where you live, you might commonly see bird nests outside in the spring. In cities you might see them tucked along windowsills and building ledges, and in suburban or rural areas you can commonly find them in bushes or trees. If you look closely (without disturbing the nesting bird or the eggs!), you can probably see what materials the nest is made from. Some birds weave together grass and twigs to form a basket. Others might use binding materials like mud or even their own saliva to build or help support the nest. Depending on the location and climate of the bird’s habitat, the materials birds use to build their nests might need to serve different purposes. For example, birds in a cold climate might line their nests with insulating materials like grass to help keep the eggs warm. Birds in a warmer climate might use rocks and seashells instead, because the gaps in between them allow better air flow to keep the eggs cool. Birds who build their nests on the ground might want to keep them well-camouflaged to help hide them from predators, and birds who build their nests in trees might need them to be sturdy so they don’t get blown out by a gust of wind. This results in nests that are different sizes, shapes, colors, and made from different materials. No matter how they build their nests though, all birds have one thing in common—they have to rely on natural materials they can find outside. That made this project a little more difficult for you—you could not cheat by using materials like glue or tape!