IDEA SET
IDEA SET
Interact with Animals
Interact with Animals
Get ideas for fun ways to observe animals in your own backyard!
Grades
All
Subjects
Biology
Photograph by Medford Taylor
Get ideas for fun ways to observe animals in your own backyard!
Backyard Bird Census
Keep a tally of the amount and types of birds visiting your yard. Do they have food, water, and shelter? Turn your yard into a backyard bird habitat. Do more birds visit your habitat-friendly yard?
Help Monarch Butterflies
Create a way station, grow milkweed, or even raise them from eggs.
Dig in the Dirt
Dig down up to six inches into the soil. Find and record all the critters, such as bugs and worms, that live in the dirt.
Collect Insects
Using a butterfly net, go out and collect some insects. Note how many different types you find and where you found them. Repeat the activity during a different season and compare your findings. Be sure to be gentle with the bugs and let them go when you are finished observing them.
Wildlife Migrations
Research the kinds of wildlife that migrate in your area. Map their migration paths.
Plant a Butterfly Garden
Note any butterflies that flutter by. Take pictures of them when they land on the plants. How many different species visit your garden?
Look for Tracks
Look for animal and bird tracks in the mud or snow. Draw a quick sketch of what you see. Try to identify which animal left the track.
Keep the Mosquito Population in Check
Purchase small dark-colored fish NATIVE to your area and put them in any water plants or human-made ponds in your yard where mosquitoes lay eggs. The fish will eat the larvae, and no chemicals will be needed to prevent mosquitoes! NOTE: You should never introduce animals into non-manmade environments such as creeks or ponds.
Media Credits
The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.
Writer
Editor
Photo Researcher
other
Last Updated
August 28, 2024
For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.
Media
If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.
Text
Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.
Interactives
Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.