Natural History/Birds
Avian Adaptations Kit
This kit includes 20 bird specimens designed to focus on the adaptations that set different birds apart from one another. The hands-on specimens allow students to look closely at specific features of a bird and to hypothesize about adaptive functions of key traits. The diversity of this kit provides many different opportunities for the students to sort and classify birds, and to learn about evolution and taxonomy.
What’s in the Kit?
Bird specimens from 20 species
A mounted head, skull or bill, a spread wing, tail and feet from each* of the following:
o Great Horned Owl
o Raven
o Northern Shoveler
o Pelagic Cormorant
o Sharp-shinned Hawk
o Short-eared Owl
o Chicken
o Willow Ptarmigan
o Ruffed Grouse
o Pigeon
o American Kestrel
o Northern Flicker
o Snow Bunting
o White-winged Crossbill
o Orange-crowned Warbler
o Pine Grosbeak
o White-crowned Sparrow
o Varied Thrush
o Ruby-crowned Kinglet
o Rufus Hummingbird
* Some specimens represented only by Wing, Head and/or Feet
Recommended Grade Levels: 4-12
Key Words: Evolution; Adaptation; Birds; Diversity; Variation; Classification
Alaska State Standards: SA1-2, SC1-3, SG2-4 Subject: Science
Raptors of Alaska Kit
This kit allows students to become familiar with the many birds of prey that live in Alaska.
Students will learn about the different groups of hawks and be able to understand how they fly, what makes an owl an owl, what special adaptations they have for hunting and flying silently and for living year round in Alaska.
What’s in the Kit?
11 Bird Round Skins specimens:
Sharp-shinned Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Boreal Owl
Barred Owl
Northern Goshawk
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Great Gray Owl
Great Horned Owl (2)
7 Bird Wings specimens:
Boreal Owl
Great Gray Owl
Great Horned Owl
Northern Goshawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Osprey
5 Bird Tails specimens:
Boreal Owl
Great Horned Owl
Northern Goshawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Osprey
8 Bird Talons specimens:
Boreal Owl
Great Gray Owl
Great Horned Owl
Northern Goshawk
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
1 Bird Skull specimen:
Boreal owl
Recommended Grade Levels: K-12
Key Words: Hawks; Owls; Talons; Raptors; Birds of Prey; Diversity
Alaska State Standards: SC1, SC2, SC3 Subject: Science
Avian Diversity - Wings Kit
This kit includes assorted wings from over a dozen different taxonomic orders.
Each student (class of 30) can have a wing in front of them for hands-on learning about the anatomy of a bird wing, the different types of feathers and the functions they serve, and the diversity of ways in which birds achieve flight.
The taxonomic diversity of this kit provides many different opportunities for students to sort and classify, and to learn about evolution and taxonomy.
What’s in the Kit?
33 spread bird wings (from 31 different bird specimens)
Recommended Grade Levels: K-12
Key Words: Birds; Wings; Diversity; Feathers; Flight; Variation
Alaska State Standards: SA1, SA2, SC1, SC2, SC3, SG1, SG2, SG3 Subject: Science
Variation Within Species
Gull Wings & Feet Kit
The Mew Gull, Larus canus, is one of the most abundant avian migrants occurring in Fairbanks each summer. This kit contains 20 sets of Mew Gull wings for hands-on learning about bird wings, different types of feathers, and the ways in which birds achieve flight. Students can also look closely at the similarities and differences between individuals to understand diversity within a species.
What’s in the Kit?
- 40 Mew Gull wings specimens
- 40 Mew Gull feet specimens
- Herring Gull wing specimen
- 2 adult Herring Gull feet specimens
- 3 Herring Gull tails (different ages) specimens
Recommended Grade Levels: K-12
Key Words: Birds; Wings; Feathers; Flight; Variation; Population
Alaska State Standards: SA1, SA2, SC1, SC2, SC3 Subject: Science
