Why animals have different shape of feet? How do you identify an animal track? How much do footprint features (shape, size) tell us about the animal’s biology? Was the animal resting, walking, running, jumping, rooting or crawling? How much can we learn about the animal’s behavior by observing tracks? We will answer these questions and many more by investigating different animal tracks in the wild. You will use magnifying glasses and animal tracks tool kit for the investigations and you will be involved in fun scientific activities!

During this hour the children will:  

• make scientific observations, learn how to search for tracks in different environments such as grass, mud, sand and snow and on tree barks and leaves,

• identify several animals by their tracks

• spot how similar some tracks are to others and their patterns,

• learn important facts of animal behavior deducing them from tracks