Stay informed with our email newsletters.
Click here to give feedback on our pages for educators.

Self-guiding in the Galleries
Pre & Post Visit Resources
In the Dark

Grades 1-2


Scroll down the page to find items on the menu below or click on a link to jump to an item.


During your visit
click here for printable version

Scavenger Hunt
Learn More About In the Dark

Before and After Your Visit
click here for printable version

Important Terms and Concepts
Activities
Print and Web Resources

In the Dark Scavenger Hunt

In the Dark Scavenger Hunt
This is a great activity to do during your visit to the Museum, but you should print out and copy the worksheets ahead of time and bring them with you on your visit. During your time self-guiding through In the Dark, students can search through the exhibit to find the animals in this scavenger hunt. They can circle each animal as they find them. Can you find any clues to tell you how these animals survive in the dark? Click here for hunt worksheet.


Learn More About In the Dark

Important Terms and Concepts
You may want to familiarize your students with the following terms before your visit to the museum

Bat	a flying mammal with featherless wings that is active at night and uses echolocation.
Cave	a natural hollow area with an opening leading into or under the earth.
Diorama	A 3-D or sculptural model showing a scene or a group of figures (animals, people, etc.) and their surroundings.
Echolocation	the ability of some animals like bats and dolphins to give off high-pitched sounds that bounce off of objects in the area and return to the animal, who can then figure out the size, shape, and location of the objects from this "echo;" bats use echolocation to navigate (find their way) and to find prey (food).
Mole	a small, furry animal who digs tunnels underground and eats insects.
Nocturnal	a word to describe an animal that is active at night.
Ocean	a very large body of salt water.
Owl	a nocturnal bird that hunts small animals; owls have hooked talons (claws), large heads with short beaks, large eyes set looking forward, and fluffy feathers that let them fly very quietly.
Pupil	the dark area in the center of the colored part of the eye that lets light into the eye.
Stalactite	a cave formation that hangs from the “ceiling” of the cave. Though it looks like an icicle, it is not made of frozen water, but hardened minerals.
Stalagmite	a cave formation that looks like an icicle standing up on the floor of a cave. Though it looks like an icicle, it is not made of frozen water, but hardened minerals.

To remember which is which:  StalaGmites are on the Ground; StalaCtites are on the Ceiling.

SOIL:  Who Put the Air in There?
Students explore soil in small groups.  Place some potting soil or humus (available at garden centers) in a wide-mouthed jar (without packing it down).  Then pour in enough water to get the soil wet.  What do you observe?  Loose soil will give off air bubbles and will become more compact when wet. Ask students to explain what they see happening and ask them why they
think this happens. 

As a point of comparison, you can try the same experiment with clay (explain to students that clay is a type of soil).  Again, ask students to describe what they see and speculate about why it is happening.  Give students a sample of loose, dry soil and a sample of clay to examine with a magnifying glass.  What do they see?  Soil is made up of little particles.  Potting soil is loose, with space in between the particles.  Clay also has particles, which are sticky and pressed very close together (though they are so small you may not be able to see them with a magnifying lens).  Some soils have very little air space in between particles, and others have more. 

How does the air get in there?  Who separates the particles and keeps them loose?  Soil-dwelling animals like earthworms, ants, millipedes and moles create air space in between these particles by tunneling through the soil.  They mix different layers of soil together.  Earthworms also take soil into their bodies when they eat, and it passes through them, along with broken-down organic materials, leaving behind loose, nutrient-rich soil.

Soil can contain different types of mineral-based particles called clay (smallest particles), silt (next smallest), sand (larger); soil can also contain decomposed organic material.

Vermicompost
A great way for students to learn about the important role earthworms play in
the soil is through first-hand observation of worms in a classroom or school
compost bin.  You can download or order a free worm composting guide for teachers put together by California Integrated Waste Management or go to the Resourceful School Project's page on vermicompost.  For more information, Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Applehof, a guide to classroom vermiculture, is available through Berkshire Athenaeum’s on-line catalogue.

The World of Earthworms
Students experiment with common substances with distinctive scents like vinegar in order to observe the reactions of live earthworms.  This can serve as a springboard for other worm experiments exploring other questions students may have.  Developed by the Cincinnati Museum Center; used here with permission.  Click here for complete lesson.

Sound Mapping
Complete this sound mapping lesson from the Living Landscapes Curriculum Guide with students during the school day. Click here for complete lesson. Have students complete a sound map at home in the evening, which can be completed in their own yard, or on a walk with their parents. As a class, compare the data from the daytime maps and the evening maps. What differences and similarities do you notice? Do students have any new questions that they would like to explore?

Developed by the Berkshire Museum, Living Landscapes: Teaching in Nature is an interdisciplinary curriculum guide designed to help educators teach environmental education to elementary-age students-- fostering greater appreciation for the natural world in the Berkshires. Educators will find ready-to-use, student-centered lesson plans, including activities, assessments, extensions, and suggested print and web materials. To request a copy, email education@berkshiremuseum.org.

Cave Survival Kit
Ask students what 3 items they would bring with them if they knew they would be going into a cave. Ask students to draw and label the items at the top of a piece of paper and to write 2 – 3 sentences underneath explaining why they would bring those things.

Variation: Place the question on the board. Ask students to draw three items and then cut them out. To share, have one student at a time come up to a large piece of paper, tell the class what their three items were and why they chose them, and then tape one item onto the paper. When everyone is done, you'll have a class cave kit collage. Students could also vote on the top 3 items that the whole class would like to have in the kit.

My Deep Sea Adventure Cartoon
Have students create a cartoon with at least 5 boxes showing them going on an imaginary adventure into the deep sea. Each box should have a brief caption.

Pond Water Experiment
With this simple, hands-on experiment designed by the Cincinnati Museum Center students will see first-hand what effect darkness has on water plants that are accustomed to sunlight. This can help students understand why living things in the dark depths of the ocean are much different from the aquatic life forms in sunlit waters that we are used to seeing. Used here with permission. Click here for complete lesson.

Ant Farm
Having a classroom ant farm is a great way to allow students to observe all of the activity that usually goes on completely out-of-sight underground. Ant farms can serve as great science lesson tools, but can also be incorporated into other core subject areas. Students can keep an ant log or journal with quick daily observations about temperature, weather, and ant activity. Ant observations could be a launching point for students to develop an ant cartoon, or to write a paragraph from the perspective of an ant. By creating a simple grid system on one side of the ant farm, students can keep a map of ant activity and use ordered pairs to describe the location of different activities. Students can also measure tunnel distances.

To introduce the ant farm to students, have them search for ant hills on the school grounds. Have students observe one hill for a few minutes. Then ask them to draw what they think is going on under the soil. Hand these drawings back to students after they have been observing the ant farm for several weeks. How has their understanding changed?

Ant farms are generally available from education science suppliers like Carolina Biological Supply. Also available from the Berkshire Museum Shop.

Suggested Web and Print Resources

All of these resources, except those noted with *, are available through the Central/Western Massachusetts (C/W MARS) library system. Use the Berkshire Athenaeum’s on-line catalogue , to search for these print resources in Western Massachusetts.

Print and Web Materials For Students

Bash, Barbara. Shadows of Night: The Little Brown Bat. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books for Children, 1993. A lively and well-illustrated non-fiction book that follows the life cycle of the little brown bat as it engages in activities like hunting for insects and hibernating in caves.

Brinckloe, Julie. Fireflies! NY: Collier Macmillan, 1985. The illustrated story of a young boy who catches fireflies, only to realize that he must let them go to allow them to live.

Cannon, Jannell. Stellaluna. NY: Scholastic Books, 1993. The story of a bat who is raised by a bird until she is reunited with her family. A good way to get students to compare and contrast birds and bats.

Demuth, Patricia Brennan and Jim Deal (Illus.). Way Down Deep: Strange Ocean Creatures. NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 1995. An illustrated introduction to the creatures that live in the deep sea.

Earle, Ann and Henry Cole (Illus.). Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats. NY: HarperCollins, 1995. A very informative, yet accessible and fun non-fiction book on bats for children. Includes information on how people can help bat populations prosper, including building bat houses. Pairs nicely with the fiction book Stellaluna.

Fraser, Mary Ann. Where Are the Night Animals? (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1). NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1999. A fun and colorfully illustrated book about the activities and habitats of common nocturnal animals. The book ends by revealing where these animals are “hiding” during the daylight hours.

Hawes, Judy and Ellen Alexander (Illus.). Fireflies in the Night. NY: Harper Collins, 1991. The story of a young girl who learns about fireflies from her grandfather.

Island Discovery Tours, Canada: Nocturnal Animal Sounds Game
A simple online game that students can play on their own. First students listen to a sound made by a mystery nocturnal animal. Then students guess the identity of the animal and check their answers. They'll find pictures and information about each animal. TIP: students may need to hit the "back" button after listening to the sound to get back to the web page for the answer.

Jeunesse, Gallimard and Sylvaine Perols (Illus.). Night Creatures (First Discovery Books). NY: Scholastic, 1998. A concise, illustrated introduction to nocturnal animals, focusing mainly on owls and bats.

Milton, Joyce. Bats: Creatures of the Night. NY: Gosset & Dunlap, 1993. A clear and simply-written non-fiction book covering the importance of bats as insect-eaters and indicators of ecological balance. It also addresses common misconceptions about bats.

Milton, Joyce. Bats and Other Creatures of the Night. NY: Random House, 1994. A simple text for young readers describing and illustrating the nocturnal activities of such animals as bats, scorpions, skunks, frogs, raccoons, owls, and foxes.

Ryder, Joanne and Don Bolognese (Illus.). Fireflies. NY: Harper & Row, 1977. An illustrated non-fiction book for young readers that follows the development of fireflies throughout their lifecycles.

Web and Print Materials For Educators

Applehof, Mary.  Worms Eat My Garbage.  MI:  Flower Press, 1997.  A guide to starting and maintaining a worm composting system in your classroom.

Bat Facts and Myths
A concise web page with the basic facts about bats that dispels common
myths.  Click on the "Return to Activites" link at the bottom of the page for activity ideas for young children.

BioMEDIA: How Do Animals See in the Dark?
This visually striking page focuses on the vision of animals at night and during the day.  Though the language is far too sophisticated to use directly with young students, teachers will find it a clear and concise source of important background information and good visual aids.

eNature.com: Starnosed Mole
A brief description of basic information about this unusual mammal, including an up-close photo of the nose.

The Firefly Files
In this website sponsored by the University of Ohio and the Museum of
Biological Diversity, you’ll find information about where to find fireflies,
their behavior, their range, their glow, and how to encourage them to come
to your yard.

Howe Caverns
Howe Caverns is a school group/tourist friendly cave system in New York
State.  The web site offers an online tour of the cavern system with photos,
information and a few quicktime video clips.  Its Cavern Classroom
Educational Resources provide background on the basics of cave formation and cave life.

How Stuff Works:  How Bats Work
A very informative article about bats including topics like flight, echolocation, roosting, and their place in the ecosystem.

*  Nightlife: Creatures of the Deep.  New England Aquarium and Bermuda
Underwater Exploration Institute (Dir.)and Peter Benchley (Nar.). 
New England Aquarium and Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, 2001.
This video documents bioluminescent animals of the ocean such as anglerfish, giant tubeworms, and six-gilled sharks through underwater footage. To order this video you may contact New England Aquarium, Conservation Department, Central Wharf Boston, MA 02110-3399, (617) 973-5288, wowfilms@neaq.org.

Ocean Link: The Deep Sea
This section of the Ocean Link site allows you to explore different levels
of the ocean.  It provides fantastic images of the organisms that live in
each level, and the images are accompanied by succinct and accessible
information about each species.

Singapore Zoological Gardens Docent Web Site:  How Do Snakes Hunt?
A good basic source of information about snake senses and adaptations for hunting, including information on pit vipers.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent Federal grant- making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of learners by helping libraries and museums serve their communities supports the Berkshire Museum.

< Back to School and Youth Groups Main Page