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Museum Educator-led Programs
Pre & Post Visit Resources
Mammal Adaptations

Grades 3-5

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Program Description and Frameworks
Program Outline
Key Terms and Concepts
Classroom Activities
Print and Web Resources
Go to the Berkshire Backyard Gallery Page

Click here for printable version of all resources listed above

Compare and contrast different pelts, skulls, and teeth to determine how Berkshire animals are adapted for survival. Using what they have learned about animal adaptations, students identify a mystery skull through careful examination.

Location: Berkshire Backyard Gallery
Length: One hour
Grades: 3 - 5

Massachusetts Frameworks
Science and Technology/ Engineering Strand 2

New York Standards
Standard 4 Science The Living Environment

Introduction
Students are given a few moments to explore the Berkshire Backyard. We will gather around the mammals case and identify the different species inside.

Mammal Characteristics
Students will discuss with an educator the unique adaptations that mammals possess.

Fur
By examining different mammal pelts, students will understand the adaptations of different colors and types of fur.

Adaptation Game
Students pretend to be hawks as they search for mice on the "mapville" board. Learn why some genetic traits are more successful for survival than others and how adaptation may occurs.

Skulls and teeth
Learn the functions of different types of teeth. Why do some mammals have eyes on the side of their head?

Skull ID Activity
Students will be broken into smaller groups to identify a mystery skull. After they have identified it, they can look in the case for their mammal.

• Mammals are different from other animals because they have hair, milk, and are able to produce their own body heat.
• A mammal's fur protects them from injury, keeps them warm, and camouflages them.
• Adaptation happens over time.
• Mammals that have a specific characteristic and reproduce will bear young that may have that same characteristic.
• Mammals have different teeth and skulls that help them to eat different types of food.

Key Terms Used in the Program

• Endothermic
  organisms that create their own body heat by burning food for energy rather than relying on the temperature of the environment to control their body temperature. Mammals' body temperatures are not always constant (e.g. hibernating mammals frequently have lower body temperatures in the winter to conserve energy).
• Ectothermic
  animals that cannot create their own body heat and must gain their heat from outside sources, such as the warmth from sunlight, or coolness of the shade.
• Adaptation
  a useful feature in an organism that develops over generations.
• Guard hair
  the long, top coat of a mammal's pelt.
• Under hair
  the fuzzy coat found beneath the top coat and helps to keep a mammal warm.
• Camouflage
  an animal's ability to hide in its surroundings by blending in with the colors or patterns around them. Counter shading a body coloration that allows an animal to be camouflaged when seen from both below and/or above.
• Warning colors
  colors on an animal that send other animals a message to stay away; it implies that they have a defense mechanism that other animals will want to steer clear of, like being poisonous.
• Glands
  an organ that secrets a substance (such as tears or milk).
• Hibernator
  a deep sleep during the winter months to conserve energy and warmth. A hibernating mammal will slow its breathing rate, its pulse, its metabolism, and lower its body temperature a few degrees.
• Scat
  an animal's feces. Different animals leave behind different shapes and sizes of scat, so it can be used to help track animals.
• Incisors
  teeth located in the front of the mouth. Carnivores normally have small incisors and rodents have long incisors. Mammals like the deer and the moose have only bottom incisors. Canines long pointed teeth that are located between the molars and incisors. Mammals that have canines eat meat.
• Molars
  broad flat teeth at the back of the mouth, used for grinding. Herbivore animal that eats plants.
• Carnivore
  animal that eats meat.
• Omnivore
  animal that eats plants and meat.

Rabbit Camouflage
Each child is given a piece of paper shaped like a rabbit. They are to color their rabbits any way they would like. Then the group is divided in half. One half has 3 minutes to hide their rabbits (this game works best if done outside) while the other half is kept from seeing where the rabbits are hidden. The group that hid their rabbits sits down while the other group "hunts." You can pretend that the group is a pack of coyotes or great horned owls. They have 5 minutes to hunt. After the hunting time is over, gather all the students together to discuss your findings. (Those rabbits that weren't found can be gathered up separately). Were their any similarities among the rabbits that got caught? Which rabbits didn't get caught? Switch groups and repeat the process to let the other group hide their rabbits. Gather students and discuss findings. Would the rabbits that got eaten be able to reproduce anymore? Would the rabbits that didn't get eaten be able to reproduce again? How would this affect the genetic make-up of the rabbits living in this area? What do you imagine would happen to the rabbit population is this trend were to continue? What would the rabbits look like in a hundred years?

Mammal Habitat Observation
Take your students out on a nature walk to look for signs of mammal homes. Do you see those circular holes in the ground? Those aren't snake holes (snakes can't dig!) but most likely chipmunk homes. Look in natural grasses for rabbit runways - trampled down paths that rabbits repeatedly travel on. Look for sleeping areas - grasses that have been pressed down in a circular pattern - depending on the size they could be made my rabbits, foxes, bobcats, or deer. Winter is also a good time to look for mammal signs. Mammals that are active need to get out to find food. Look for nut shells and dug up dirt near the entrance to their dens. Even though many times mammals will hide when they hear us coming, we can still be alert to their presence through the signs they leave behind. Look in the printed material section for Who's track's are these? and Stokes: Guide To Animal Tracking and Behavior for information on this topic.

Who Am I?
A pair of students picks the name of a mammal out of a hat. Then the class can ask up to 20 yes or no questions to try to figure out which mammal the students picked. This is a fun way to review what students have learned about individual mammals as well as overall concepts such as omnivores, herbivore, hibernation, etc.

Use the Berkshire Athenaeum’s on-line catalogue to search for these print resources in Central/Western Massachusetts.

Print Materials For Students

Gamlin, Linda. Eyewitness Books: Evolution. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2000. Discover what life was like millions of years ago; how new species develop; and learn why pandas have false thumbs and penguins stand upright. Superb full-color photographs of animals, plants and fossils make this book a compelling look at evolution.

Parker, Steve. Eyewitness Books: Mammal. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1989. Here is a spectacular and informative guide to the natural world of mammals. Stunning real-life photographs of bushbabies, badgers, wallabies and more offer a unique "eyewitness" view of the natural history of mammal behavior and anatonomy.

Stein, Sara. The Evolution Book. New York: Workman Publishing, 1986. The story of 4,000 million years on Earth revealed through observations, experiments, projects, and investigations for children 10 - 14.

Zim, Herbert. Mammals: A Guide to Familiar American Species. New York: Golden Books, 1987. An accurate and fascinating introduction to more than 200 of the most common species of mammals in North America, including information on: habits and habitats, families trees, raising young, food, enemies, and more. Includes full-color illustrations and range maps.

Print Materials For Educators

Holley, Dennis. Animals Alive! Niwot, Colorado: Roberts Rinehart Publishers © 1994. Animals Alive! is a guide and resource for designing and conducting live animal activities that are non-invasive and observation-oriented. It provides practical, inexpensive, and ethical alternatives to traditional life science education with activities that can be used in the classroom or at home.

Macdonald, Dr. David, ed. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. 1984. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc., 1995. Contains information about mammals throughout the world including animal behavior, conservation, skull size, geographical location, and ecology. Sections are broken down by family and the animals within the families.

Stokes, Donald & Lillian. Stokes: Guide To Animal Tracking and Behavior. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1986. A great resource to help in identifying animal tracks, trails, scats, and signs left behind by North American mammals.

Web Materials for Students

Adaptations
A fun website that explains adaptations and evolution.

Mammals
Pictures and descriptions of over 75 mammals from the African Elephant to the Eastern Chipmunk to the Zebra.

Marine Mammals
Marine mammals are animals that spend the majority of their lives in or near the sea. Animals like dolphins, whales, seals, manatees, sea otters and even polar bears are considered marine mammals. This site was created by the National Marine Mammal Laboratory.

Web Materials for Educators

Discovery School Lesson Plan Library
Lesson plans for K - 5 including animals, ecology, earth science and more.

eNature.com
eNature's Web-based Field Guides contain full-color photographs and descriptions of more than 4,800 species found in North America. With eNature's zip-code search capabilities, site visitors can quickly and easily identify their local plant and animal life.

Enchanted Learning - All About Mammals
Get lesson ideas, printouts, and information on mammals, their evolution and classification.

MassWildlife's State Mammal List
This is a list of the mammals that live in Massachusetts. It includes special notation of species appearing on the current list of Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern species in Massachusetts.

Nature of New England
Photos and links to information about birds, butterflies, and mammals.

The following is a list of all of the mammal specimens on display in the Berkshire Backyard. A laminated copy of this list hangs from one of the mammal cases in the Berkshire Backyard. The numbers on the list refer to the number given to each specimen in the cases.

Click here for a printable list.

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.

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