Education Kits - Topic Summaries

Kit Topic Summaries

Please note: All kits require a reservation at least one week in advance. We often can not accommodate last-minute kit rentals.

Kit and Skin Request Form

To reserve or request an education kit, please complete the form linked above. Please allow 3 business days for requests to be processed. For questions, email kits@birdsconnectsea.org.

Preschool and Kindergarten

Fledglings
This kit introduces our youngest learners to the magical world of birds! Through songs, puppets, real bird skins and activities, your group will learn what makes birds unique and interesting while stimulating their inquisitiveness about the natural world. For details, click here.

Elementary

Symphony of the Birds
Imagine being able to identify an unseen bird simply by hearing its call! Through hands-on, audiovisual materials, this kit gives participants an opportunity to learn to identify a total of sixteen birds local to the Pacific Northwest by sight and sound, just like trained, expert ornithologists do. For details, click here.

Feathers, Fossils, Flight!
Try to solve one of ornithology’s greatest mysteries: could the first birds fly? In the process of answering this question, participants will examine feathers, wings, properties of flight physics, bird skeletons, and a reproduction of the first fossil bird, Archaeopteryx. Exploring the many adaptations that allow birds to be such incredible flyers will also help unlock this avian mystery. This kit serves as a great introduction to the evolutionary process. For details, click here.

Wonder of Raptors
What have hooked beaks, sharp talons, and amazing eyesight? You guessed it, raptors! This kit gives participants an opportunity to learn to identify local raptors and become familiar with the amazing adaptations that make these birds so unique. Included in each kit are cotton-stuffed bird skins, bird wings, talons, and raptor skulls that will help bring these elusive, often nocturnal, avian predators right into your classroom! For details, click here.

Birds of Seattle
What birds share our city? How are they adapted to make the Seattle area their home? Bird skins, wings and skeletons, and fun, educational lessons and activities will give participants a different perspective on our avian neighbors! For details, click here.

Birds in Our Community
We live in an area that supports many different species of feathered residents. Get to know your fellow community members with this special kit designed for use outside the classroom! Where do birds live? What do they eat? Learn how to best coexist with birds as residents of your backyard or local park. For details, click here.

Finding Urban Nature – Fall Lessons
Get to know your schoolyard habitat with these four outdoor, hands-on, experiential lessons! Explore plants, spiders, birds, and more! We are excited to be able to offer a shorter, abbreviated taste of Finding Urban Nature (FUN), our elementary school program, with this new classroom education kit!

Finding Urban Nature – Spring Lessons
Just like the Fall FUN kit, this kit allows students a chance to explore their schoolyard habitat with four more hands-on experiential lessons! Answer questions like, how do birds build their nests?, what eats dead leaves?, and how many worms are under our feet?

The Natural Artist
Birds and the natural environment have served as inspiration for artists throughout history. Complete with art materials, example art prints by local and famous artists, as well as pecimens to serve as a muse, this kit provides anything that a group of artists needs to get in touch with their inner natural artist.

Upper Elementary, Middle, and High School

Birds in the Field
This kit contains 6 high-quality binoculars and a spotting scope, along with simple activities to make your bird walk engaging for all ages. No need to be a professional birder; the kit also comes with an easy-to follow script for educators to lead an 1.5 hour birding lesson that starts with bird ID an binocular practice outdoors, then a short bird walk and scavenger hunt outside. Whether you’re watching crows on the playground, taking a neighborhood walk, or checking out a Pacific Wren in the forest, this kit allows participants to get out and enjoy the birds all around us. For details, click here.

Endangered Birds and Old Growth Forests
Why are old growth forests so important? What makes them important habitats for Spotted Owl and Marbled Murrelet? What can any person do to help protect them? Learn about how old growth forests are unique ecosystems that are important forhumans, plants, and animals. Bring the old growth forest into your classroom through hands-on activities, real tree and bird specimens, books, puppets, and more!

Wetland Wonders
The Pacific Northwest is home to a wide variety of water bodies that are crucial to the well-being of humans, salmon, birds, and much more. Learn how to determine the health of a local body of water by monitoring scientific variables like Ph, dissolved oxygen, and nitrate levels, while also taking samples to collect data on various macroinvertebrates as indicator species of ecosystem health. Other activities include basics on water fowl identification, games to get to know other wetland creatures, and the lessons that teach about salmon and their fascinating life cycles. For details, click here.

Birding as a Citizen Scientist
Join Seattle Audubon’s science program as a volunteer citizen scientist! This kit comes with everything you need to go on a highly enjoyable birding adventure: binoculars, field guides, an iPod Touch, and a digital camera, as well as information on great birding spots. Collect data while you’re out and upload it onto Seattle Audubon’s eBird account! This is a great opportunity for youth who are interested in science and looking for service learning opportunities, or adult birders who want to contribute to bird science and conservation.