GO BATTY FOR BATS!

 

Reading BATS: BIGGEST! LITTLEST! is the perfect way to start getting to know these amazing animals.  Then keep on exploring and learning about bats as you have fun with these activities.

Visit My Cave

What's it like to live like a bat?  

Cover a table on three sides with a blanket or paper to create a cave.  Have your family or a group of friends crawl inside your pretend cave with you.  While you're there with this group, think about these questions.

1. Why is a cave a good home for small bats, like Mexican Free-tailed Bats? 
2. Why do you think big bats, like Grey-Headed Flying Foxes, camp in the open in trees instead?
3. What are some problems to sharing a cave with other bats?

What Good Are Bats?

Check out the hand-like structure of a bat's wings.

Try this to find out.  
Take a large bowl of popcorn kernels to the gym or outdoors to a paved area of the playground.  Work with friends to scatter 50 popped kernels on the floor or ground.  Count to ten. Then have people place two more popcorn kernels next to each original kernel.  This is as if the insect pests have multiplied.  

Now pretend you are an insect-hunting bat. Have four others pretend they are too.  While someone counts to five, have each “bat” pick up all of the insects they can carry.  Then have other children place two popcorn kernels next to each remaining kernel.  

Repeat these steps two more times, having “bats” collect “insects”.   Then have any remaining “insects” multiply.  

Now look at the results.

• How much of an affect did the “bats” have on the “insect” population?
• What limited how much of an effect the bats could have on the insects? 
• What do you think would happen to populations of insect pests if there weren’t any bats?

Bats for Good Measure

Again, here's a good chance to see the arm and hand-like structure of a bat's wing.

The wingspan of the largest flying foxes can be up to 6 feet (about 2 meters).  Take string that length. Find at least 5 things about the same length.  What are they?  

Now, measure each of these things.  Find out how longer or shorter each is compared to a large flying fox’s wingspan. 

• The teacher’s desk
• The class’s two shortest students lying head to feet on the floor.
• The classes two tallest students lying head to feet on the floor.
• Your teacher’s armspan (from fingertip to fingertip with both arms stretched out)

The wingspan of the Bumblebee bat is 6 inches (15 centimeters).  Take a piece of string that length.  Find at least 5 things about the same length.  What are they?

Now, measure each of these things.  Find out how much longer or shorter each is compared to a Bumblebee Bat’s wingspan.

• The smallest book in the classroom
• Your pencil
• The shoe of the student with the littlest foot
• Your right hand span (from thumb to little finger with your hand spread wide).  Draw around your hand span on a piece of paper. Then compare to your bat wing measuring string.

I hope you've enjoyed this chance to dig deeper into BATS: BIGGEST! LITTLEST!  Check out the other books in this series from Boyds Mills:

SHARKS: BIGGEST! LITTLEST!

SNAKES: BIGGEST! LITTLEST!

INSECTS: BIGGEST! LITTLEST!

SPIDERS: BIGGEST! LITTLEST!