Nature Lesson



Screech Owl


I think kids are getting smarter these days. I took my daughter to the Sharon Woods Nature Center where we listened to a talk on "Winter Survival" and how some animals adapt in winter months. Most of the children there were 4-7 years old. All of them were under 10. The naturalist started off by showing them the globe and demonstrating why we have winter months as opposed to places like Madagascar where it's tropical year-round. She asked if anyone could point to Madagascar on the globe and four of the kids volunteered. They knew right where it was; probably because of the movie "Madagascar", but still...

Then she brought out a pretty big bug and asked if anyone knew what it was. The 7-year-old boy sitting next to me knew right away. "A hissing cockroach." Why, yes it was. And we all got the chance to pet it, so now all these kids also know what it feels like. (I petted it, too. Its exoskeleton feels rough and scratchy. Most of the kids knew what an exoskeleton was, too.)

After that she brought out a screech owl. It was beautiful and wide awake. He flapped his wings noiselessly and the naturalist explained why his wings are so quiet. She also talked about his hunting habits and asked whether anyone knew what an owl's strongest sense is. Of course they did: hearing.

She talked about deer in Ohio and how their eating habits change in the winter, as well as the color of their coats. Did anyone know what deers eat in winter? Sure they did. Bark. Last but not least, she brought out a box turtle and asked how the box turtle survives in winter. She had already told us that owls help keep warm by eating. Their food fuels them like a furnace. But turtles don't gain body heat by eating. They take a different tactic. They hibernate, and all the kids knew that. (I didn't. But in my defense, I rarely even think about turtles.) She said that they burrow into the dirt and leaves and that insulates them like a blanket. And then this little 5-year-old girl behind me asked the fiftieth intelligent question of the day and asked whether they go inside their shells to hibernate when they go underground. Yes, they do.

I was so impressed with the questions these children asked. Very intelligent and much more insightful than I'd expected. I expected easier questions like, What do turtles eat? Instead, I heard a six-year-old boy ask if owls can track their prey in the dark, because all of the kids in the room knew that owls are nocturnal. They already had a great basic knowledge of animals and nature. I found myself studying them as much as the animals on display. I learned a lot. I feel like I've been living under a rock, like a...I don't know what animal lives under rocks. We'll ask the kids.