Funding provided by the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust ©ASDM

Chaperone/

Teacher book

Kim Duffek

Discovery Quest: Adaptations Colors and Burrows

Chaperone Instructions – Adaptations Quest – Colors & Burrows The Quest activity is about exploration, and figuring things out as you go. Many of the questions have more than “one right answer.” The students will read the movement and story clues in the quest. They will use their map and clues to discover the quest locations. The student map has a marked route, but it does not have the locations marked. Your chaperone map has both the route and the locations marked. *Behavior Expectations for Students* A quest is about exploring – it is not a race, please don’t run Stay together as a group and stay with your chaperone Stay on the marked trails - please don’t climb rocks and walls Be respectful of people, plants, animals, and materials

*Notes for Helping Students* Please help students with reading if needed, and try to have students help

each other with it When students are writing answers, please don’t worry about spelling There can be more than “one right answer” – let students think through

possibilities *Time Checkpoints: please remember to check in with the Time Keeper* By 5 minutes, you should complete Location 1 By 15 minutes, you should complete Location 2 By 25 minutes, you should complete Location 3 By 35 minutes, you should complete Location 4 By 45 minutes, you should complete Location 5

At the end of 45 minutes, please return to the school group ramada in front of the museum. The students will keep their individual worksheets. At the end, please help the students use the checklist to ensure all quest materials get returned.

Colors and Burrow Quest Theme: • Burrowing and light colors are adaptations for desert heat • Animals must cope with predator/prey relationships in the desert.

Your Quest Locations are:

Topics & Helpful Hints along the way: If students need help along the way, you can use the following information to help them. You might want to wait first to see what they can do on their own.

Location 1: Anywhere along the first dirt path after the stairs

Light greens and tans help desert plants and animals reflect heat Does white color reflect or absorb heat? What could white fuzz do for the plant when it’s hot? What could fuzz do for the plant when it rains?

Location 2: Mountain Lion and Deer exhibits in mountain woodlands Activity: binocular vision: benches by mountain lion/deer

Predators and prey use camouflage to hide from each other Eye position helps predators to judge distance/location to catch prey Which way made it easier and faster to grab the quail feathers? It is faster/easier to grab it with both eyes open due to binocular vision.

Location 3: Mexican gray wolf exhibit in mountain woodlands

Adaptations can be behaviors like cooperative hunting to get bigger prey Help students to look at ear and tail postures.

Location 4: Grassland owls and snakes

Burrowing is an adaptation to escape heat and dryness. Students may need help reading the reptile activity thermometer in the quest. The OF scale is on the left side of the thermometer. Lines go in 10-degree increments. The corresponding snake activity is on the right side of the thermometer. Example: at 100OF, a snake stays in the shade

Location 5: Prairie dog exhibit

Burrowing and social living are adaptations to escape predation. How does living together help an individual? How does living with your family help you out?

Desert Discovery Quest Student Roles You need the following jobs to be filled:

• Quest Manager • Map Navigator • Backpack Manager • Materials Manager

For larger groups, you can add the following jobs:

• Activity Manager • Time Keeper • Communication Manager

For smaller groups:

• Backpack Manger and Materials Manager can combine into one job • Activity Manager and Time Keeper can combine into one job • For small groups, the chaperone can be the Time Keeper

How to assign roles:

• Decide how many and which jobs your group needs. • Pull out the role cards for the jobs you plan on using. • You can assign jobs randomly by having each person randomly pick a

card. or

• You can assign jobs based on student choice *Please return the cards to the bag after assigning roles *Please Consider* All students should help the Quest Manager and take turns reading Your group may choose to trade roles partway through the quest.

Quest Manager Hold and read quest to group Show quest pictures to group Before moving to each location, you should pair up with the map navigator while you read the movement clue. Then the group walks to the next location.

Map Navigator

Hold and read laminated map Before moving to each location, you should pair up with the quest reader while he/she reads the movement clue, and trace the route on your map. Then the group walks to the next location.

Backpack Manager Carries back pack At the end of the quest, work with the Materials Manager and your chaperone to use the checklist for checking in all materials.

Materials Manager Gets materials in and out of pack Return materials to back pack at the end of each activity At the end of the quest, work with the Backpack Manager and your chaperone to use the checklist for checking in all materials.

Activity Manager Keeps team on task Can check in with the Time Keeper to see if the group is on track. Things you can say:

• “How are we doing on time, should we get back to work?”

• “We’re falling behind, we better get back on track.”

“That was great, let’s keep going.”

Time Keeper Carries timer and keeps track of time Can check in with the Time Keeper to help the group stay on track. Things you can say:

• “It’s ___ time, we should be done at this location by ___minutes”

• “We have time to look around in this area for ___minutes”

Communication Manager Makes sure team members are sharing ideas with each other. Help teammates communicate by asking questions. Things you can say:

• “I think STUDENT NAME was trying to say something, what did you want to say?”

• “Does everyone have a partner to talk to?”

• “STUDENT NAME has a great idea - listen”

Desert Discovery Quest: Adaptations – Colors & Burrows The adaptations quest is a way to explore the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and learn more about plant and animal adaptations to the desert.

As a team you will: • Follow movement clues to locations around the museum • Read story clues to learn information at each location • Work together to make observations, complete activities and answer

questions • Use materials and tools in your back pack • Complete the quest within 45 minutes

Before you start the quest: 1. Pick roles 2. Look over your quest materials/ see what is in the back pack

Reading the quest: • Movement clues will lead you around the museum grounds

o Bold underlined words are extra clues for your map • Story clues will tell the adaptations stories • Highlighted words are items in your backpack • Vocabulary words are defined in the glossary at the end of the

quest

*Please remember*

A quest is about exploring – it is not a race, please don’t run

Stay together as a group and stay with your chaperone

Stay on the marked trails - please don’t climb rocks and walls

Be respectful of people, plants, animals, and materials

Ready to Begin?

Do all team members have a job and understand what it involves?

Do all team members have a worksheet and pencil?

Do you have any questions for the Education Specialist?

The Time Keeper needs to start the timer when you are ready to begin at the museum entrance

Desert Discovery Quest: Adaptations – Colors & Burrows

Colors and Burrows Theme: Desert creatures must deal with dryness and heat. And in this environment they must find ways to eat. Let’s investigate adaptations for all these things, By observing color, relationships and burrowing.

Location 1 From the entrance, down the stairs, turn right on a dirt path and view The different cacti and plants that you are walking through. Along this first dirt path, stop to sightsee. In this desert landscape, what colors do you see? For desert plants and animals, one thing is the same. Whether leaves or fur, light colors rule this game. Lighter colors are best for reflecting the heat. In the hot desert sun, they just can’t be beat. Brittlebush is a desert plant seen in the landscape and in these pictures.

© Ted Myers © 1984 ASDM/Mark Dimmit

In addition to its light green color, brittlebush has white fuzz on the surface of its leaves. What do you think the white fuzz does for the plant? Discuss this with your group. You do not need to write down your answers.

Location 2

From this dirt path location, continue on the way to roam To where animals make mountains and woodlands their home. Continue your way around until you are near The mountain lion and the white-tailed deer. The mountain lion and deer are predator and prey. Being visible to each other is not the best way. So in this habitat each hides from the other. The adaptation is in their camouflaged color. To survive in this place, is their fur light or dark color?

© 2006 Rhonda Spencer © 2007 Ray Toscano

Sit down on the benches in front of the mountain lion exhibit. Turn the page to find an activity to do while you’re here.

Activity: Binocular Vision- Seeing is Believing

Humans share something in common with the mountain lion – Binocular vision (eyes in front of our face). This helps us judge distance and see things in front of us quite well. Mountain lions rely on their binocular vision to pinpoint the exact location of their prey. Let’s put your binocular vision to the test. Work in partners for this activity. Find the quail finger puppet in your pack. Person 1 - hold the quail puppet on your finger. Person 2 -cover one eye (use the palm of your hand), look for the puppet, reach out with your other hand, and try to hold the tip of the quail’s feather plume with your thumb and index finger. Person 2- try it again using both eyes to see which way is easier. Which way was easier to hold the quail’s feathers? Questions: 1. How does your binocular vision help you? Find the mountain lion vision picture in your pack. The blue and yellow areas show what a mountain lion can see. 2. How do eyes in the front and binocular vision help the mountain lion hunt the deer? Draw a picture or write a sentence.

Location 3 Round the mountainous loop you will go To seek the magnificent native ‘lobo.’

© 2006 Rhonda Spencer

Wolves are great hunters with eyes facing front. But these social canines have a special way to hunt. They work together in a pack to get the task done. Then they all share the food among everyone. Question:

3. Wolves can communicate with each other through their body postures. Observe the wolves’ ear and tail postures and circle the behavior you observe.

Location 4 Now it’s time to leave the mountain wood-lands. Follow the paved road towards the grass-lands. Find the shady spot with scaly inhabitants That live in holes and among the grass plants.

© 1987 R.W. Van Devender

They slither and creep along the ground. Their colors and patterns are hard to be found. No arms or legs to dig homes in the grassy knoll, So snakes often use empty prairie dog holes. A snake’s body temperature changes with the outside environment. Use the Laminated Snake Activity thermometers to answer the following questions.

Questions: 4. When the temperature reaches ______oF, a snake might overheat and die. 5. What is one thing a snake can do to prevent overheating from happening? Draw or write a sentence. 6. What might happen to grassland snakes if prairie dogs disappear from the environment?

Location 5 Nearby, take a few moments to watch the prairie dog scene, And think about all the adaptations we’ve seen. Color, burrows, living together - Can you tie it all together?

© 1990 Paul Berquist

In the desert grasslands you will find busy builders – Large rodents digging tunnels and mounds that bewilder. Prairie dogs use burrows to hide from drought and heat, Above they look for predators, then hide so they won’t meet. Question: 7. Why do you think prairie dogs live together in towns? – List at least 3 reasons.

Glossary Adaptation

• Body part or behavior that helps a plant or animal to survive in its environment

Burrow

• A hole or tunnel underground used by animals as home or hiding place

• To dig a hole underground as a home

Camouflage

• Blend into surroundings Canine

• Animal of dog family Landscape

• Area that can be seen from one viewpoint

Predator

• An animal that hunts other animals for food

Prey

• An animal that is hunted by other animals for food

Reflect

• To throw back from a surface

Materials Checklist *At the end of your quest, please use this checklist to check your backpack and materials.

Quest

Laminated Quest Map

ASDM Paper Map

White Quest Timer

Laminated Timer Instructions

Pencils

Binoculars

Quail finger puppet

Mountain Lion Vision Picture

Laminated Snake Activity

Thermometers

Chaperone Folder

Adaptations Quest – Colors & Burrows ANSWER KEY

Location 2 1. How does your binocular vision help you?

ANSWERS CAN VARY – answers should suggest________ Binocular vision helped them judge distance and pinpoint the Exact location of the puppet. May say it helped them grab it 2. How do eyes in the front and binocular vision help the mountain lion hunt the deer? Draw a picture or write a sentence. ANSWERS CAN VARY – answers should suggest Binocular vision helps them judge distance and pinpoint the Exact location to catch prey Location 3 3. Observe the wolves’ ear and tail postures and circle the behavior you observe. ANSWERS CAN VARY based on observations

Location 4 4. When the temperature reaches 120 oF, a snake might overheat and die. 5. What is one thing a snake can do to prevent overheating from happening? Draw or write a sentence. ANSWERS CAN VARY – answers should suggest burrowing or hiding Underneath something 6. What might happen to grassland snakes if prairie dogs disappear from the environment? ANSWERS CAN VARY – answers could suggest snakes could die from lack of shelter, could suggest snakes will have to adapt to dig own burrows, Location 5 7. Why do you think prairie dogs live together in towns? List at least 3 reasons. ANSWERS CAN VARY – some possibilities

• Look out for each other • Hide from predators in group • Individuals have more time for other activities • Share parental care

Snake Activity Thermometer

Snake Activity Thermometer

©2012 ASDM ©2012 ASDM