Crane Resources for Kids
Welcome to our latest crane-related, educational blog post! The International Crane Foundation is committed to sharing our message of crane conservation with families at home throughout the pandemic. Up until now, our educational blogs have been posted in a series called Quarantine with Cranes. As countries around the world begin the process of reopening, we have given our educational blog series a new title Cranetivities. In this week’s edition of Cranetivities, you will find an exciting Virtual Scavenger Hunt! Upon successful completion of this scavenger hunt, you will be entered into a giveaway for a prize from our gift shop. See last week’s edition of Cranetivities here.
Activity description: We have created a Virtual Scavenger Hunt using our website and a supplemental resource, the Whooping Crane Timeline. If you submit your answers to the scavenger hunt by 8 p.m Central Time on Friday, June 12, you will be entered to win a crane shirt from our gift shop! Scroll down to the workplan to begin the scavenger hunt.
Grades: 5 to 12
Time estimate: 2 to 3 hours
Topics covered: Reading, history, conservation science and biology
Materials needed: Internet access
Adult involvement: Yes, for younger students
Indoor or outdoor: Indoor
Links:
International Crane Foundation Website
Workplan:
This week’s activity, a Craniac Virtual Scavenger Hunt, will allow you to learn about the history of Whooping Cranes and fun facts about the other 14 crane species. Click here to open the Scavenger Hunt. The form will start with some brief questions about you. It then will move into the Scavenger Hunt questions. As you go through the Scavenger Hunt, the resources described below will help you answer the questions.
Begin by exploring the Whooping Crane Timeline. Standing five feet tall with a wingspan of more than seven feet, the Whooping Crane is North America’s tallest bird. It is also the rarest crane in the world. The species was once found across the entire continent, but in the 1940s fewer than 20 individuals survived. Today, the population is slowly climbing and numbers over 800 in the wild and captivity.
Learn about the plight of the Whooping Crane from near extinction to a slow recovery as you explore our interactive Whooping Crane Timeline. Milestones, detailing both man-made and natural occurrences, review the history of this endangered species and the efforts that must be undertaken to prevent the Whooping Crane from going extinct.
As you make your way through the timeline, you will be able to answer the first set of questions in the Scavenger Hunt. To answer the second set of questions, check out the Species Field Guide on the International Crane Foundation’s website. This field guide provides many details about each of the world’s 15 crane species, details like the species’ range, diet and voice. It is a great place to begin learning about the cranes of the world. The final question of the Scavenger Hunt will ask you if you have a favorite crane species, so be sure to read up on all fifteen!
When you submit your completed Scavenger Hunt, you will be entered to win a special prize from our gift shop, a Salvador Sandhill Chick tee! To qualify for this prize, you must do the following:
Submit your completed Scavenger Hunt form by 8 p.m. Central Time on Friday, June 12.
We will select a winner randomly from the completed forms. If you are the lucky winner, you will receive an email at the email address you specified on your Scavenger Hunt form. The email will ask for your mailing address.
Once you respond to the email, we will ship your prize to you for free.
Thank you for participating in this exciting giveaway, and good luck!
Got feedback? We would love to hear your thoughts on our educational resources. This survey will allow you to provide feedback on our Quarantine with Cranes (now Cranetivities) series. If you have used any of our other educational resources, like our From the Field series or our online activity packets, you may provide feedback on those resources here. You may also email us at info@savingcranes.org if you have questions or comments for us. We will see you next week for a new edition of Cranetivities!