Summary

Discuss how camouflage can help protect an animal from predators. Create camouflage from an old sheet to let students see first hand out they can blend into an environment while wearing the created camouflage.

 

Materials

• Photographs of modern animals that use camouflage to survive (from library books, or printed from Internet), such as: lion, rabbit, polar bears, turtles, beetles.
• Camera (optional)
• Notebook
• Colored pencils
• Old bed sheet (small), or pillow case, that children can paint, and decorate with natural objects
• Washable paint (safe for painting on clothes and face)
• Leaves and other natural objects
• Masking tape

 

Related Video Clip

Dinosaur Train: "Dinosaur Camouflage" (1 minute 46 seconds)

 

Procedures

1. PREPARATION: Cut out a hole in the middle of the bed sheet, big enough for a child's head to fit through easily.
2. In an age-appropriate manner, ask students to think of some ways that animals avoid being eaten by other animals in the wild. Some answers might be: running away, flying away, having a hard shell, having a poisonous bite, and so on. Explain that some animals also use a survival trick called "camouflage." Camouflage means having skin, feathers, or fur that match the color of their natural surroundings (or "habitat"). Show photographs of some animals that blend amazingly well into their surroundings, such as the walking stick insect or cryptic frog, leaf-mimic katydid, mimic octopus, zebras etc.
3. Show the video clip from "Dinosaur Camouflage" in which Dad uses camouflage to help him win in a game of hide and seek.
4. Have students explore a local natural area – such as a nearby forest or perhaps an area in a backyard. Have them find examples of animals that use camouflage to help them hide. For example, they might find birds, beetles, turtles, squirrels, or rabbits. Encourage them to be very quiet and still when observing wild creatures. Remind them that it sometimes takes time and patience to find animals that are trying to hide from predators.
5. Have students use a small notebook with colored pencils to capture the colors of a particular small area. Ask students to identify colors and patterns that an animal would need to blend into this environment. (Optional: If students have access to a camera, they can use it to help document the animals they find.)
6. Have the students pick a particular area in the woods. What colors do they see most? Have children work together as a group to paint the old bed sheet so that the colors they select blend into the environment. Have them avoid using any colors that might make them stand out. Have students use masking tape to attach the old leaves to the sheet for added texture.
7. If possible, take a photograph of each student wearing the camouflage cloak in the environment it was designed to match.

 

Extension

Discuss the colors of some of the characters in Dinosaur Train. You might ask students if T. rexes like Buddy were really orange and blue. Who knows? No people were around to see these animal species when they were alive. While many animals today blend into their surroundings, some animals, such as some kinds of snakes or frogs, have colors that make them stand out against their environment. It's their way of telling potential predators, "Back off!"