NIMBioS Deputy Director Chris Welsh tells Sevierville Primary second graders about his passion for birds at a Discover Birds school visit in April. Photo Credit: discoverbirds.blogspot.com
In light of the success of the Discover Birds program among Tennessee elementary schools, the Tennessee Ornithological Society (TOS) voted at their annual meeting in Knoxville last weekend to order a second printing of the popular Discover Birds activity book.
The program appears to be meeting its primary goals of getting elementary school-aged children excited about birds and science. “The excitement and enthusiasm you see from the kids is a real thrill,” said Chris Welsh, NIMBioS deputy director and Discover Birds volunteer.
Welsh recently visited two local elementary schools with the program. At Sevierville Primary in April, 215 second grade students viewed a slide show about birds and examined feathers, owl pellets and other bird-related objects. Welsh joined other volunteers to lead students on bird walks on the school grounds where students spotted an American Robin sitting on a nest and Tree Swallows visiting nest boxes, as well as many other birds. More details and photos about the school visit are available at the Tennessee Ornithological Society Discover Birds blog.
Nearly all 1,000 activity books from the first printing have now been distributed with most having been donated to classrooms and teachers. NIMBioS contributed math-bird activities to the 36-page activity book. The math-related activities developed by NIMBioS for Discover Birds, along with illustrations by Vickie Henderson, are freely available for download here. For more information about how to obtain the Discover Birds activity book or to request a visit at your school, contact the Knoxville Chapter of the Ornithological Society.