Objective: Learn about adaptations of animals and have the chance to create an animal by themselves using critical thinking. Participants can surpass the limit of their imagination through this activity. Props: 1 Flipchart Paper per group, Pencils for everyone in the group, Wooden pencils in case they want to color it. Background Information An adaptation is a special skill which helps an animal to survive and do everything it needs to do. Adaptations could be physical changes to the animals body or behavioural changes in how an individual animal or a society do things in their daily lives. One example of adaptation: Camels Camels are herbivores; they eat desert vegetation, such as grasses, herbs, and leaves. Camels have many adaptations that allow them to live successfully in desert conditions. Deserts are hot and dry. Winds blow sand all around, so a camel has: Long eyelashes (the long eyelashes keep sand out of the camel's eyes. Thick eyebrows shield the eyes from the desert sun). It has nostrils that can open and close (a camels nostrils can close so it doesn't get sand up its nose). Camels store fat in the hump, not water (the fat can be metabolised for energy). A camel can go a week or more without water, and they can last for several months without food (they can drink up to 46 litres of water at one drinking session)! Camels feet are wide so they can walk on sand more easily (their huge feet help them to walk on sand without sinking into it). Forest A forest is a land area that is populated by many trees. Forests are one of the most common and most important kinds of ecosystems on our earth. Their trees help produce oxygen that all living things need. One of the most famous animal which lives in forest is Elephant. Ocean An ocean is a huge body of salt water. Oceans cover nearly 71 percent of Earth's surface. They contain almost 98 percent of all the water on Earth. One of the animals that lives in ocean is Blue Whale (the largest animal in Earth – can be up to 30 meters long and weight 200 tons). Desert When people think of a desert, they usually think of a sandy, hot, and dry place. But there are other types of deserts as well. A desert is any large region that gets very little rain each year. Very few plants or animals live in desert areas. One of the animals which lives in desert is Camel. Arctic (North Pole) and Antarctic (South Pole) are places with very low temperatures all of the time. These two areas in the Earth are covered with glaciers. In Arctic lives one of the most famous animal for us Polar Bear. In Antarctic lives also one of the most famous for peoples which is Penguin. Step by step instructions
  1. Make a circle or if you are in classroom, participants can stay in their seats.
  2. Divide them in at least 4 smaller groups.
  3. Each group should have a flipchart paper, pencils and wooden pencils (enough for everyone).
  4. Tell them that they now have the chance to create their own animal that has different adaptations!
  5. Assign the participants locations that their animal lives in: the forest, ocean, desert, or arctic.
  6. Tell them that they can each pick at least three adaptations that their animal can have.
  7. They can draw and describe their animal on their flipchart of paper.
  8. When they are finished they can share their drawing in front of all other groups.