Schoolyard Expeditions

Many schoolchildren in Vermont and New Hampshire are learning all about animal behavior — and not by taking the occasional field trip to a farm or the zoo.

Thanks to a five-year, $225,000 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vt., students in 16 schools are learning the habits of different animals without going any farther than their own schoolyards.

Animal Inquiries, a natural-history curriculum developed by the museum for youngsters in third through eighth grade, helps kids learn about painted turtles, pill bugs, garter snakes, and other creatures that are common in New England.

With the help of museum staff members and schoolteachers, students learn how to observe the animals’ behavior. Students are grouped in pairs and given a designated plot of land, about 10 feet by 10 feet, and asked to visit it over a six- to eight-week period. The students are trained to monitor the land for any animal activity, and to ask questions about what they see.

Once they come up with the questions, they are encouraged to find the answers through research and experiments. Some students have learned that slugs lay eggs in November, while others have discovered that leeches take care of their young.

“A lot of science is cooked-up science, where kids are told what to do and what to learn,” says Ginger Wallis, project manager of Animal Inquiries. “We wanted kids to experience a whole new way of learning by observing the world around them.”