Task: This a fun and very valuable Christmas Project for your class. children or community. Build some bird feeders using plastic bottles and decorate one or more to find out which one birds are most attracted to or whether it makes no difference.
Community: The lockdown during the pandemic created huge issues with isolation, particularly with the elderly. Projects such as these are ideal to run linking generations so the youngest children can have a topic of conversation with the oldest generation. The wisdom of retired people is often hidden and this activity enables them to share it with others. Please try and link as many diverse people as possible , maybe challenging them to come up with the best bird feeder.
Every year the RSPB in the UK carries out a Big Garden Bird Survey. You can find information on how to join it in January 2023 HERE There is strong evidence that many populations of birds have suffered massive declines. House Sparrow numbers have fallen by 60% since the 1970s for example. With the increase in extreme weather, garden birds will need as much help as we can give them this winter and one of the ways to help is to feed them. Even better, do a Rubbish Science project to answer the question and use rubbish to produce something useful and learn scientific literacy.
Like all Rubbish Science activities this is easy to do, but hard to do really well. At the simplest level, you just need to set up two identical bird feeders next to each other keeping everything the same, but add Christmas decorations to one of them and see which one the birds empty fastest. Please share this project with others. It is ideal to do with the elderly as an experiment across the generations. We want to see discussions around a common project happening regardless of age.
Much more learning will take place if you follow the ideas of design thinking and prototyping and think about how to share your evidence with others.
You can upload photos of your birdfeeders and results and observations to our Padlet Wall HERE Just click on the wall and upload! Please note that due to Child protection no photos with children’s faces will be displayed. The photos are moderated so your pictures may not come up instantly.
There is also a Google Form you can use to upload your results HERE
Where is the STEM?
- Science: Design and carry out the investigation, Research ideas and knowledge about bird feeding habits
- Technology: You may want to video or use time-lapse to record results. Old or broken smartphones are ideal for this, but ensure phones are not left outside without supervision. Results can be presented on a spreadsheet and findings published using a variety of digital tools. There is a Padlet wall and a Google Form to share your results.
- Engineering: The design of the bird feeder and solving the problem of squirrels or ensuring the bird food does not get wet.
- Maths: Marking gradations on the bottles to measure the amount of food eaten. Compiling results and possibly showing averages. Drawing histograms of results.
Bottle Bird Feeder
Task: You are to find the perfect bird feeder for your chosen garden bird.
Equipment Provided: Plastic Bottles, scissors, bird food, string, Christmas decorations
Health and Safety: You must carry out your risk assessment (Rubbish Science accept no liability) Note: Be careful when cutting, and wash your hands after handling bird food. Be careful putting the bird feeders up – Also ensure they are not where a cat can reach the birds.
Bird Health:
If you cut flaps in your bird feeder never fold them inwards as this can lead to birds putting their heads in and getting them stuck.
Trichomonosis is a disease caused by a parasite that has been devastating to `finch populations in the Uk. You can find out more on the Finches Friend Website this means you need to clean out your bird feeder regularly as well as look out for birds that appear to be sickly. If you see unhealthy-looking finches you can report them on the British Trust for Ornithology website. The BTO recommends these measures
- Clean and disinfect feeders and feeding sites regularly. Suitable disinfectants that can be used include a weak solution of domestic bleach (5% sodium hypochlorite) or other specially-designed commercial products. Always rinse feeders thoroughly and air-dry before re-use.
- Rotate the positions of feeders in the garden to prevent the build-up of contamination in any one area of ground below the feeders.
- Empty and air dry any water feeders or bird baths on a daily basis.
Things you might need to know / Questions you might ask before starting the experiment
- What size bottles would be best? Large or small?
- What colour? Opaque or translucent?
- How will you ensure that the test is fair
- What bird food could you use?
- How could you ensure the food does not fall out?
- How might you keep the bird food dry?
- Are squirrels a problem? How might you deter them?
- What variables can you not control?
- How are you going to measure which bird feeder is preferred?
- How will you record your results?
- How will you share your evidence?
Prototyping: Try to answer the questions above using small-scale experiments using a short time and with little equipment.
Modifications: How might you modify your designs based on what your preliminary prototyping results look like? What have others done and what can you learn from them?
Prediction: What do you think will happen and why? I think the bird feeder with Christmas decorations will be …….
Do it: How are you going to see if your bird feeder is successful?
- We must keep all the variables the same apart from the Christmas decorations on one of the bottles. So try to use the same bottles, the same design and the same food and place them near each other. You can move them around the garden but do them both at the same time.
- How will you measure the results? You might set up a phone on time-lapse to see which feeder is visited more often or put a scale on the side of the bottle to see which has been eaten the most. You could weigh the food but it may get wet.
What happened?: Was your bird feeder effective? How do you know?
Tell Someone: Explain what you did and why you felt your feeder was effective. Listen to others and share your experiences. do they have any good ideas?
You can upload photos of your birdfeeders and results and observations to our Padlet Wall HERE Just click on the wall and upload! Please note that due to Child protection no photos with children’s faces will be displayed. The photos are moderated so your pictures may not come up instantly.
There is also a Google Form you can use to upload your results HERE
What did you learn? What do you know now that you didn’t know before you started this investigation?
Extension/Modify/Do it again: How could you extend this to other birds?
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