Animal Rehabilitation Makerspace
Overview
Learn about animal rehabilitators and create your own vehicle to transport a wounded animal.
Animal Rehabilitation Makerspace
The goal of this program is to help children to learn about animal rehabilitators while creating their own vehicle to transport a wounded animal.
Gather several books by local Maryland author and animal rehabilitator, Jennifer Keats Curtis. Some good examples include...
-Baby Owl's Rescue
-Turtles in My Sandbox
-Seahorses
Allow the children time to look through the books and discuss what they observe. Read one or two of the books while discussing the job of an animal rehabilitator as well as the animals themselves (manipulatives, videos and visuals are great for this).
Discuss the engineering design process (ask, imagine, plan, create, improve) and give children their mission: to create a vehicle to transport a wounded animal (ask).
Allow children time to brainstorm the things that their vehicle would need (imagine) and what materials they can use to create it (plan).
Provide recyclable materials (cardboard, paper, plastic, etc.) as well as glue, scissors, tape, string, etc. and allow the kids to create their vehicle (create).
After some time, ask the children how their process is going and allow them to make changes (improve). For added challenge, give the children a particular animal to transport, this way they have to think about that animals particular needs.
***Since Jennifer Keats Curtis is a Maryland author and animal rehabilitator, it could be an added bonus to have her come to the library and talk to the children before, during or after they create their vehicles