Examining a Bird Nest

Materials Needed:
Bird nests
Magnifying glasses
Rubber gloves
Plastic boxes with lids
Tweezers

What to Do:
Collect several different abandoned bird nests. (Autumn is a good time to find them because the trees are losing their leaves making, the nest is more visible.)
Store them in plastic shoe boxes with lids.
Instruct the children put on the gloves, open the lids of the boxes, and start examining the nests. They can use the tweezers and magnifying glasses to examine what materials the bird used to build the nest.

*Even with the use of gloves, I recommend that the children wash their hands thoroughly after removing the gloves, when finished with this activity.