Eagle Cam Ignites Student Curiosity
“Do you think it’s ready to fly?” “Where is the mother?" "Is it a boy or girl?” For the past several weeks, Lower School students have been gathering excitedly around an eagle cam monitor in their school lobby and asking lots of questions.
The digital screen is connected to a live action video feed of a bald eagle nest located on the Berry College campus in northwest, Georgia. The 24/7 nest view has offered a unique window into the lives of our nation’s most iconic raptors, and more specifically, the life cycle of one eaglet chick who hatched in late February and is currently getting ready to take its first flight.
Known within the scientific community as baby #3 and nicknamed “B3,” this eaglet has provided more than enough action-packed drama already; from hatching to feeding, fighting off would-be predators and now a lot of wing flapping (known as “fledging”), there was even a nerve-wracking few days in which mother eagle went missing (she returned, with food).
Country School teachers have incorporated the children’s innate inquisitiveness and empathy for this baby eaglet into the curriculum: First graders are studying the animal kingdom and using B3 for their individual animal study. Second graders are studying life cycles and focusing on B3’s journey from egg to adult. Fourth graders are talking about endangered species and how the bald eagle population was once almost decimated, but has since made a comeback. “More than anything, it has been about developing their natural curiosity,” says Lower School science teacher Chantal Detlefs. "They have been asking so many questions. We always want to make the learning come alive for them.”
To see the action for yourself, come visit the Lower School lobby or visit the following link: http://www.berry.edu/eaglecam/.
New Canaan Country School
New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.
