There are a lot of adaptations of plants and animals to the natural environment. They are surviving and successfully existing because of adaptations. Plants and animals adapting to the large diversity of external factors that different environments provide, but a number of adaptations among species are very different and vary from long neck to seasonal migrations. Following activities can give understanding of how adaptations are different depending on impacting factors, species, and environments.  

"Build a Nest" - This activity allows participants to appreciate birds' efforts of building nests using only bills and legs. Kids (or adults) in small groups build their nests and hide it in the forest. Then small groups try to find nests of each other.

"Adaptation Game" - Participants learn and memorize various adaptations for different groups of animals towards certain factors of the natural environment.

"Cuckoo Game" - The adaptation of such bird as cuckoo to lay its eggs to other birds' nests is used in our game when participants try to memorize how eggs of different species of birds are looks like. Playing as birds, participants try also to recognize cuckoo eggs in their "nests.

"Discovery Club" - Participants sculpt adaptations from clay using the special method. Interpreting their works, they tell stories about created fantastic animals

"Nature Knows Better" - Participants analyze adaptations of domestic animals that were selected by the human, and their adaptability to the natural environment, using different examples of real situations. 

 

After activities like mentioned above, we give some interesting examples of adaptations among animals and plants like following:

1. Many people still think that birds migrating to southern lands because of low temperature. However, the main reason for winter migrants is an absence of food. Those birds which eat only insects, or frogs, or snails, or fish, couldn’t find all mentioned food in the area that usually covered by snow and ice. Moreover, most insects live just in summer. Some insect-eaters, however, adapting to winter cold weather by changing their ration from insects to seeds and nuts. Regarding low temperature, most winter migrants can easily survive in cold weather; 

2. Seasonal migration of birds is one of the most comprehensive and complicated adaptations. Birds can lead to geomagnetic fields, Sun, stars, and such landmarks as rivers and mountain ridges. In most cases, birds return to same wintering place and same nesting area every year with unbelievable accuracy; 

3. Birds and mammals are using sharp claws and teeth for hunting and extraction of food much often than for defending from predators or neighboring competitor animal of the same species;

4. Bright color of reptiles and amphibians are telling predators that those species are poisonous, but same or similar bright colors of birds doesn't mean the same!