Activity best for children ages 3 and up

Engineers are amazing people who build, create, and fix things. At the museum, we call engineers “problem solvers” because they come up with ways to make our world a better place! Today, we are going to be engineers and are going to help take care of our planet Earth. Did you know that recycling is a solution that helps our planet? Recycling is when we take materials ready to be thrown away and change them into something that we can use… again! This keeps our planet clean by reducing the amount of trash that fills up our beautiful Earth.

Engineers love to recycle because they can make all sorts of new things out of recyclable materials, including items that can help other living things on our planet. For example, our bird friends need to find a safe place to live, so we are going to be problem solvers and build a birdhouse out of recyclable materials!

Guiding Questions:

Where would be a good location to place your finished birdhouse?

What materials in nature do birds use to build their own nests?

What other structures could you create using recyclable materials?

Grown Ups-Are you looking for more ways to extend your child’s learning? Check out these extension activities to build upon today’s STREAM activity!

Reading Connections

Bird House by Libby Walden

Real-World Connections

We share our planet with all sorts of living things, including animals like our bird friends who might live in the birdhouse we built! Recycling keeps our planet clean and is a way to protect and help the animals around us.