Batty About Bats
What’s the only flying mammal whose superpowers include the ability to fly and hang upside down, an incredible super nose, and the ultimate in ears? Find out as we fly, hop, and crawl like these most amazing of creatures — BATS! Celebrate International Bat Appreciation Day with the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum as we go Batty for Bats! These Batty for Bats activities include up close and personal looks at bats with the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center’s Jen Burghoffer and the Discovery Museum’s very own Miss Carol. Our Batty for Bats activities will help your child develop fine and gross motor skills, problem-solving and engineering skills, and can help them engage in cooperative play, while fostering creativity and perseverance. Each theme also comes with recommended literature connections, including a very special read aloud from Handley Regional Library’s Katie Moss. Feel free to throw in your own activities that might relate, and don’t forget to post your results to social media and tag @discoverymuse to share with everyone else!
Art Activity/Fine Motor Activity: Toilet Paper Roll Bats
This activity pairs really well with a readaloud of Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
For this activity, you’ll need to collect the following:
- Empty toilet paper tube
- Brown or black paper (depending on what kind of bat you want); You can also use white paper and color it brown or black to make your wings.
- Glue or tape
- Black paint (if you want a black bat body)
- Googly eyes (or markers or paper to make eyes)
- Scissors
Directions:
- Fold the ends in on an empty toilet paper roll to make your bat ears.
- Decide whether you want to make a brown bat or a black bat. If you want a brown bat, you don’t have to do anything at all to your toilet paper roll. If you want a black bat, paint the toilet paper roll black and let it dry.
- Decide what color wings your bat will have. You can use brown or black paper if you have it OR you can color a sheet of white paper brown or black to make your wings.
- Fold the paper in half. Starting at the fold in the paper, draw your wings so that they come off the crease.
- Cut out your wings. You should have two equal sides joined in the middle (hooray for symmetry!).
- Glue or tape your wings to the back of your bat.
- Add your eyes!
- Give your bat a name.
- Got Batty for Bats with your new friend.
Coloring Activity: This site includes free bat coloring pages.
More Craft Activity Ideas: Make a Flappy Flying Bat using paper, scissors, gluestick, a craft stick, and a crayon. Really great for working on the concept of symmetry.
Science and Nature: Let’s Learn About Bats
Meet Jen at the Blueridge Wildlife Center, as she shares a 30 minute educational program about bats with her friend, Bruce the bat.
The Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum’s Miss Carol is Batty About Bats! Join her on a 10 minute journey into the many things that make bats so awesome!
Physical Activity: Super Bat Obstacle Course
Get some of those wiggles out while learning a little about the superpowers of bats! Follow along with Dr. Diane as you do some bat exercises while being batty superheroes!
- Read Superbat by Matt Carr. What kind of superpowers do bats have?
- Learn more about the incredible superpowers of bats here.
Bats at the Library — a Special Read Aloud with Handley Regional Library‘s Katie Moss
More Batty Read Aloud Magic
- Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies
- There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat by Lucille Colandro, illustrated by Jared Lee
- Bat Loves the Night (nonfiction) by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Sarah Fox-Davies
