The Beaks of the Finches

Teens experience natural selection firsthand (or first beak) in an activity that has them act as finches foraging for food. Using different household items  to act as different beak styles, your little finches will collect as much food...

Darwin explained the connection between species of finches 150 years before scientists understood DNA. Technology and progressing science proved he was right, yet many struggle to understand how natural selection happens. Scholars use...

One of the most striking pieces of evidence for Darwin's Evolution of Species was his observations of finches and how their beaks differed from island to island, depending on their primary food sources. So what would happen to the theory...

Try a twist on the old finch beak and chopsticks activity by using M&Ms on a Twister mat. Spoons, knives, forks, and chopsticks represent beaks and are randomly assigned to your little birds, who must collect as much food as possible...

Introduce the topic of evolution and natural selection with visuals, vocabulary, and historical perspective. Budding biologists can examine the evidence on their own by going through the presentation, or the teacher can present to the...

Bird is the word! Young biologists discover how the tiny finch changed the way scientists viewed evolution and changes in species using a fascinating video from Fuse School's Evolution playlist. The narrator describes Darwin's journey to...

Don't just tell your class about Darwin's finches ... show them! Sort some of science's most famous birds using an interactive lesson. Learners try their hand at classifying finches using song, sonogram, and beak appearance, as well as...

You've got to use the right beak for the right job. Viewers of an informative video learn about the evolution of finches on the Galapagos Islands. They learn how different habitats and foods led to an adaptation of beaks, resulting in...

A video about the impact of climate change on butterfly populations and a PowerPoint about butterfly and bird adaptations warm science learners up for the activity to follow. Using a variety of tools that reprsent unique styles of bird...

Peacocks, when fanning their feathers to attract females, shake the feathers, creating an inaudible sound for humans but one that female hens can hear, even from far away. In the video, scholars explore evolution by analyzing artificial...