animal research project templates

WOULD YOU LIKE ACCESS TO ALL THE FREEBIES FOR ELEMENTARY TEACHERS? ➔

Animal Research Project for Kids at the Elementary Level in 2024

Whether you are doing a simple animal study or a fully integrated science, reading, and writing unit, this animal research project for kids includes everything you need. From the graphic organizer worksheets and guided note templates to the writing stationary, printable activities, projects, and rubrics.

Thousands of teachers have used this 5-star resource to have students complete self-guided animal research projects to learn about any animal they choose. The best part is, the resource can be used over and over again all year long by just picking a new animal! Learn all about this animal research project for kids at the elementary level below!

What is the Animal Research Project?

The animal research project is a resource that is packed with printable and digital activities and projects to choose from. It is perfect for elementary teachers doing a simple animal study or a month-long, fully integrated unit. It’s open-ended nature allows it to be used over and over again throughout the school year. In addition, it includes tons of differentiated materials so you can continue to use it even if you change grade levels. Learn about what’s included in it below!

What is Included in the Animal Research Project

The following resources are included in the animal research project :

Teacher’s Guide

The teacher’s guide includes tips and instructions to support you with your lesson planning and delivery.

Parent Letter

The parent communication letter promotes family involvement.

Graphic Organizers

There are graphic organizers for brainstorming a topic, activating schema, taking notes, and drafting writing.

Research Report

There are research report publishing printables including a cover, writing templates, and resource pages.

There is a grading rubric so expectations are clear for students and grading is quick and easy for you.

Research Activities

The research activities include a KWL chart, can have are chart, compare and contrast venn diagram, habitat map, vocabulary pages, illustration page, and life cycle charts.

Animal Flip Book Project

There are animal flip book project printables to give an additional choice of how students can demonstrate their understanding.

Animal Flap Book Project

There is an animal flap book project printables that offers students yet another way to demonstrate their learning.

Animal Research Poster

The animal research poster serves as an additional way to demonstrate student understanding.

Poetry Activities

The resource includes poetry activities to offer students an alternative way to demonstrate their learning.

Digital Versions

There is a digital version of the resource so your students can access this resource in school or at home.

Why Teachers love the Animal Research Project

Teachers love this animal research project because of the following reasons:

• This resource guides students through the research and writing process, so they can confidently work their way through this project.
• It is a great value because it can be used over and over again throughout the school year because the pages can be used to learn about any animal.
• It offers several ways students can demonstrate their learning.
• It includes a ton of resources, so you can pick and choose which ones work best for you and your students.
• It is printable and digital so it can be used for in-class and at-home learning.

This animal research packet is great because it can be used over and over again using absolutely any animal at all. The printables in this packet are ideal to use with your entire class in school, as an at-home learning extension project or as a purposeful, open-ended, independent choice for your students who often finish early and need an enrichment activity that is so much more than “busy work.”

The Research Report Process

This animal research project packet was designed in a manner that allows you to use all of the components when studying any animal. Because the printables can be used over and over, I will often work through the entire researching and writing process with the whole class focusing on one animal together, This allows me to model the procedure and provide them with support as they “get their feet wet” as researchers. Afterwards I then have them work through the process with an animal of choice. You may find it helpful to have them select from a specific category (i.e. ocean animals, rainforest animals, etc) as this will help to streamline the resources you’ll need to obtain.

Step 1: Brainstorm a list of animals to research. Select one animal.

During this stage you may want to provide the students with a collection of books and magazines to explore and help them narrow down their choice.

Step 2: Set a purpose and activate schema.

Students share why they selected the animal and tell what they already know about it. Next, they generate a list of things they are wondering about the animal. This will help to guide their research.

Step 3: Send home the family letter.

To save you time, involve families, and communicate what is happening in the classroom, you may want to send home a copy of the family letter. It’s so helpful when they send in additional research materials for the students.

Step 4: Research and take notes.

The two-column notes template is a research-based tool that helps the kids organize their notes. I added bulleted prompts to guide the students in finding specific information within each category. This method has proven to be highly effective with all students, but is especially useful with writers who need extra support.

I have included two versions of the organizers (with and without lines). I print a copy of the organizer for each student. I also copy the lined paper back to back so it is available to students who need more space.

Step 5: Write a draft.

Using the information gathered through the research process, the students next compose drafts. The draft papers were designed to guide the students through their writing by providing prompts in the form of questions. Answering these questions in complete sentences will result in strong paragraphs. It may be helpful to give them only one page at a time instead of a packet as it make the task more manageable.

Step 6: Edit the draft.

Editing can be done in many ways, but it is most effective when a qualified editor sits 1:1 with a student to provides effective feedback to them while editing.

Step 7: Publish.

Print several copies of the publishing pages. I like to have all my students start with the page that has a large space for an illustration, but then let them pick the pages they want to use in the order they prefer after that. I have them complete all the writing first and then add the illustrations.

Finally, have the children design a cover for the report. Add that to the front and add the resources citation page to the back. Use the criteria for success scoring rubric to assign a grade. The rubric was designed using a 20 point total so you can simply multiply their score by 5 to obtain a percentage grade. The end result is a beautiful product that showcases their new learning as well as documents their reading and writing skills.

In closing, we hope you found this animal research project for kids helpful! If you did, then you may also be interested in these posts:

• How to Teach Research Skills to Elementary Students
• 15 Animals in Winter Picture Books for Elementary Teachers
• How to Teach Informative Writing at the Elementary Level
• Read more about: ELEMENTARY TEACHING , INTEGRATED CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES

You might also like these posts...

May would you rather questions and activities for elementary students, april would you rather questions and activities for elementary students, november coloring: elementary color by code activities for 2024.

LET'S CONNECT

Hey there! I’m Jodi. I am a National Board Certified teacher with 17 years of experience in the classroom.

I created Clutter-Free Classroom to support busy elementary teachers like you!

FREEBIES FOR TEACHERS

Join the 75,000+ elementary teachers who receive free resources from us each week.

© Jodi Durgin | Clutter-Free Classroom, LLC • Website by KristenDoyle.co

Classroom Freebies

April 2, 2020 · Leave a Comment

Graphic Organizer Templates For Animal Research

3-5 · All Freebies · PK-2

Children are capable of doing research. They just need to have resources and graphic organizer templates to use. It is important to organize the information into manageable amounts when doing research. Even younger children can do simple research projects if we provide them with support and the appropriate resources, templates or other graphic organizers. They can create amazing projects with the right materials.

Children can use graphic organizer templates effectively

I love doing simple research projects with my students. One of my favorites is an animal research powerpoint. Sometimes people don’t think that younger children can create quality powerpoints, but I have several dvd collections of powerpoints that my grade 2/3 classes have created.

Animal Research Planning Templates

I created these planning templates so that the children could organize their material into manageable parts that would also fit onto powerpoint slides. There are 3 different templates available.

Here is one of the templates included. If you would like to have a copy of these templates, click one of the images.

I hope you will find this helpful with your students as they create their animal research projects .

You Might Also Like:

About Charlene Sequeira

About Diamond Mom

Hello everyone. I am Charlene from British Columbia, Canada. I am a retired primary teacher, former French Immersion music teacher, mother of 4, grandmother of 9. I love working with kids and continue to volunteer with reading groups and small math groups at school. I also teach ukulele to both children and adults. I tutor some students at home in math and French. I am also known as Diamond Mom and I have a blog called Diamond Mom’s Treasury. I enjoy creating materials for students and I have a TeachersPayTeachers store where these materials are available for others. You can also visit me on Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

SPECIAL COPYRIGHT NOTE This site is copyright protected. Nothing can be reposted on this site (excluding the button features) without written permission from the author. This includes writing, photographs, images, and downloads. This blog is a collaborative blog written by a group of individuals, and each author owns and is accountable for his/her postings. Disclosure: There may be affiliate links in this post. If you click through and make a purchase, the author may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. For questions about this blog, please use the contact form link located HERE .

Writing Unit of Study: Animal Research Project

This free animal research project will provide you with a writing unit of study that will help you build excitement about writing informational text in your classroom.

You can download this free animal research project to help your writers develop their research and writing skills.

This project will be a great fit for your first, second or third grade writing workshop.

This is another free resource for teachers and homeschool families from The Curriculum Corner.

Why should I introduce my students to research through animal study?

Animal research can be a great topic for writing informational text because students tend to be curious about animals.

Nothing seems to spark interest in most kids like learning about animals in our world. Turn their enthusiasm into an engaging animal research writing project.

They can take the time to learn about different habitats and diets.

You can also encourage students to expand their vocabulary by having them create a glossary to accompany their writing.

About this animal research project

Within this post you will find over 30 pages of anchor charts, mini-lesson ideas, writing planners and graphic organizers.

The unit will help guide your students through the complete process. In the end, you will be helping to teach your students how to write their own pieces of informational text.

The intended end product for students is an animal booklet that they can staple together to share with others.

Students who are ready for more advanced work, can create a larger project with less direction.

A description of the mini-lessons

Lesson 1: introduction.

• Begin the unit by having the students brainstorm a list of animals that they might see everyday.
• Then, have them brainstorm a list of animals they see when they visit the zoo or walk in the forest. You can do this on the blank anchor chart provided or on cart paper.
• Another option is to place students in groups. They could work to create a list together.  
• You might assign each group a continent and have them find animals that live there.
• Pull the class together and have each group share what animals they found that live on their continent.

Lesson 2: Noticings

• Next you might want to get your students familiar with common characteristics about informational texts that teach about animals.
• Have them work in pairs or small groups to go through some books and record their “noticings” about the writing.
• Then come together in a community circle to discuss those noticings and create a class anchor chart.

Lesson 3: Opinion vs. Facts

• Before getting truly into this unit, you might need to conduct a lesson on opinions vs. facts.
• After a brief discussion you can use the giraffe paragraph provided in our resources to give your students some practice differentiating between the two. This paragraph contains both opinions and facts.
• With your class read through the paragraph and record facts and opinions on the T-chart.
• Discuss both sides and how they are different from each other.
• A black & white copy of this giraffe paragraph has also been provided.  You can have them work in pairs or groups to distinguish between the facts and opinions.
• If you need more resources for your students surrounding fact & opinion check out our   Fact & Opinion Sort .

Lesson 4: Choosing a Topic for the Animal Research Project

• We want to help students to narrow their topic choices by giving them some guidance.
• Gather students and begin a discussion about choosing an animal research topic.
• For this lesson we have provided two pages where students can individually brainstorm the animals they are interested in.
• You might have students work in groups or independently to make their choice. Conference with students as needed to help.
• Don’t shy away from letting more than one student research about the same animal.  This can be a great way to promote group work. It might also help out with some of your literacy center choices throughout this unit.

Lesson 5: Good Places to Find Information about an Animal

• At this age we want students to begin to understand that all they read online about animals isn’t always true. Sometimes writing might sound true without being filled with facts.
• Show students two possible places to find information online about their animal. One should be a trusted site with reliable and accurate information. Another should be a site that perhaps a child has created.  (There are many that you can find if you search.)
• Pose these questions: Is everything on the internet true? Why?  How can you tell? Why is it important for your research writing to contain accurate information?

Lesson 6: Taking Notes

• Sometimes giving students resources and a blank sheet of notebook paper can be too overwhelming for them. Some students will copy word for word. Others might feel overwhelmed.  We need to guide them to read and pull out facts & relevant information to use later in their writing.
• For this lesson we have provided four templates for note-taking that you might choose to use for your students.
• You might need to provide different organizers to students depending on their needs.
• You will want to model the organizers your students are use. Show them how to take notes as they read.
• After initial teaching, you may find that you need to pull small groups for extra practice. Others might benefit from a conference as you take a look at the notes they are taking.

Lesson 7: Word Choice in Research Writing

• To help students think about making their writing more interesting, have them brainstorm words about their animal.
• Together brainstorm words that would be appropriate for animals. They might add words about what they look like, their movement, their habitats, their life cycles, their diets, etc. You can create a class anchor chart on the page provided.  You might even think about using the real life picture of the wolf in the download. This can get the students to begin thinking of more interesting words for animals (fierce, mighty, strong, etc).
• Then, pass out the individual brainstorm pages. Students can use the anchor chart as a guide to begin their own word choice pages about their animal. This might be a good partner activity as well.

Lesson 8: Writing Sketch for the Animal Research Project

• Next, you can model the writing sketch planner for your class.
• One idea to help your students narrow down all of the information they have learned about their animals is to give them a specific number of animals facts that they can focus on.
• Each of these facts can serve as the actual text that they will put on each page of their animal research book. Or the facts could serve as a focus for each paragraph in their writing.
• You might find that this would be a good mini-lesson to do with smaller groups of children.

Lesson 9: Creating a Table of Contents

• Another idea that can be a writing planner AND a page in their animal research book is the table of contents. Pull out one of the Table of Contents pages from the resources provided and model how to fill in the blanks on each page.
• This page will then serve as their Table of Contents (with a focus discussion on what that is and the purpose it serves) and also their writing planner so they know what they will put in the pages of their booklet.

Lesson 10: Creating a Glossary

• There are two pages provided in the resources that might help your students to learn to pull out topic specific words to put into a glossary for the end of their animal research book.
• Be sure to model how you would like for your students to use these organizers (keeping in mind that you may need to copy more than one page if there are more words than the page provides for).
• If your students need a refresher on ABC order check out these links for some added practice/review: ABC Order Task Cards & Fry Word ABC Order Task Cards

Lesson 11: Writing Your Animal Research

• You will decide on the best method for your students to showcase their published animal research.
• You may want your students to use their own creativity in the texts that they write and share. If you’d like a first experience to provide a bit more guidance, we have provided two different sets of pages for booklets.
• One is more guided and the other has less structure and smaller lines for more writing.  15 pages are provided so that you or students can pick what fits their needs.
• This “lesson” may actually become a series of lessons if you choose to model how each page can be used.  (We have also included a page with simple writing lines in case students need less guidance than the booklet pages provided.)

Lesson 12: Labeling Pictures

• One final lesson idea that pairs well with writing informational text is to teach your students how to label pictures.
• Since most nonfiction writing has real photographs, students can find some pictures online to print out and label for their booklet.  Hand-drawn pictures are also great if you would rather encourage some or all of your students in that direction.
• Whatever you choose, show your class how to effectively label a picture so that it teaches the reader more.  You can use the picture of the polar bear provided to model how to add words or even short facts as labels.  (For example if the simple label “fur” wouldn’t add additional information to the book, you might teach them to label it with a short fact such as “dense fur protects the animal’s skin from the weather”.
• To make this idea more user friendly, you might want them to use the page of blank white boxes provided to write their labels for their pictures.  Then all they need to do is cut them out and glue them to a printed picture.

Lesson 13: Writing Celebration

As always, find a way to celebrate your students’ writing.  

Invite guests (younger students or special adults) to read the books with your young authors. You might simply want to pair or group them, or some students might choose to present their book to everyone.  

Provide some light snacks if possible to give it a party atmosphere and pass out the author certificates to each child for his/her hard work.

You can download this free writing unit of study here:

Writing Download

As with all of our resources, The Curriculum Corner creates these for free classroom use. Our products may not be sold. You may print and copy for your personal classroom use. These are also great for home school families!

You may not modify and resell in any form. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Christine E.

Saturday 8th of May 2021

Thank you so much for this resource and the many pages that I can use in my homeschooling. It is exactly what I've been looking for to help me get my kids to write about our animal units! You are doing a great job, keep up the amazing work you do. I appreciate the hard work you put into putting these together.

Planning a Dynamic Writing Workshop - The Curriculum Corner 123

Saturday 14th of July 2018

[…] Animal Research […]

Editable Writing Management Binder - The Curriculum Corner 123

Friday 3rd of March 2017

[…] Writing Unit of Study: Animal Research […]

FREE Spring Animal Research Project for Kids

I am putting a HUGE spring writing freebie on the blog today that I am SO excited about! I am happy to be sharing an animal research project for you to use with your students this spring. Animal research is a fun way to engage students in the writing process. Add in some awesome crafts and some cute animals: what a win-win for your class!

All About Bunnies: Spring Research Writing and Craft

So, if you have checked out my blog before, you know that I LOVE creating writing projects for you to use in your classroom. I am sharing this HUGE spring animal research project with you for free because I really want you to check out the quality of my writing projects. I have so many of them in my TPT store.

My “All About Bunnies” Research Writing and Craft Project comes with a TON of writing templates with two options. Choose if “Have, Can, Are” or “Diet, Appearance, Habitat, Life Cycle, Interesting Facts” works best for your class. Use books, videos, Nat Geo Kids, and kid-appropriate websites to do class research! I have included everything you need for asking questions, writing down prior knowledge, taking research notes, rough drafts, final drafts, and crafts!

Bunny Craft Options

After your class has completed their animal research project, choose a craft! My writing packet includes a simple coloring activity, a mobile craft, and a flip book!

More Animal Research Projects

Looking for more spring animal research projects? I have a bundle in my TPT store that includes the bunny project with butterflies, frogs, worms, and bees! Click the picture to check it out!

Grab Your FREE Animal Research Project!

Grab your FREE bunny research project below! Enter your email, and I will send it directly to you to download and use with your students! I promise I do not send out emails very often, but having an email list helps me keep this blog going! Which means more FREEBIES for you! Happy teaching!

Related Posts

Affirmation Station Freebie!

Back to School Read Alouds and Activities

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Access the free resource library ➡︎

Animal Research Report (Digital Templates)

Description, additional information.

• Reviews (0)

Do you have your students complete an Animal Research Project? This Digital Resource will provide your students 15 templates to help them organize their research into a creative Google Slides Presentation.

Resource Includes:

✦ Instructional Video for Students on the Basics of Google Slides

✦ 15 Editable Slide Templates in Google Slides

✦ Planning Pages for Teacher and Students

✦ Examples of Completed Slides

✦ Grading Rubrics (Two Versions)

✦ Step by Step Directions for Getting Assignment Set-Up in Google Classroom

Check out the preview to see a closer look at everything that is included in this resource. When you download the PDF file, you will have access to a clickable link to add the resource to your Google Drive.

There are no reviews yet.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Your review  *

Name  *

Email  *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Related products

Solar System Unit

Water Cycle Booklet (Print & Digital)

Comprehension Cards – Guided Reading (Fiction Ask It!) JUNIOR EDITION

Earthquakes (Print and Digital)

Comprehension Cards – Guided Reading (Fiction Ask It!)

• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use

join the newsletter

How to write an animal report

Your teacher wants a written report on the beluga whale . Not to worry. Use these organizational tools from the Nat Geo Kids Almanac so you can stay afloat while writing a report.

STEPS TO SUCCESS:

Your report will follow the format of a descriptive or expository essay and should consist of a main idea, followed by supporting details and a conclusion. Use this basic structure for each paragraph as well as the whole report, and you’ll be on the right track.

Introduction

State your main idea .

The beluga whale is a common and important species of whale.

Provide supporting points for your main idea.

1. The beluga whale is one of the smallest whale species.

2. It is also known as the “white whale” because of its distinctive coloring.

3. These whales are common in the Arctic Ocean’s coastal waters.

Then expand on those points with further description, explanation, or discussion.

1a. Belugas range in size from 13 to 20 feet (4 to 6.1 m) in length.

2a. Belugas are born gray or brown. They fade to white at around five years old.

3a. Some Arctic belugas migrate south in large herds when sea ice freezes over.

Wrap it up with a summary of your whole paper.

Because of its unique coloring and unusual features, belugas are among the most familiar and easily distinguishable of all the whales.

Key Information

Here are some things you should consider including in your report:

What does your animal look like? To what other species is it related? How does it move? Where does it live? What does it eat? What are its predators? How long does it live? Is it endangered? Why do you find it interesting?

SEPARATE FACT FROM FICTION: Your animal may have been featured in a movie or in myths and legends. Compare and contrast how the animal has been portrayed with how it behaves in reality. For example, penguins can’t dance the way they do in Happy Feet.

PROOFREAD AND REVISE: As with any essay, when you’re finished, check for misspellings, grammatical mistakes, and punctuation errors. It often helps to have someone else proofread your work, too, as he or she may catch things you have missed. Also, look for ways to make your sentences and paragraphs even better. Add more descriptive language, choosing just the right verbs, adverbs, and adjectives to make your writing come alive.

BE CREATIVE: Use visual aids to make your report come to life. Include an animal photo file with interesting images found in magazines or printed from websites. Or draw your own! You can also build a miniature animal habitat diorama. Use creativity to help communicate your passion for the subject.

THE FINAL RESULT: Put it all together in one final, polished draft. Make it neat and clean, and remember to cite your references.

Download the pdf .

More resources

Homework help, science lab, (ad) national geographic kids almanac.

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Your California Privacy Rights
• Children's Online Privacy Policy
• Interest-Based Ads
• About Nielsen Measurement
• Do Not Sell My Info
• National Geographic
• National Geographic Education
• Shop Nat Geo
• Customer Service
• Manage Your Subscription

Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society Copyright © 2015-2024 National Geographic Partners, LLC. All rights reserved

Over 6,200 homeschool resources and growing!

FREE Printable Animal Research Template

Published: June 21, 2016

Contributor: Carrie

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure for more info.

This is just too cute! Do you have a beloved pet at your house? Turn it into a project of sorts with this free, printable Animal Research Template! It’s great for research and has cute sections for your child to record interesting information. It would make a fun summer project (it doesn’t require that you own a pet!) – encouraging your child to continue learning about something they love.

• free printable

Carrie Fernandez is the founder of Homeschool Giveaways and owner of  Daily Skill Building . She has been homeschooling for over 18 years, has two girls and works side by side at home with her awesome husband. She has been saved by grace, fails daily, but continues to strive toward the prize of the high calling of being a daughter of the Most High God.

Related resources

Free Printable Periodic Table Worksheet and Cheat Sheets

Free Printable for Teaching the Pumpkin Life Cycle

Fun Apple Life Cycle Activities for Kids with Free Printable

The Best Children’s Encyclopedia Books for Reference

Printable Parts of a Flower Worksheets For Kids

Facts About Tornadoes for Kids (Plus Teaching Resources)

National Geographic content straight to your inbox—sign up for our popular newsletters here

How do animals respond to eclipses? Help NASA find out.

A massive citizen science project will study how the animal kingdom reacts to April 8’s total solar eclipse. Here’s how and where to partake.

Tens of millions of sky-gazers are expected to watch the total solar eclipse above North America on April 8. Cheers, shrieks, and cries will welcome totality—the few fleeting minutes when day turns to haunting dusk. But humans won’t be the only species affected.  

The early onset of darkness disrupts animals’ circadian rhythms, sparking a possible chorus of owl hoots, cricket chirps, or even coyote calls, depending on the eclipse-viewing location. For centuries, biologists and spectators have shared stories about how animals respond to eclipses , yet few formal studies have tested this. NASA hopes to change that this year—and you could help.

Through the citizen-science project Eclipse Soundscapes , NASA is studying how these interstellar marvels impact the animal kingdom. Eclipse enthusiasts have a host of ways to participate : recording data, analyzing audio, or submitting their own multisensory observations, says Henry Trae Winter III, co-lead on the Eclipse Soundscapes project and chief scientist and co-founder of the ARISA Lab .

The project, inspired by a similar citizen-science study from the 1932 eclipse over New England, centers on how crickets respond to the event’s false dusk. These insects, which are largely dispersed across the U.S.’s path of totality from Texas to Maine , provide an ideal opportunity for widespread comparison. “If there’s something different in the south than the north, we can pull out why,” says Winter, noting they can analyze everything from temperature differences to eclipse duration (which will begin approximately 1:45 p.m. to about 4:30 p.m. EST) to analyze varying reactions. This intel could help scientists model how future weather events like storms could impact animals.

( 2024 will be huge for astrotourism—here’s how to plan your trip .)

While Eclipse Soundscapes focuses on crickets, which Winter says eclipse-chasers could hear any place that’s above 55 degrees Fahrenheit on eclipse day, the team’s massive data set—expected to be among the largest soundscapes recordings in history—will be free and open to the public.

To partake as an Eclipse Soundscapes observer, Winter suggests avoiding large-scale eclipse gatherings where crowd chatter will drown out critter sounds. Instead, eavesdrop on the animal kingdom via wild and more remote natural spaces—such as these five wildlife-packed getaways along April 8’s path of totality.

Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas

Arkansas ’ stretch of the 1.8-million-acre Ouachita National Forest , a mosaic of streams, peaks, rivers, and dense pine forests, brims with wildlife, including many species that could audibly respond to the area’s four minutes of totality. Listen for the barred owl, known for its “ who cooks for you ” call, or the long-eared owl, which often communicates via low hoots . Crickets will likely also join the eclipse symphony, as could the forest’s numerous bands of coyotes .

Cache River State Natural Area, Illinois

This swampy, 18,000-acre getaway in southern Illinois is known for its frogs , which experts say could get particularly noisy on eclipse day. Listen for bird-voiced tree frogs, southern leopard frogs, and bullfrogs, or watch for foxes and opossums , which could make unusual midday appearances. Travelers may enjoy these sounds throughout the park, but for a particularly unique totality seat, join Cache Bayou Outfitters’ solar-eclipse kayak trip .

Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio

Cuyahoga Valley National Park’s thick oak, hickory, and beech forests will see roughly 3.5 minutes of totality on April 8. These dusky skies could kick off a harmony of animal calls, from frogs and toads, which reappear here in the early spring months, to the barn, barred, or great horned owls. For a multisensory perch, hit the Beaver Marsh , a former trash heap turned biodiverse wetland habitat with numerous frogs, turtles, birds, and its namesake and nocturnal beavers—which scientists say could skitter out from their daytime abodes as the skies dim.

( It was a toxic wasteland. Now it’s a national park .)

Letchworth State Park, New York

Birds are among the most boisterous animals during solar eclipses . The darkness may stimulate their urge to roost, increase their activity levels, or alter their song patterns. Watch and listen to the avian eclipse responses from one of New York State’s best birding locales, Letchworth State Park , which will experience around three minutes of totality. This patchwork of soaring cliffs, maples and beeches, and thunderous waterfalls, known as the “Grand Canyon of the East,” is a state Bird Conservation Area , as well as an Audubon Important Bird Area . It’s home to dozens of avian species, including turkey vultures and great horned owls, as well as beavers and river otters, which may emerge during totality near the Genesee riverbanks.

Congress Avenue Bridge, Austin

For a unique eclipse-response experiment, head to Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin . From spring to late fall, this concrete link over Lady Bird Lake is home to an estimated 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats—the largest urban bat population in North America. Experts say the area’s nearly two minutes of totality’s darkness could see throngs of the winged mammals swooping out to the east for their feasts.

( Bats are the real superheroes of the animal world. Here's why .)

Related Topics

• CITIZEN SCIENCE
• SOLAR ECLIPSES
• ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
• EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL

You May Also Like

Surprising ways animals react to solar eclipses

Will bats fly during the solar eclipse? We’re about to find out.

Free bonus issue.

A total solar eclipse is coming. Here's how to photograph it.

How to watch a solar eclipse safely

What is a solar eclipse—and when is the next one?

20 of the coolest travel adventures for 2024

9 spectacular night sky events to see in 2024

• History & Culture
• Environment
• Paid Content

History & Culture

• History Magazine
• Mind, Body, Wonder
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Your US State Privacy Rights
• Children's Online Privacy Policy
• Interest-Based Ads
• About Nielsen Measurement
• Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
• Nat Geo Home
• Attend a Live Event
• Book a Trip
• Inspire Your Kids
• Shop Nat Geo
• Visit the D.C. Museum
• Learn About Our Impact
• Support Our Mission
• Advertise With Us
• Customer Service
• Renew Subscription
• Manage Your Subscription
• Work at Nat Geo
• Sign Up for Our Newsletters
• Contribute to Protect the Planet

Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society Copyright © 2015-2024 National Geographic Partners, LLC. All rights reserved

Ahead of solar eclipse, NASA seeks public's help in recording strange animal behaviors

NASA is asking for the public's help in its latest research project.

The 2024 solar eclipse, which will occur in North America on April 8, is expected to cause several earthly disturbances, including the behavior of animals.

Both physical and auditory animal behaviors will shift during the eclipse, according to NASA.

SOLAR ECLIPSE 2024: 8 STRANGE THINGS THAT COULD HAPPEN DURING THE RARE EVENT  

Wildlife during a solar eclipse have reacted in the past as if the day suddenly turned to night.

"When darkness sweeps across the landscape during a total solar eclipse, unusual things start happening," NASA noted in a press release. 

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"Fooled by the false dusk, birds stop singing, crickets start chirping and bees return to their hives."

FOR SOLAR ECLIPSE ON APRIL 8, SOME US SCHOOLS WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE DAY

As solar eclipses don’t come around often — the next event won’t occur in the U.S. for another 20 years — NASA is seeking some outside input to help with its research through its Eclipse Soundscapes (ES) Project, a NASA Citizen Science project funded by NASA Science Activation.

SOLAR ECLIPSE 2024: WHERE AND HOW TO VIEW THE RARE ORBIT HITTING THE US

The ES project began during the October 2023 annular eclipse.

It will revisit a study from 1935 that first showed the eclipse's impact on animals.

The original study compiled 498 personal observations from game wardens, naturalists and members of the public, according to the ES website.

While these "atypical animal behaviors" have been happening for centuries, NASA noted that "the effects of an eclipse on plant and animal life are not fully understood."

"The NASA-funded Eclipse Soundscapes Project will collect the sights and sounds of a total solar eclipse with help from interested members of the public to better understand how an eclipse affects different ecosystems," NASA said.

SOLAR ECLIPSE 2024: FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT SHARES WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FROM SPACE, HOW TO SAFELY VIEW IT YOURSELF

Members of the public can get involved by fulfilling several different roles, starting with the "apprentice" role, which requires online training.

After apprentices earn their training certificates, they can choose to become an observer, data collector, data analyst or facilitator. 

All roles have accompanying training courses.

Data collectors will use a device called AudioMoth that collects and records soundscape data on or near the eclipse path — while observers will use any senses available to them.

The hope is for these types of modern tools to replicate and expand upon previous studies to "better understand animal and insect behavior," NASA stated.

"This will be achieved through multisensory observations, such as audio recordings and written accounts of what is seen, heard or felt during the eclipse," the organization said.

"The project, which is particularly interested in learning about cricket behavior, aims to answer questions like, ‘Do nocturnal and diurnal animals act differently or become more or less vocal during a solar eclipse?’"

Kelsey Perrett, the Massachusetts-based communications coordinator with the Eclipse Soundscapes Project, wrote in a statement that the more audio data observations that are collected, the better these questions can be answered.

"Contributions from participatory scientists will allow us to drill down into specific ecosystems and determine how the eclipse may have impacted each of them," she said.

"When it comes down to it, answering our science questions about how eclipses impact life on Earth depends entirely on the data that people volunteer to contribute."

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

She added, "Our participants, including our project partners and facilitators, allow us to span the entire eclipse path and collect way more data than would be possible for just one small team."

Fox News Digital reached out to NASA for additional comment and insights.

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.

Original article source: Ahead of solar eclipse, NASA seeks public's help in recording strange animal behaviors

Applications sought for 2024 Engineering in Medicine pilot project program

IU School of Medicine Apr 03, 2024

The Indiana University School of Medicine and the Purdue University College of Engineering are accepting research funding applications for the 2024 Engineering in Medicine Pilot Project Program. The deadline for applications is May 1, 2024.

The Engineering in Medicine Pilot Project Program is designed to support innovative and collaborative research between the IU School of Medicine and the Purdue College of Engineering. The overarching goal of these research partnerships is to develop novel technologies that will lead to innovative approaches and engineered systems for improved patient care.

Criteria and eligibility

Each pilot project must have at least one principal investigator from each of the participating institutions (IU School of Medicine and Purdue College of Engineering). Research teams are expected to propose tackling significant and collaborative research questions that wouldn’t be feasible through individual efforts. Teams should be poised to pursue a compelling, external proposal opportunity (R01 or equivalent) after receiving Engineering in Medicine pilot funding. Ultimate metrics of success for pilot projects are the development of strong collaborations that will lead to joint publications, externally funded collaborations, intellectual property disclosures and patents.

The program will provide $50,000 for one year for each pilot project, with the opportunity to competitively apply for a second year of support. The $50,000/year grant funding will be administered as two $25,000 grants (direct cost) — one each to the IU School of Medicine and the Purdue College of Engineering principal investigators. Submitted budgets should reflect this division of funding.

Proposals will be reviewed by a committee composed of faculty from IU and Purdue. Investigators with funded proposals will meet virtually with Engineering in Medicine, IU School of Medicine and Purdue College of Engineering leadership to describe progress, identify challenges and review the timeline for an external collaborative grant submission. All teams must participate in the Engineering in Medicine symposiums twice a year and provide an annual progress report.

Application instructions

Applications are due May 1 and must use Arial 11-point font with 0.5-inch margins and include the following elements:

• Proposal Title
• Names and affiliations of principal investigators
• Describe how the project will provide new opportunities for potential future funding and/or intellectual property
• Milestones and deliverables for the first year and long-term goals for the collaboration (maximum of one page)
• NIH Biosketch plus current and pending projects for the PIs and co-investigators (if any)
• Budget (template provided on next page), including brief justification

Proposals will be evaluated on Significance, Innovation, Approach, Collaboration, and Overall Impact. Applications do not need to be routed through Purdue Sponsored Program Services nor the IU Office of Research Administration and should be submitted by investigators via email to [email protected] by May 1, 2024. For questions: Please contact Tatiana Foroud ( [email protected] ) and/or Craig Goergen ( [email protected] ).

Engineering in Medicine Budget and Justification Template

• Personnel (acceptable personnel include technicians, research staff and students. Faculty salary is not allowed.)
• Supplies (specify expected reagents and supplies cost and quantities)
• Core Facilities Usage (included hourly rates, expected hours, etc.)
• Travel (travel budget proposed must be clearly specified for how it relates to the proposed project)

IU School of Medicine

Suggested for you.