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Food Chain Detectives

Activity

Unconvering Nature's Connections

Go on a walk to find an example of a food chain in action. Think about common plants and animals in your area. In Houston, you might find oak trees, grasses, squirrels, birds, insects, lizards, toads, and even foxes. Create a food chain by figuring out what each animal eats. For example, squirrels eat acorns from oak trees, and hawks might hunt squirrels. Now, explore campus to find different plants and animals. If you cannot find animals on your walk, think of living things you have seen in your neighborhood and imagine where they might be in the food chain.

Science Seed

Food chains demonstrate how organisms get what they need for food, and how energy and nutrients get transferred from one organism to another. Food chains begin with plant life that gets its energy from the sun through photosynthesis, and often end with larger animal life. An example of a simple food chain starts with grass. Grass (a producer) gets its nutrients from the sun and water —> Grasshoppers (primary consumers) then eat the grass —> Mice (secondary consumers) eat the grasshoppers —> Then owls (tertiary consumers) eat the mice!

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earn Badges

Badges can be earned through hands-on experiences within each of the 16 branches of science, or “Science Slices.” You can earn a badge in each branch of science by doing four activities in these categories. We also encourage participants to keep a Nature Journal to record their memories, and to express themselves creatively through writing or drawing after each activity. We recommend that each child (and parent if they’d like) write or draw in a journal after each activity, with expectations of your children that match their age (the goal is self-expression, not perfection).

Explore Billy Reagan K-8 Education Center

join Families in Nature

It is our vision to inspire all families to fall in love with nature and foster the next generation of conservationists. Becoming a member of Families in Nature will give your family the opportunity to have adventures in nature, experience field science, develop as youth conservation leaders, and make memories that will last a lifetime. Memberships are free for everyone.

Who are we?

Families in Nature works to create opportunities for nature connection with the purpose of sparking a deep love and desire to protect, conserve and restore the environment. Our mission is to connect children and their families to nature and to each other through time spent learning, playing, and volunteering outdoors. It is our vision to inspire ALL families to fall in love with nature and foster the next generation of conservationists.

This project was made possible by HEB.