Animal Talk: Prairie Dog Words & Whale Songs

In "Animal Talk: Prairie Dog Words & Whale Songs," we learned how animals, like prairie dogs and whales, have their own special ways of communicating. Now, let's become animal detectives and try to understand some of the "words" around us!

The Big Question

Can we create different "calls" to tell each other about different things?

What You'll Need

• A grown-up to help
• A few different small objects (like a toy car, a block, a stuffed animal)
• A space to move around in

Mission Steps

1. Choose Your Object. Pick one of your small objects to represent a specific "danger" or "announcement."
2. Create a Sound. Make a unique sound (a word, a whistle, a clap) that you will always use for that object.
3. Hide the Object. Have your grown-up hide the object somewhere in the room.
4. Call It Out. You or your grown-up calls out the unique sound you created for the hidden object.
5. Find It!. Listen for the sound and try to find the hidden object!

Talk About It

• What sound did you choose for your object? Was it easy or hard to remember?
• How was making a special sound for each object like what prairie dogs do?
• Can you think of other "sounds" animals might make to warn each other?

Take It Further

Older rangers (ages 9-12) can try assigning a different sound to each object and then have a grown-up hide multiple objects at once. Can you identify and find each one just by listening to its unique alarm call?

FAQ

Q: My child is having trouble thinking of unique sounds. A: Encourage them to use different actions too, like a stomp for one, a clap for another, or a specific silly word. Q: What if we don't have small objects? A: You can use drawings of animals, different colored pieces of paper, or even just have one person pretend to be a specific animal.