Bats are amazing creatures and we hope you gain a sense of appreciation for these creatures through your 5 senses!

SEE:

Have you ever heard the expression, “You’re blind as a bat” ?

Next time you hear someone use this expression, please feel free to correct them! Bats are NOT blind!

Therefore, no bats are blind - but some bats rely on their eyes more than others!

HEAR:

Touch:

Bat Obstacle Course for Kids!

using Sight, Hearing, and Touch

1. Create a simple obstacle course by placing pillows and other soft objects around a space. (Choose objects you can easily move around in between rounds-& be sure to change around the obstacles between rounds so children can’t simply memorize the course!)

2. Have children first navigate through the space using only their eye sight! (This should be easy)

3. Next have the children navigate through the space using only their sense of touch, so children should be blindfolded or choose to simply close their eyes. (This will be slightly challenging)

4. Finally have the children navigate a space using only their hearing, like bats use echolocation. So have the child use a blindfold or just close their eyes and encourage them not to use their hands or body to feel the obstacles, but instead click their tongue to try to hear the obstacle! To inspire children share about Ben Underwood, a boy who used echolocation after going blind at age 3. (This should be the most difficult and the child will likely fail, but that’s okay, it will be a memorable experience for them to forever remember what echolocation is!)

Smell:

Taste:

Did you know that bats are pollinators? Just like butterflies, bees and hummingbirds, bats pollinate too-except they do it at night! There are more than 300 types of fruit and plants that rely on bats for pollination. Bats are attracted to flowers that open at night, are large in size, white or pale in color and very fragrant. Nectar-feeding bats visit flowers to drink nectar and in the process drop pollen to other plants.  Just another reason that bats are totally cool and need our protection. 

You can make a fruit salad with ingredients that a bat helped produce!

How to help a bat

Be a bat activist and help the bat population near your home or school. 

More information on bat conservation can be found at https://www.batcon.org/

Visit  https://www.batcon.org/  to find out how you can help in the conservation efforts to help bats.