Bats occupy almost every habitat in the world eating tons of insects nightly, pollinating flowers, and spreading seeds that grow new plants and even trees. Bats are our most important natural predators of night-flying insects consuming mosquitoes, moths, beetles, crickets, leafhoppers, chinch bugs, and much more! Many of these insects are serious crop or forests pests, and others spread disease to humans or livestock. Every year bats save us billions of dollars in pest control by simply eating insects.
All but four of the 47 bat species found in the United States and Canada feed solely on insects. The remaining species feed on nectar, pollen, and the fruit of cacti and agaves in southwestern deserts. Although bats account for almost a quarter of all mammal species (there are more than 1,300 species of bats worldwide), bats are by far the least studied of all animals.
Bats are in decline nearly everywhere they are found. Bat numbers in the U.S. and Canada have declined dramatically as a new disease, White-Nose Syndrome, has killed over 6 million bats in just six years.
Project EduBat offers K-12 teachers and wildlife educators activities and curriculum to teach participants about these important animals.
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As a teacher or an outdoor educator, you might be wondering, “How can I learn more about bats and how can I present this information to my students in a way that inspires them to learn more about bats? The Project EduBat curriculum has all the information you need to be successful in teaching about bats and also about white-nose syndrome. Watch this video to learn about the curriculum and to see how three specific lessons work.
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Watch this video to see how you can teach the Project EduBat activity called, “Little Brown Bat – What’s Your Habitat?” This lesson can be used with younger elementary age students. In this lesson students explore the question, “Where do little brown bats live and what makes up their habitat?” Students will read and/or listen to a story about a boy and a little brown bat. Students will identify what little brown bats need to survive (that is, food, water, shelter, and space). Lots of hands-on props help bring the story to life!
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What do the students actually do in the “There’s a Fungus Among Us” activity? Watch students simulate bat interactions by shaking hands to potentially spread white-nose syndrome. Are you infected? Check your hand under a black light!
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Watch this video to see how you can teach the Project EduBat activity called, “Working the Night Shift – Biometric Clues.” The bat trunk has specific materials to help you turn your students into bat biologists! In this activity students explore the question, “Why do we need to study bats and what methods can we use?” Students will learn and perform data collection techniques used in the field by bat biologists. They will measure and weigh “bat models,” record data, and identify bats using the data, clues cards, and a dichotomous key.
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What do the students actually do in the “Working the Night Shift” activity? Watch students removing felt bat models from a mist net and measuring a bat’s right forearm!
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If you are an educator in the southeastern United States and would like an electronic copy of the Project EduBat curriculum, please visit our store.
Funding for this project is provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service with program support provided by the US Forestry Service and Andrea Futrell.