On a Wing and a Prayer

Architectural Challenges

Lesson Introduction
Songbirds sometimes fly into windows or surfaces which reflect the outdoor environment. As seen in the video, On a Wing and a Prayer, thousands of birds are picked up every year along the edge of Lake Michigan, where tall structures stop them during their seasonal migration (definition). To prevent these problems, it is important to make the glass as visible as possible. In this activity, the students investigate some of the challenges in architecture and landscape design.

Grade Level
4 through 12

Objectives
The students will:
1. design a school facade/landscape to deter songbird window crashes.
2. construct and test window silhouettes.

Time Allotment
one 40-minute session

Materials
copies of student data sheet Evaluation Sketch/Client Needs List
blank paper
pencils, erasers, colored pencils
black construction paper (can be used in alternate activity)
scissors & tape (can be used in alternate activity)
video/video player

Books to Read
Architects Make Zigzags: Looking at Architecture From A to Z, by National Trust for Historic Preservation, Washington, DC: Preservation Press, 1986.

Advanced Preparation and Teacher Notes
Copy student data sheets (one per student). Students may work independently or in cooperative pairs.

Procedure
Tap Prior Knowledge
1. Ask students to think of possible reasons why songbirds often fly into windows. Refer students to the segment in the video. Encourage them to think of any real life experiences where birds crash into windows of building(s) in their neighborhood.

Share with Neighbor/Revise Ideas
2. Show the section of the On a Wing and a Prayer video (from 26 13 to 27 19), which shows Dave Willard from the Field Museum discussing migrating birds crashing into McCormick Place in Chicago. Then, share one of the biographies from our Career Connections with the students. Ask the students what we call the person who designs buildings. Is there anything this person, an architect, can do to help prevent so many songbirds from dying? Let each group share its reasons/ discussions with the class.

Engage Students in a Hands on Activity
3. Distribute blank paper, student data sheets, rulers, pencils (colored), and erasers. Every student is a famous architect. They are so well known because of their good work designing buildings to fit their clients needs.

4. Instruct student architects to analyze the school elevation sketch. Write the name of the school on the blank sign. Their clients like the building design, but are worried about migrating birds crashing into the windows and dying. (Apparently the school site is next to a large park.) The challenge is to re-design the structure so it is "bird safe".

Introduce Scientific Principle/Concept
5. Many houses and buildings are constructed with insulated and reflective glass. People often consider modern architectural designs stunning and beautiful. Unfortunately, they are also referred to as "death traps" for birds. Birds can not tell the difference between the reflected sky in the window of an office building. It is estimated that 98 to 976 million birds die in the U.S. during migration each year from flying into windows. Recall in the video, ornithologist Dave Willard calculated 60 million just in Chicago!

6. The following list provides reasons why songbirds sometimes fly into windows and other reflective surfaces:

1. The window may reflect nearby trees and shrubbery causing birds to mistakenly fly into the reflected branches
2. Buildings with large picture windows look deceptively like an open skyway Plants inside a building near windows mislead birds to crash into the glass.
3. Sometimes birds see their own reflection in the glass. This is especially evident during breeding seasons when male songbirds become territorial. For example, robins may attack windows because they perceive an intruder when actually seeing their own reflection! (They have been known to peck and fly at the glass window repeatedly for several days.)

Alternate Activity
8. Distribute black construction paper and scissors to each student. Show students a black plastic silhouette of a diving hawk. (Models can also be purchased at bird feeding specialty stores) Ask students why this fake bird, when taped on a window, could help prevent a songbird from crashing into it. As students discuss these reasons, ask them why we call a hawk a predator and a songbird prey. What is the relationships?

9. Challenge students to design their own silhouette. Some people believe they are a good deterrent while others claim they are a waste of money. Students could try different shapes besides a hawk or owl (predator). Place the silhouette in the window and monitor them daily to test the results. Enlist parents, family members, or friends to assist in this test! Make sure that the place you decide to do your testing at has a number of visiting birds.

Connect to Other Everyday Examples
10. Buildings are built to accommodate people too. For example, bathroom stalls in public restrooms have an extra wide entrance for wheelchairs. Braille is often included on elevator buttons for visually challenged people. Sometimes glass doors have bar or decals on them so people do not walk into them

11. Special note: What should you do if you find a bird that is injured?
If you come across a bird that has hit a window, it may be unconscious or stunned. It may still be alive. Gently pick it up in a towel or a handkerchief, put it in a box with many holes on the sides and top. Keep it warm while you contact your local wildlife center or animal rehabilitation center.

12. Give students a chance to surf the World Wide Web to find more connections between songbirds and architecture:

• See statistics from The Virtual Library all about Architecture and Landscape Architecture