School › Animal migration › Ages 6–7
Long journeys
Why do swallows, butterflies and whales go on long journeys every year, and how do they find the way? Make a shadow stick to see how the sun can help.
Read
Some animals go on a long journey every year, and later they come back. This is called migration.[1]
Many birds fly north in spring. There they find lots of insects to eat, lots of room for nests and long days to feed their chicks.[1]
Swallows and swifts spend the winter in Africa. In spring they fly back to Britain to have their babies.[3]
Monarch butterflies cannot survive a cold winter. In autumn they fly south to warm forests in the mountains of Mexico.[4]
Huge humpback whales swim from cold seas, where they eat lots of food, to warm seas, where their babies are born.[5]
How do they find the way? Birds can use the sun, the stars, rivers and mountains, and even the Earth's magnetism.[1][2]
Try it: The shadow stick
You need
- A stick or a pencil in a lump of modelling clay
- A large sheet of paper
- Stones or tape to hold the paper
- A crayon
- A sunny day
Safety
Never look straight at the sun. Wear a hat if you are outside. Do not leave the stick where someone can trip over it.
What to do
- In the morning, put the paper on the ground or a sunny windowsill and stand the stick in the middle.
- Draw along the shadow of the stick with the crayon. Write the time next to it.
- Do it again at lunchtime, without moving the paper.
- Do it once more in the afternoon.
- Look: did the shadow stay in the same place? Which way did it move?
What happens, and why?
The sun seems to move across the sky during the day, so the shadow moves too. Birds can use the sun to find their way, but they need a clock inside their body that tells them the time, because the sun is in a different place in the morning and in the afternoon.[2]
Play: Fly or swim?
These animals all go on long journeys. Do they fly or swim? Tap the right group.
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Quiz
Other ages: Ages 10–11 · Ages 15–16