Creating a Platylope

How about a “platy-lope” – an animal that is half platypus and half antelope?

This week, have your students create a new species, and write about and draw a picture of their animal. Have them examine the qualities of different species, and combine them into what they think would be the most adaptable survivable animal.  It could be a “dolphi-gator” – an animal that is half dolphin and half alligator. It could be a “spid-eagle” – a half spider and half eagle.

Share in your elementary classroom, the super powers that your species has and how it could outlive a different species because of its cross-splicing rare abilities.  Where does it live?  What are its habits?  Is it nocturnal?  What does it eat?  How does it care for its young?  Does it have mammalia glands? They could even find photos of their 2 creatures and paste them together to make the new one.

Adapting to our environment is a capability in which we human beings quite excel.  Constantly through all the stages of our lives, we break through “limits” that our minds once falsely held.  Crawling to walking to running –  jumping, driving, skiing, sailing, and flying.  If there is one ability we have as a species that makes us different from many other species, it is our ability to adapt to our environment.

The weather changes to hot, cold, damp, dry, wind, and multiple combinations of these – and our bodies adjust our physical temperature to keep all systems stable for continuing our life journey.  For some, the number of limbs they have changed (due to unforeseen circumstance), and still they adapt to do the same things they did before, just differently.  A newt would grow its arm back.  A human being would come up with interesting ways of attaining their food supply with the other arm – maybe use their feet, or become left-handed instead of right.

Is it because of the miracles of our human brain and heart? What makes your new species so adaptable to its natural environment?

For ideas, kids may wish to look at some of our Fun Learning card decks, such as Our Learning Brain, Mammals and Birds:

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/brain.html.

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/mammals.html.

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/birds.html.

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