Polk Street School first graders learned how to identify physical traits on birds and experimented with “beaks” during their STEAM Lab lesson on Jan. 30.

STEAM Lab teacher Melissa Geiger presented the class with images of baby birds and a few options for its parent. The class identified similar traits, such as the beak, eyes and feet, to link the baby bird to its correct parent bird.

With their newfound knowledge of birds, the students experimented with different “beaks,” using spoons, pipettes, tweezers and chopsticks to represent pelicans, hummingbirds, blackbirds and herons, respectively. They tested each “beak” to see which could pick up the most “worms” (rubber bands). 

The students counted their “worms” and recorded their results on a bar graph. As a class, they discussed which bird they believe most likely eats worms according to their data. The students unanimously deduced that the blackbird eats worms.

Date Added: 2/4/2025