When you see pigeons bopping around on the sidewalk, it’s hard to imagine a bird as big as the California condor. This bird’s wings span 10 feet, more than half the length of your car. And they fly faster than 50 MPH, which is twice as fast as cars on a neighborhood street. A condor can travel 160 miles in a single day hunting for food. Clearly the condor thinks it’s a car!
Wee ones: Flap your arms like a condor 5 times and count the flaps out loud!
Little kids: If a bird’s wings add up to 10 feet, how long is each of the 2 wings? Bonus: Condors live longer than most birds – up to 60 years! How would you count up to 60 by 10s? Count out loud!
Big kids: If a condor is flying at 12,000 feet, then swoops to 1/2 that height above the ground, and then dives again to cut the height in 1/2 again, at what new height is it flying? Bonus: If a condor flies 160 miles in 1 day, and it sleeps for 8 hours, how far did it travel on average in 1 awake hour?
Answers:
Wee ones: Count the flaps: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!
Little kids: 5 feet! Bonus: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60!
Big kids: 3,000 feet, because 1/2 of 12,000 is 6,000, then 1/2 of 6,000 is 3,000. Bonus: 10 miles, because it’s awake for 16 hours, and 160 miles / 16 = 10.
