Adaptation
Arctic World
Find the Arctic Fox.
Why do you think the Arctic Fox is white? (Look for clues around you to
help)
Arctic foxes are white in the winter and brown in the summer so that they are camouflaged against
their environment. In the winter the environment is snow-covered, but when the snow melts in the
spring the brownish-grey coat helps to camouflage them against the grassy tundra of the summer.
Arctic foxes also display other adaptations which allow them to survive in the conditions of the
Arctic— thick coat; thick hair on the pads of their feet; oily fur to shed water and help keep the
fox dry; curls up to cover its nose with its tail in order to keep warm
Can you find two other animals that are adapted to life in the Arctic?
Write down one way each animal has adapted.
Ptarmigans moult several times a year with each moult resulting in feathers which match their
environment. In winter their feathers are white, in spring, brown and yellow with white patches
and in summer their feathers are brown to match the soil. Other arctic animals include polar bear,
musk ox, arctic wolf, wolverine, ermine, and lemming. Encourage the children to see if they can
find any of these animals in Arctic world.
Find the adaptation cubes. The cubes move so that you can work out
how each animal or bird is adapted to the environment. Match up each
animal to the way it has adapted. Draw a line to connect the answers.
Eagle
Pointed teeth to grab and tear food
Walrus
Strong legs to pull a sled
Arctic Fox
Flippers to help swim in the water
Husky Dog
Sharp beak to tear food
You could talk about how humans have influenced the adaptation of some animals, such as husky
dogs. This could create quite a discussion!
Find Snowy the polar bear and look at her carefully.
What do you think Snowy likes to eat?
Seals, whales, walruses. As they are at the top of the food chain they could also eat humans!
Label Snowy with the parts she uses to help her catch food.
Camouflaged to be able to sneak up on prey.
Strong sense of smell to smell prey from around
30km/20 miles away.
Sharp claws to grab and tear food.
Canine teeth to rip and tear meat, as polar
bears are carnivores.
Use the magnets that are opposite Snowy to make a food chain.
Draw it on the boxes below.
There are many examples of food chains that can be made from the pieces of this interactive.
Encourage the group to discuss what they think before moving the pieces and drawing the final
decision.
All food chains have an energy source (the sun), a producer (a plant) and a consumer (an
animal)
What on Earth!
Find an animal that lives on the moors.
This is a
How is this animal adapted to its
environment?
Find the Pangolin and touch it.
Write down 3 words to describe the way it feels.
1)
2)
3)
Why do you think it needs these scales on the outside of its body?
Armour to protect it from being eaten, and as camouflage. Lots of small scales rather than one
big protective shell means that it can be flexible in moving and can curl up.
Can you find another animal with a hard outer shell? Look for the armadillo in the case
Animals are adapted to their environments in many different ways.
Encourage children to say what they see and offer an explanation. They probably can’t go far
wrong!
Find and draw or name:
How has this animal
adapted?
an animal that slithers:
an animal that jumps:
Look for the chameleon.
Read the information about this animal and find out what is special
about its skin.
It changes colour according to its environment so it can camouflage. You could talk about how
some animals are camouflaged to hide from predators while others are camouflaged to be able to
sneak up on prey. Find examples of each. A chameleon also changes its colour to communicate
with other chameleons. It can become brightly coloured if it is feeling aggressive and wants to
stand out, while if it is giving in it will become a dull colour. Some can also change colour according to the heat - so get darker when it is cold to retain heat, and lighter when it is hot to reflect
heat.
Think of your favourite wild animal or find a favourite in the museum.
Draw it in its natural habitat.
How is this animal adapted to its environment?
What would happen to your animal if it didn’t adapt?
Explain your answer.
Draw or describe what your animal might look like if it moved to and
adapted to a different habitat.