STEM Activity: Brilliant Bat Hibernation

Bats are best known for being nocturnal critters that sleep during the day inside caves and cavelike enclosures. As the temperature drops and the sweaters come out, many bats hibernate. During hibernation, a bat’s heart rate and body temperature drop to save their energy for when they need it!

Bats sleep upside down, but did you know they hibernate upside down too? This is not only because of their unique anatomy but also because it’s the most energy-efficient position. When they are ready to travel, all they do is let go and … swoosh! Bats drop into flight with natural momentum from falling downward. In this STEM activity, you’ll create your own hibernation game!

Materials Needed:

• Craft materials (markers, paint, stickers, etc.)
• Dice
• Game pieces (toys, animal crackers, candy)
• Glue or tape
• Items from nature (rocks, sticks, pine cones)
• Recyclables (cardboard boxes, newspaper, milk jugs)
• Scissors

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Bats love good hiding places! Their habitat is called a roost. This could be a hollow tree, underneath a bridge, inside a cave, or even inside barns and attics. Brainstorm ideas for your DIY bat roost. What conditions would be best for hibernation?
    
2. Create a bat cave using recyclables, craft materials and items from nature. Your cave can be any size but needs to be large enough for the game pieces, which will represent bats, to fit inside.
    
3. Now that you have a cave, it’s time to dream up how your bat hibernation game will work. Decide how many bats (game pieces) each player or team will have at the start of the game, how many turns or rounds each game will be, and how the game is won. It’s all up to you!
    
4. Start researching fun facts about bats and assign an action for each number on the dice.
   
   For example, if a player rolls a one, perhaps the bat finds a beetle as a food source. If the player rolls a two, maybe that player’s bat migrates to a warmer place.
    
5. Test your bat hibernation game and experiment with the rules. Consider adding more bat caves to your game, assigning new rules after each round, or changing the number of game pieces each player uses.
    
6. Play your new bat hibernation game with friends and family!

What Are We Discovering?

Bats’ brilliant hibernation skills are an adaptation to conserve their energy and survive when food and water are scarce during the winter. This natural biological state is an adaptation for many mammals and reptiles. If an animal cannot hibernate, they might migrate to a new, warmer location where food is available.

Luckily, humans do not need to hibernate or migrate to survive in cold weather. Thanks to National Inventors Hall of Fame^® Inductee Mary Engle Pennington, who developed spoilage-free methods of storing and shipping perishable foods, you can enjoy your favorite foods year-round! Mobile refrigeration, invented by Inductee Frederick McKinley Jones, also greatly extended the distance over which food can be successfully delivered, increasing efficiencies with distribution and handling of products.

Keep Discovering

For more games inspired by nature, discover new STEM activities on our blog.