After the episode, do the activities! Look below for hands-on activities related to the episode, including measuring your yawn gape, painting rocks, researching an extinct animal, and more.

Activities:

Measure your yawn gape

Tasmanian tigers had a gigantic “yawn gape” – or how big they could open their mouths. They could open their mouths a whopping 120 degrees. That’s this big!




How big can you open your mouth? Make your best guess at drawing that angle here.









Is it bigger or smaller than 120 degrees? How many degrees do you think it is?

Make a nature craft

Where we live in Portland, we’ve been finding lots of cheery painted rocks around. They are fun to look for as we walk around the neighborhood, and are always exciting to spot. You can leave them around your neighborhood, or surprise a neighbor by leaving one at their door. It’s best to use acrylic paint markers if you have them, but Sharpies (with parent permission!) would work in a pinch. The sky is the limit with what you draw! We’ve seen ladybugs, birds, encouraging words, and lots more.

Make a recycled craft with straws

If you don’t have reusable straws, give your throw-away straws a new life by making a straw maze. Instructions from Hello Wonderful are here: https://www.hellowonderful.co/post/KID- MADE-DIY-RECYCLED-CARDBOARD-MARBLE-MAZE/

Research another extinct animal

Unfortunately, there are a lot of animals that have already gone extinct, and there are a lot more that are critically endangered. One of the best things you can do to help protect animals is to learn more about them and tell your friends so they know how important it is to protect them.

Research an animal that is extinct or almost extinct and then tell your friend about it. You can also record yourself talking about the animal and send it to us at coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com (with your parent’s permission). We would love to learn from you!

Here are some research ideas to get you started:

  1. What does it look like?


  2. Where does it live?


  3. What are a few things that make the animal so cool?


  4. How did it become endangered or extinct?