Teach kids all about owls with these fun activities, books, crafts, and more. This owl study unit provides days of educational fun.
I have always been fascinated by owls. For a few years, we lived in northern California and there was an owl living in a tree outside our bedroom. It would ‘hoot’ throughout the night. This might bother some people, but to me, I found it very relaxing. I’ve missed that sound since moving back to San Diego though.
Here are some fun and educational activities to teach children about these magnificent birds.
Owl books
Teach children about owls with these books:
- The Barn Owls, by Tony Johnston
- Owly, by Mike Thaler
- Owls, by Adrienne Mason and Nancy Gray Ogle
- Owls, by Sarah Courtould
- Owl Babies, by Martin Waddell
- Owls, by Gail Gibbons
- Barn Owl, by Bert Kitchen
- Owl Puke, by Jane Hammerslough
Owl crafts
Paper Plate Owl
What you need
- 2 paper plates of different sizes (perfect if you have leftovers from a party)
- scrapbook paper
- glue stick
- 2 brads
Instructions
Using patterned scrapbook paper, cut out part of a circle to fit into the bottom section of the large paper plate and glue it down.
Cut out eyes, feet, and a beak from scraps of plain paper. Cookie cutters in various sizes are perfect for tracing around to get the shape of the eyes. Glue all pieces onto the large paper plate.
Cut the small paper plate in half and attach it to the large paper plate using brads so that the wings move.
You can see the Halloween version of this owl paper plate craft here.
More owl crafts
Are you looking for even more fun owl crafts and art ideas? Take a look at these:
- Owl ornaments
- Paper roll owls
- Handmade owl post invitations
- DIY owl pinata
- Paper bag owl puppet
- Even more paper rolls owls
- Owl lollipop covers
- Even more owl lollipop covers
- Owl cushions
Owl activities
Here are some fantastic ways kids can do hands-on activities and visit owls in person to learn more about them.
- Visit a local Nature Center, State or National Park, or Wildlife Park to learn all about the owls that live in the area.
- Dissect owl pellets to find out what owls eat.
- Head outside after dark. Can you hear any owls?
I enrolled the kids in a couple of sessions of Jr. Ranger camp over the summer at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. During the two separate day camps, they learned all about owls and studied animal and bird tracks.
If you’ve been reading my blog awhile, you may remember that they attended the Lil Rangers camp last summer too.
They learned about the owl’s wingspan, and how they fly, and then studied owls up close.
Owl pellets were dissected too to determine what owls eat.
Another fun activity was rubbings of animal and bird tracks to match the tracks to the right animal or bird.