A team consisting of undergraduate students, program assistants, and Extension specialists from The Ohio State University recently collaborated with the Care After School Program in Worthington, Ohio, to create an educational event for approximately 90 children ages 6-12 and their parents focused on bats. The program reached out to the School of Environment and Natural Resources for assistance with a special bat-themed event to educate students on bat conservation and build bat boxes that would be placed at the school. We enthusiastically said yes to the request.

First, we developed a logic model to determine goals, activities, and resources for the event. We wanted to provide an active learning environment, dispel negative perceptions of the flying mammals, and create environmental stewards. We then developed ideas for activities and planned the flow of the evening, drawing upon the expertise of the team's Extension wildlife program specialist Marne Titchenell who provided information on bats, bat boxes, and educational activities that would engage the children and increase their knowledge. The Care After School director also contacted bat specialist Bridget Brown from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for assistance and information. Planning meetings were held over several weeks, with ongoing communication among the team members and program director to ensure we would be meeting the needs of the program and creating a successful event.

While Care After School provided a location, food and refreshments, and a bat jeopardy game, we were responsible for the majority of the programming. The team decided on several different types of activities. These included two games, the first of which was "Bat-Moth," where participants played a Marco-Polo type game with an echolocation theme.  Another game was "Bat Adaptations," an activity where we discussed what adaptations were. This led to a discussion on how those adaptations manifest themselves in the form of different bat features, followed by dressing the children as bats to illustrate concepts. Additionally, we offered several talks, including "Myth vs. Fact," in which students engaged in an interactive discussion that addressed and corrected misconceptions of bats, as well as "Bat Boxes and Habitat." One of the Ohio State student team members built a bat box which was used to facilitate an open discussion with the children and their parents on how they could help the dwindling bat population in their own back yards. Bat-themed crafts were provided so the children could creatively explore bats. Finally, the School of Environment and Natural Resources and Ohio Department of Natural Resources provided educational displays of bats with photos, bat skeletons, books, and research equipment.

OSU students lead children and parents in Bat-Moth echolocation game. Credit: Kristi Lekies

Students learning about bat adaptations. Credit: Lauryn Bone

Students explore bat information display. Credit: Kristi Lekies

The efforts of the Youth Environmental Education Outreach Team were well received by the school, its students, and the parents. Ohio State student team members were able to apply their knowledge to a hands-on teaching opportunity and learn about program development. The two-hour program took about a month and a half to plan from beginning to end. With thoughtful planning, ongoing communication, consultation with specialists, and a committed team, we delivered a fun and educational event. It provided a networking opportunity and a continued relationship with the after school program, with the possibility of offering the bat education event to other after school programs in the school district. The team plans to develop future educational activities for children and youth to increase appreciation of natural resources and awareness of environmental issues.