Physical Distancing STEM Break with Ms. Meghan: Birds of a Feather

Did you know that your Galesburg Public Library card allows you to check out e-books and audio books through the Libby app? All you need is your library card and your PIN (your birth date in MMDDYYYY format) and you'll be on your way to reading on your phone or tablet!

I'll be pairing up Libby books for GPL patrons with STEM activities, live webcams, educational programs, and citizen science projects.

So, let's go check out some

Birds of a Feather!


We know birds are some of the most colorful animals out there, but like certain robots, there's more to them than meets the eye. Many birds can see in the UV (ultraviolet) range of the light spectrum. This means they can see colors and patterns that are invisible to humans. We just learned in 2018 that puffin beaks glow under UV lights. Now scientists want to learn more about these hidden secrets. Project Plumage is photographing preserved specimens from the Natural History Museum in London with both regular and UV lights. They're taking picture of both male and female birds, since male birds are often much more colorful (why do you think that is?). They need your help to analyze the photos!

Read:

There are a number of books about birds that you can borrow from Libby, including Jungle Animals by Camilla Gersh and Animals in Flight by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page.

Be a citizen scientist:
You can help the researchers at Project Plumage unlock the secrets of how birds see each other, how they communicate, and how they evolved. You'll get to see museum specimens that are rarely taken out for display, some of which are hundreds of years old! You'll then mark key points on each photograph, and trace an outline so the researchers know where to measure.