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ROMKids Show: The One About Birds, Wings, and Flight

Tune in every Tuesday at 2:00 pm on Instagram Live @ROMtoronto as ROM Kids Coordinator and Camp Director Kiron Mukherjee combines his passion for children’s education with storytelling to bring to life science, history and art for you and your loved ones in the comfort of your own home. Kiron will share activities, easy at-home crafts, behind the scenes anecdotes and fun facts—all connected to the ROM collections.

This time on the ROMKids Show we learn about birds and how many of them fly! Associate curator of ornithology Dr. Santiago Claramunt joins us to talk about the dinosaur and bird connection, how they took flight, and how different wings do different things. Then we’ll make our own rocking birds!

MATERIALS: 

  • cardstock
  • colouring materials
  • scissors
  • glue
Step 2.

1. On your cardstock draw a circle that takes up most of the page. Use a bowl and trace to get a nice, consistent circle. Then, cut it out. The circle represents the body of your bird. With your circle folded, you can make an additional cut around part of the rim to get more of a graceful bird look.

2. Time to colour in your bird! Consider the diversity of birds there are or make one up. I made a loon!

Step 3.

3. Once you know what kind of bird you’re making you can now design your wings. Are they big and pointy, or small and round? What kind of wings does your bird need to be the most successful in the habitat it lives in? Draw one wing on cardstock, cut it out, then trace it to make your second. Colour your wing on both sides. On the side that connects to the body, make a small fold so that you can glue the wing to the body.

Step 4.

4. Once everything has been coloured in, fold your bird in half, and glue your wings to the body. Now you have your rocking bird!

Get to Know Kiron

As the ROMKids Coordinator & Camp Director, Kiron is the public face of the Royal Ontario Museum’s family and children’s programs. Kiron started volunteering at the ROM at age 14 and has never looked back. Though he majored in history at York University, Kiron also considers his early years as a ROMKids camper to be a highly formative part of his education. Now, he strives to provide engaging and educational kids’ programming so that future generations can look back on their ROM experiences as fondly as he has. 

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Authored by: Kait Sykes

Authored by: Kait Sykes