This week children engaged in a science exploration centered on bird beaks.  Our focus question was "Which beak works best for different kinds of food?"  We began by looking at pictures of various birds, describing their beaks, and contemplating what kind of food each beak might be suited for eating.  Children were then given a variety of bird foods and asked to use their imaginations a bit (pirate booty as crunchy grasshoppers, mini marshmallows as caterpillars).  Using five different "beaks" they tested each food, deciding which beak worked best for each food.  In our follow up discussion children noted that the best beak is really dependent on the kind of food- a straw like beak is great for nectar, but not much else, and spoon like beaks were challenging for us, but birds like pelicans use these beaks to scoop fish from water where they probably work quite well.