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'Drawing From Nature'
A SCIENCE AND ART LESSON FOR KIDS
This appeared on January 2, 2005 in the Los Angeles Times
THE KIDS’ READING ROOM
By Carol Felixson
Special to The TimesJanuary 2, 2005
Ah-ha-ha-HA-ha
Ah-ha-ha-HA-ha
Ah-ha-ha-HA-ha
Ha-ha-ha
Ha-ha-ha
Ha.Do you recognize
this famous call?
It's the sound of Woody Woodpecker!
Woody's creator, Walter Lantz,
is said to have modeled him after the pileated
(PILL-ee-ate-ed) woodpecker.
Jackson, 6, learned that the woodpecker most
common to the Los Angeles region is not Woody's
variety but the acorn woodpecker. He decided to
do an illustration of a male acorn woodpecker
busily pecking at a tree.
The young artist learned that these woodpeckers
like to drill holes with their sharp beaks,
producing the pecking sound that Woody made
famous.
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The shape of their feet and their sharp claws
and stiff tail feathers allow the woodpeckers to
easily hang on to tree limbs, fence posts and
telephone poles. During the summer these
medium-sized birds eat mostly insects. In the
fall they drill holes, then fill them with
acorns to get through the winter.
Jackson began by covering a table with
newspapers and gathering his materials. First he
drew the outline of the woodpecker with a
pencil. After some experimentation, he found
that the bird was too small to finger paint and
still portray the details.
"I used very small brushes to paint the bird on
one piece of paper and my fingers to paint the
background on another," he said.
After the paint dried, Jackson's mom helped him
cut out the bird. He then glued it onto the
paper with the background. When he was all done
Jackson washed his brushes, paint covered plate,
and especially himself, with lots of soap and
water!
Good job, Jackson!
To hear the call of the acorn woodpecker, go to
www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Acorn_Wood
pecker.html#sound. |
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Carol Felixson
Director of Education/Community Outreach
UCLA Stunt Ranch Reserve & Mildred E. Mathias Botanical
Garden
310 206-3887, nrs.ucop.edu/Reserves/stunt.html,
www.botgard.ucla.edu
LA Times Science/Art Lessons for Kids:
http://nrs.ucop.edu/Reserves/stunt/newsforkids.html
Contributing to the
understanding and wise management of the Earth and its
natural systems
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| Copyright 2005 Los Angeles Times |
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