Nature’s Architects

Learn more about our beaver buddies by building your own dam and watching how water flows.

You will need:                      

• modeling clay
• wood pieces
• notebook
• pencil
• binoculars (if you have any)
• tin foil
• sticks
• acorns
• rocks
• bag
• popsicle sticks

Let's go!

1. During your next nature walk, try to find streams to walk by to see if you can find any beaver dams . When you find a beaver dam, take notes of what it looks like and how it was built.
2. Be careful when walking near or on a beaver dam. You are near a stream or creek which has moving water in it. Also, if there is a beaver dam that means that they have been successful in creating a new body of water for their lodge and that body of water can be very deep. Pay attention to where you are walking.
3. Collect natural materials that you will be able to make your own dam out of such as sticks, acorns, rocks etc.
4. Put all of your collected natural materials in your paper bag and bring them home when you are finished your walk.
5. This activity will require you to build and test out your dam to see what type of combinations of natural materials and other materials work to stop the water.
6. Find an area with a slight slope either in your backyard or an area near your house. Build a stream bed out of tin foil that is long and narrow and goes down slope.
7. Choose an area in your “stream” that you would like to build your dam. Start building and when you are finished, add water to your stream and see if your dam stops the water.
8. If not, change a few things in your dam to see if that will help the water stay in your dam.

Activity adapted from Kitchen Floor Crafts.