Feathered Friends: Follow Up – Bird Walk

We have received some inquiries about the date of the Feathered Friends Bird Walk. We recognize that this date is over spring break and some participants will be out of town. We wanted to pass along a link to some additional walks that WESO families can join: https://washtenawaudubon.org/events/.

For those who can make the walk on April 1 – the information is below. This walk is an additional resource for our Feathered Friends participants but not required. There is no need to RSVP if your team is attending.


When: Saturday, April 1, 9:30 am

Where: Scarlett-Mitchell Nature Area. Please plan to meet at the Scarlett Middle School parking lot.

Other Information: Wear boots as the nature area can get very muddy. We will have some extra binoculars if you need some.

Feathered Friends Bird Walk

Victor Chen will lead the upcoming bird walk for WESO Event: Feathered Friends, through the Washtenaw Audubon Society. Please see the important details below:

When: Saturday, April 1, 9:30 am

Where: Scarlett-Mitchell Nature Area. Please plan to meet at the Scarlett Middle School parking lot.

Other Information: Wear boots as the nature area can get very muddy. We will have some extra binoculars if you need some.

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah: Units of measure + average velocity

Q: Do 4th and 5th graders have to know conversions between SI/metric and imperial units in the problems they solve?

A: The sample data will be in SI units, and the final answer should be provided in SI units as well. Students do not need to know how to convert between feet and meters, for instance.


Q: Will the Average Velocity question be directly related to the Zip Line or just a general velocity question?

A: All questions will test the physics concepts of the zip line. Students will be asked to calculate average velocity along the zip line, and all data will be given according to this axis (no trigonometric calculations necessary!)

Write It/Build It: Competition set-up + permissible symbols

Q: Will there be extra items in the bag the Builders receive?

A: No, there are no extra items in the bag.

Q: Will there be space for two builders to work side-by-side?

A: Yes


Q: Can students use a letter to describe a shape in writing (as in “L-shape” or “T-shape”)?

A: Yes

Q: Can students use bullet points or other symbols in their writing?

A: Common symbols (like #, @, >, /, %, etc.) may be used in their normal written way. They may not be used to draw or depict “the picture.”

Q: Can students circle words?

A: No