Hobbies And Interests
Bottlenose Dolphin Sounds
Dolphins communicate by clicks and squeaks and find their way around the ocean using echolocation. With this biological sonar they can sense their ocean world, find food, find their friends and talk to each other. A dolphin makes a sound which then bounces off objects in the water and the dolphin's brain interprets the sounds. A bottlenose dolphin can find its way around even if it is blindfolded.
To play Bottlenose Dolphin Sounds, collect many different objects to make sounds. Use things like whistles, kazoos, party noisemakers, or even a tin can filled with marbles. Divide the children into groups or teams of two. Make sure the room is clear of obstacles, or else play the game outside where there are no objects for children to trip over. Blindfold one kid; he is the "dolphin" for now. The other teammate takes a noisemaker to other side of the room. The "dolphin" must make his way to their friend by listening for the sound their friend is making. When the "dolphin" reaches his friend, they trade places. The first team to find each other wins. This is a fun and noisy game that kids will enjoy while learning about how bottlenose dolphins communicate and find each other in the ocean.
Bottle Dolphin Ring Toss
Bottle Dolphin Ring Toss is an innovative craft activity and engaging game rolled into one.
First, direct the children in making the stands to play Bottle Dolphin Ring Toss. Collect a 2-liter soda bottle for each child. Wash the bottles and remove the labels. Put 1 to 2 inches of small gravel or sand in the bottom of each bottle for weight. Put the lid on tightly. Print out a template of a bottlenose dolphin head and body. (You can find templates online or simply make your own.) Give each kid several sheets of blue, gray or green construction paper. Give each kid a pair of scissors. Cover the bottle with a sheet of construction paper by wrapping the paper around the bottle and gluing or taping it in place. Place a few drops of glue around the bottle before wrapping it to help hold the paper in place. Next, cut out triangles to form the fins and the flippers. Glue two triangles on one side of the bottle; these will be the front flippers. Glue a triangle on the other side of the bottle for the dorsal fin. Cut out two bottlenose-dolphin head shapes and glue only the top edges together. (Do not glue the neck area.) When the glue along the edge is dry, fit the head over the top of the bottle and glue in place.
If you don't have plastic rings from another ring toss game, you can make some rings from extra soda bottles. Teachers or parents can pre-cut rings about 1-inch wide. One 2-liter bottle should yield about 6 to 8 rings of equal size. The kids can decorate the rings with markers if they want.
Line up the bottle dolphins and start a timer. The child who gets the most rings on her bottle dolphin before time is up wins the game.
Bottlenose Ball Relay Race
The bottlenose dolphins at large aquariums like Sea World entertain visitors with impressive jumps, races and tricks. Bottlenose dolphins have good balance and can catch and toss balls with their beaks.
Separate kids into teams of two and give each team a large plastic ball. To play Bottlenose Ball Relay Race, the first member of each team lines up at the starting line and balances a ball on his nose. The object of the game is to race to the other side of the room and back without dropping the ball. When the first team member returns to the starting line, he hands the ball to the team member who races to the other side of the room and back without dropping the ball. If a child drops the ball, he has to go back three steps, put the ball back on his nose, and then continue the race.