In celebration of National Bat Week the last week of October, Wildlife Technician Jeannine Sibley delivered four presentations at Prairie City School to a total of 80 students ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade.

Students learned fun facts about bats including different species, reproduction, hibernation, echolocation, diet, ecological significance, economic importance, threats to bats and what people can do to help these vulnerable animals. The presentation also aimed to dispel the many myths about bats in order to increase awareness about this highly misunderstood creature.

Interactive quizzes and games were incorporated into the presentation to convey the role bats play in our daily life.

Students had the opportunity to touch a replica of bat fur and get a close look at a replica of a little brown bat skull and fruit bat wing. An outdoor activity followed called the “Bat and Moth” game (similar to Marco Polo), which taught kids how bats use echolocation to find their prey.

Rachael Vaughn and Jenny Henning, Prairie City wildlife biologists, and Public Affairs Specialist Shawna Clark assisted in the presentations.