Most birds migrate, meaning they travel to cool places during the summer, then back to warmer places to spend the winter. One red knot, known as B95, has flown 20,000 miles a year since 1995. He flies way up to the Arctic from the tip of South America, with a stop at Delaware Bay to munch on horseshoe crab eggs. By now he’s flown far enough to have traveled all the way to the moon (240,000 miles) and back. So bird watchers have named him Moonbird – a much cooler nickname than B95!
Wee ones: If Moonbird actually has 3 bird buddies who fly this trip with him, how many birds are flying in total?
Little kids: If Moonbird shows up in Delaware on Monday and you see him not the next day, or the day after, but 3 days after, what day do you get to see Moonbird? Bonus: If you ride around in a car for 1,000 miles every year, how many miles have you driven in your life?
Big kids: If Moonbird has been doing these trips since 1995, how many years has he been flying? Bonus: And if he’s been flying 20,000 miles per year, how many miles has he flown?
Answers:
Wee ones: 4 birds.
Little kids: On Thursday. Bonus: Different for everyone…whatever you age is, that’s how many thousands of miles you’ve driven!
Big kids: 29 years. Bonus: 580,000 miles.
