Ami with his box trap.

The project for today was to trap a backyard animal using a box trap (we ended up catching two, a bird and a chipmunk). I had done this a few years ago with my niece. This is a really fun project. Most kids (and especially boys) are more apt to gain an appreciation and interest in nature if they get to interact with it.

Here are the things I like about this project...
1) Suspense.
2) Pride.
3) Intimacy (you'll see what I mean).

Suspense.

The chipmunk is coming closer and closer, the suspense is building in the five year old's mind. Ok, ok, the suspense was building in my mind too. Not long after this shot, Ami pulled the string and started yelling "I caught a bird". "Daddy, I caught a bird." It was then a mad dash to the backyard to take a look.

Pride.

A very proud "trapper" and his chipmunk. Here's Ami just after we ran outside, posing with his trophy. Syd's taking a look too.

Intimacy.

Both Ami and Syd got an up-close and intimate look at what we caught. We see chipmunks and birds all the time, but they never sit still so you can really look at them closely. Ami was interested in the chipmunks tiny claws and how the bird fluttered around the cage. He couldn't believe how fast the bird took off when we raised the cage.

Our First Catch - A Tufted Titmouse

Our Second Catch - A Chipmunk

Here's our supply list for this project and some tips:

Large Box	We had an old animal cage. We've also had success using a clear plastic storage bin / laundry basket.
Stick or Board	We used a small board to prop up the cage.
Eye Bolt (optional)	I put an eye bolt at the top of the board to tie the string onto. You could also just tie the string directly to the board.
String	Tie to board and take the other end into the house.
Small Dish of Bird Seed	We set our trap directly under the bird feeder which made things much easier. Another tip is to leave the trap set up for a couple days and let the animals get used to eating underneath a strange looking box. They'll never know what hit 'em.

I've done this twice now as an adult. Once with my eleven year old niece, and once with my five year old son. In both cases, it was a lot of fun. The mad dash out of the house to see what you've caught is always my favorite part.

tuesday, september 30, 2009 - update
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Our third catch - A Black Capped Chickadee

Ami has not lost interest in this project. We've been continuing to catch backyard animals including this chickadee, a second titmouse, and a second chipmunk. I mentioned to Ami that we might be able to catch a rabbit if we left some lettuce under the trap for a few days. If so, I might be back with updated pictures of larger game ;).