Skunks

Introductory Facts

Skunks make a sulphur-like smell which they spray from glands near their bum when they feel threatened. Prep the sulphur egg activity by very carefully poking holes in the shell of an egg with a pin (use a hardboiled egg if the child is going to be poking the holes). Put it in an al-foil nest in a sunny spot for the day.

Watch a two-minute video: "Meet a Skunk"

Activity 1

Skunks nest in burrows and logs. Build a blanket fort.

Curriculum areas: E02b, E02c

Activity 2

Different species of skunk have different black and white spots and stripes on their back. Print the skunk cards in the attachments. There are several activities to do with them:
- match upper and lowercase letters
- match shapes that are the same but rotated or sized different
- use fridge magnets to match letters - use just uppercase or just lowercase
- trace the letters using finger, objects, whiteboard marker, etc

Curriculum areas: L08a, L11a

Lunch Snack

Skunks are omnivores and eat a varied diet including fruits, plants, larvae, worms, eggs, and fish. Make a snack plate with hardboiled eggs, (cooked) fish sticks, spirali or hotdogs cut into little strips before boiling them (to look like worms), and fruit.

Curriculum areas: S13b

Activity 3

Watch a five-minute video "Skunk facts: not always stinky!"

We return to the concept of skunk stink, and make our second sulphur activity. Cut the heads off about a dozen matches and put them in an empty spice container. Add a few teaspoons of household ammonia. Compare the smells of each one.

Rub the smell of the sulphur on four scraps of cloth. Then treat one with tomato juice, one with baking soda and water, one with shampoo, and one with hydrogen peroxide. See which one removes the smell the most. Is it still the same answer after an hour?

NOTE: the adult should be the one handling the ammonia and the peroxide!

Curriculum areas: S12a, S13d

Activity 4 

Make a paper plate skunk. Use half the paper plate for the body, a quarter for the head, and the rest for ears and tail. Paint it all black and glue cotton balls on for the stripes. 

Curriculum areas: M06b, M06c, M08c, M08e