Volume 17
Issue 2
- Bat World
- Home Sweet Bridge
- The Classroom Cave
- Educators, Share Your Ideas
- Andrea Peyton Donated Artwork
- Wish List
- Letters
- BATS Back Issues Online
- Look for “Masters of the Night: The True Story of Bats” at these locations:
- Student Scholarships: Making a Difference for Bats and Biologists
- On the Cover
- Rabies: Economics vs. Public Safety
- Q&A: Bats and Rabies
Excerpts from a 1998 letter from Damon Weitz
Peace Corps Volunteer
Bulgaria
Dear BCI,
I just wanted to let you know how much I’ve appreciated your generous donation of materials to our eco-club in Silistra, Bulgaria. First I held a meeting for the club members to learn about bats. We took the “Bat Q” test from the BCI Educator’s Activity Book you sent and were surprised to see how little we all knew. Then we watched the Bats: Myth and Reality video.
Shortly after, we began visiting a local kindergarten. Our first activity was coloring and discussing different types of bats and the food they eat, from the “What’s for Dinner?” bat-mobile project in the Activity Book. Of course the kids decided to make the activity more fun by screaming “Batman!” in English every chance they could.
Now some of the kindergarten and elementary teachers have taken an interest and want to translate some of the Activity Book lessons into Bulgarian, if BCI will grant permission. These really are super lessons, and they provide good examples for teaching about other wildlife. I look forward to sharing them on a wider scale. Thanks again.
Peace Corps volunteer Damon Weitz, left, teaches kindergarten students in Bulgaria about bats with the help of other volunteers from his eco-club.