By Scott Bestul

Last week my kids Brooke and Bailey (10-year old twins) participated in their first school science fair. Since they were having trouble deciding on a project, I suggested a trail camera survey of deer. It seemed a natural fit for two reasons; we’ve raised both kids to be interested in wildlife, and Bailey (our son) has been into photography since toddler-hood. So, whether to please their Pop, a pure interest in science, or an act of sheer desperation, they signed on.

They stuck a trail camera out for a week in a popular feeding spot near my dad’s house. Then the kids pulled the memory card every couple days, plugged it into the computer and recorded every whitetail visit and the time it occurred. After amassing 6 days of data, they came up with a color-coded chart that showed the most popular feeding times. It was interesting even to me; the only hours that lacked any visits by whitetails were 9 a.m. until noon, and 1 p.m. to 2:00. Every other hour showed at least some deer activity. The most popular feeding slot? Four to 6 p.m.

For their science fair display, the kids put together a pretty neat display board that included their feeding chart, some trail cam pics, and photos of them sticking out the camera, recording data, etc. For a couple of 4th graders, I thought they did a darn good job! More important, they performed some advanced scouting for their old dad! Next year I’m going to suggest something like “The Physics of Hanging a Tree Stand,” or “The Most Efficient Methods for Dragging a Deer.” I’m open to suggestions!

Comments (11)

from kolbster wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

i did the science fair thing, but i did the strength of concrete and the insolation property of different wood.
never thought about applying it to hunting, or fishing.

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from teufelhunden wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

Congratulations! It is always great to see kids perform well in school, but it is even better when they use the opportunity to extend their knowledge of the natural world. That is a great project and from the looks of it they will get a good score.

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from rrmont wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

You should be proud. Not only does their project look good it also shows that they are interrested in the great outdoors. I'm betting that they will grow to be fine adults.

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from FloridaHunter1226 wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

Wish I would of thought of something like that for a science experiment when I was younger. Sounds like a pretty interesting topic and also proves to be some good research and scouting.

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from idahooutdoors wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

Great Idea!!!!! Anything to get kids outside and involved with nature is good in my book.

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from buck hunter 17 wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

I beat that was the first time that anybody saw a projsct on deer. That is a neet idea i would have never thought of doing that.

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from tracynb wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

Your kids are so cute! I can see many upcoming school projects with this continued outdoor theme:

Biology: Identify what I just stepped in
Home Ec: Cooking your kill
Economics: Living off the land in this time of rampant housing foreclosures
Health: Keeping healthy while standing for hours in freezing rain

The possibilities are endless!!

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from shane wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

Way back in junior high I did the science fair thing on deer behavior, I think I did a lot of stuff on moon phases, but I also remember doing a rattling demonstration somewhere in there...funny thing is, I've never actually rattled while I was hunting.

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from Jim in Mo wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

Beautiful kids. Do they take after their mother? LOL, just kidding.

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from steve182 wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

Child exploitation ?! Actually, pretty cool idea, and you get the free data to apply to your hunting stratedgies. Looks like they did a fine job. Funny thing is my favorite and most productive hours on stand are that 9 a.m. to noon slot. See a ton of deer in that timeframe. Guess they're cruising though, not feeding. Anyway, very interesting.

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from wallofsam wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

My 6 yr. old just had his Science Fair. We never thought about doing something like that. Great idea. Maybe we'll start thinking of something for next year, that has to do with hunting or fishing.

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from kolbster wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

i did the science fair thing, but i did the strength of concrete and the insolation property of different wood.
never thought about applying it to hunting, or fishing.

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from teufelhunden wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

Congratulations! It is always great to see kids perform well in school, but it is even better when they use the opportunity to extend their knowledge of the natural world. That is a great project and from the looks of it they will get a good score.

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from rrmont wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

You should be proud. Not only does their project look good it also shows that they are interrested in the great outdoors. I'm betting that they will grow to be fine adults.

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from FloridaHunter1226 wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

Wish I would of thought of something like that for a science experiment when I was younger. Sounds like a pretty interesting topic and also proves to be some good research and scouting.

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from idahooutdoors wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

Great Idea!!!!! Anything to get kids outside and involved with nature is good in my book.

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from buck hunter 17 wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

I beat that was the first time that anybody saw a projsct on deer. That is a neet idea i would have never thought of doing that.

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from tracynb wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

Your kids are so cute! I can see many upcoming school projects with this continued outdoor theme:

Biology: Identify what I just stepped in
Home Ec: Cooking your kill
Economics: Living off the land in this time of rampant housing foreclosures
Health: Keeping healthy while standing for hours in freezing rain

The possibilities are endless!!

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from shane wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

Way back in junior high I did the science fair thing on deer behavior, I think I did a lot of stuff on moon phases, but I also remember doing a rattling demonstration somewhere in there...funny thing is, I've never actually rattled while I was hunting.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Jim in Mo wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

Beautiful kids. Do they take after their mother? LOL, just kidding.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from steve182 wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

Child exploitation ?! Actually, pretty cool idea, and you get the free data to apply to your hunting stratedgies. Looks like they did a fine job. Funny thing is my favorite and most productive hours on stand are that 9 a.m. to noon slot. See a ton of deer in that timeframe. Guess they're cruising though, not feeding. Anyway, very interesting.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from wallofsam wrote 3 years 7 weeks ago

My 6 yr. old just had his Science Fair. We never thought about doing something like that. Great idea. Maybe we'll start thinking of something for next year, that has to do with hunting or fishing.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

Post a Comment

 

All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.