Do you like to play hide and seek? Where are your favorite places to hide? Maybe behind a door or underneath a bed? Do you ever hide in plain sight? Many animals hide — or camouflage — in order to stay safe from predators or to hunt their prey. When you think of the word camouflage, you might think about chameleons that can change their appearance based on their surroundings, or a white arctic fox blending into the snow, but some of the best examples of camouflage can be found beneath the sea. Skates, lobsters, and other animals that stay on the bottom of the ocean have concealing coloration that help them to blend in. Henry, SSC’s Director of Programs, highlights the concealing coloration camouflage (can you say that three times fast?) of our resident skates in this video:
In addition to blending in, there are many other ways that animals can confuse predators and prey. Learn about the ways that animals use camouflage beneath the sea in Thom Smith’s seaside storytime below, featuring the book Ocean Hide and Seek, written by Jennifer Evans Kramer, illustrated by Gary R. Phillips, and published by Sylvan Dell Publishing.
Then, try out one of these activities below:
Up for a challenge? Play a camouflage matching game to find out which hiding techniques some of our favorite sea creatures use! (Part One of Hide and Seek Lesson Plan)
Feeling crafty instead? See if you can decorate your own lobster to hide in plain sight! (Part Two of Hide and Seek Lesson Plan)
