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Stellaluna + A Bat Education = Kids Off The Couch

Imagine what Halloween night would be like if you were a bat. No need for flashlights or glow in the dark stripes on your costume. You'd hear, through echolocation, the rustling wrapper of your favorite candy before you even knocked on the door. You might identify by smell what's in your trick-or-treat bag without even looking. The heroine of the award-winning picture book Stellaluna and her batty friends can do all that! Reading this beautiful book about friendship and bat habits gave our kids an interest in these masters of the night, so we visited our local Science Museum's Bat Exhibit. From donning special ears to help understand bat hearing, to screaming in a chamber to learn about echolocation, our kids got into the bat act, and came away with a scientific understanding of those spooky Halloween creatures that swoop down from the night sky. Click here for a wonderful series of bat books for elementary aged kids, and for a gruesome article -- and cool pictures -- in yesterday's New York Times about bloodsucking creatures, like vampire bats, for some at-home bat education that kids will love