On Wednesday morning, the City of Reno Parks and Recreation Department hung 88 new bird houses made by Bernice Mathews Elementary School STEM students in Teglia's Paradise Park.
Students visited the park to see their hard work pay off.
Andrew, a student, told us, "I like helping nature and helping birds for them to find their homes and all that, so we made it for them."
When the kids got to the park, they noticed some birds already making the houses they had made into homes.
Andrea, a 1st-grade student, says, "I made it comfortable for the birds to sleep in, and so they can get food."
Emilio, a 3rd grade student, described some tips on how to make the perfect birdhouse. "So you have to have, like, a cube shape, and you also have to have a place for the birds to come to. Then you have to have an arch for the bird to stand on and then a little platform."
He also told us his favorite part of the project. "We get to paint it, and we get to decide what we wanted to do with it."
Amanda Slatter, the principal of Mathews Elementary School, told us they started this project back in September.
"Every single student in our school has participated in building one of these birdhouses. They designed it, they built it, they decorated it, and they learned about architectural design while they were doing so, and construction techniques."
Slatter told us the birdhouses were displayed at the school for everyone to see before they settled in the park.
She also said the project taught the kids more STEM-based lessons that went beyond basic birdhouse making.
"The students had to engage in their knowledge of shapes and mathematics in order to put together these birdhouses. Additionally, the engineering and design of building and construction were very relevant in this project, coached by real-life designers, architects, and builders."
