Testing The World's Smartest Crow

From Mark Rober

Testing The World's Smartest Crow
23 min3rd4th5th6thScience
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Summary

Mark sets up puzzles to test how smart crows really are, filming how they use tools and reasoning to get a reward. A fascinating look at animal intelligence and behavior.

Viewer safety

Ages 7+

Made for a general YouTube audience — an occasional mild or bleeped word can slip in, so preview if your classroom bar is strict.

Our rating is a quick teacher-to-teacher guide — preview before showing.

Teaching resources

Discussion questions

Talk about it

Crows take in information through their senses, then figure out multi-step solutions — even using tools. Their behavior is evidence of real problem-solving.

  1. What did the crow do that showed it was 'thinking' through a problem?
  2. How does the crow use its senses to gather information?
  3. What's the difference between an animal guessing and an animal reasoning?

Quick work-a-long

Vocabulary: intelligence, tool use, senses, behavior.

Try it: Design a two-step puzzle a smart animal could solve for a treat. Describe each step.