Lehigh Valley Audubon Society will host its fifth Christmas Bird Count for Kids 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Jan. 11. Youths aged 6 to 12 are invited to join LVAS for this fun introduction to birding and citizen science, which will teach them how to use binoculars, identify common birds and collect scientific data.

The CBC4Kids is based on the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count, a 120-year-old citizen science event that has become a cherished holiday tradition for birders nationwide. Following a classroom session about birding, citizen science and conservation hosted at Muhlenberg College, CBC4Kids participants will form teams and, under the guidance of LVAS volunteers, conduct bird counts in Allentown’s parks.

After an hour of birding, the teams will return to the college to tally up their data, present their discoveries to their peers and input their data into eBird, an online citizen science database. The event always concludes with a tour of Muhlenberg College’s Acopian Center for Ornithology, a museum containing more than 2,000 taxidermy-mounted birds from around the world. Participants receive a certificate and a folder containing educational take-home materials relating to birding and conservation.

Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. There is a fee of $5 per child. A subsidy is available for students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. A pizza lunch will be provided. Binoculars will also be provided for the kids to use during the bird count.

New this year, the group will also be offering an optional indoor craft for siblings who are too young to participate in the count.

Registration is open on the LVAS website, lvaudubon.org/shop/kids-bird-count.

Contact education@lvaudubon.org or youth@lvaudubon.org with any questions.

LVAS is a nonprofit conservation and education organization based in Allentown. Its mission is to help people gain an appreciation and understanding of nature, provide educational services on local wildlife to the community and protect local habitats that are critical to local and international wildlife populations. Visit lvaudubon.org for more information.