you know that there are 1,000 species of bats and they make up one-fourth
of the Earth’s mammals? High school freshman Chip Schwartz
does, thanks to the guidance of Karen Campbell, Ph.D., associate
professor and P. Kenneth Nase M.D. ’55 chair of biology.
Schwartz has been enamored with bats since he was a child. So
when this Life Scout needed a project to help him earn the rank
of Eagle Scout, he went to Campbell for assistance. The duo, with
help from Albright College and the Berks County Parks and Recreation
Department, set out to construct an informational kiosk to be located
at the Berks County Heritage Center.
The kiosk displays facts about Pennsylvania bats, of which there
are nine species, and the little brown bat, Myotis lucifungus, which
resides in Wertz’s Bridge at the Heritage Center. The display
also resolves several myths associated with bats.
“When Chip was eight or nine years old,” says Campbell,
“he would come to my talks at the Heritage Center. I would
ask a question and his hand would shoot straight up. He always knew
helping Campbell tag bats at Wertz’s Bridge with her undergraduate
students a few summers ago, Schwartz says his interest in the creatures
grew even more. “Bats are mysterious,” he says. “They’re
so interesting with their sense of sound. Not many people know about