CARY, N.C. -- An environmental science project at one school in Cary has taken flight.

 

Baby bluebirds flew the coop Wednesday as first graders watched in wonder.

 

The grounds around Penny Road Elementary school are for the birds. Literally.

 

Parent volunteers John and Ann Sykes created a bluebird trail, 11 houses in all, for the school.

 

"They'll be able to see a beautiful bird and know it is important and fall in love somehow with science," Ann Sykes said.

 

And to give the students a true birds-eve view, they mounted a Web cam in the roof of this house.

 

It is hooked up to a television monitor in Mike Hopkins' first-grade class.

 

"It's just a joy to see the excitement," Hopkins said. "Sometimes it's a little difficult to control it, but I'd rather have them excited than sitting in boredom."

 

The bluebirds helped out in science, math and writing lessons-- both indoors and out.

 

"I never saw baby bluebirds hatch before," said first-grader Andrew Bettner. "It's fantastic."

 

Students tracked the progress: egg laying, incubating and hatching.

 

Isaac Malave says it's a cool way to learn.

 

"They hatch out kind of little and they have 20 days before they can start to leave their house," Malave said.

 

It's a life lesson the children can relate to.

 

And the Sykes family hopes this generation will learn to take care of the environment.

 

"I hope they see then can make a difference even on a small scale," Sykes said.