Zoo Project
The Problem: We want a new virtual zoo...designed by YOU!
The Story:
The Sedgwick County Zoo’s Board of Directors is ready to build a new virtual zoo, and they have contacted you – a zoologist – to pick out the species to include. You will be using Project Noah to explore and document indigenous wildlife in Sedgwick County and to explore the diversity of life worldwide! You will also be working with the zoo’s engineers to advise them on these new species’ virtual habitat needs. You will be advising the public on the structural / morphological and metabolic systems of your species, and you will also be working with behavioral biologists to determine the sociobiological patterns of these species and their specific enrichment needs.
Possible Activities:
1. Analyze the current zoo’s maps for clues on how its organized
(HINT: Each of the major biomes of Earth are represented in the zoo. Some of Cornell University's students' GoogleEarth biomes tours are downloadable for review of these.)
2. Conduct some classification activities within this lab manual to review modern classification systems (KPCOFGS).
KDWPT and GPNC both also have a variety of helpful guides.
3. Students independently propose a breakdown that best represents the diversity of life on Earth to include in the new virtual Project Noah zoo.
4. Have an initial “Board Meeting” to share ideas & collaborate, with a recorder GoogleDoc-ing the ideas shared. (Teacher needs to be the cognitive guide so that they do not have “gaps” in content, i.e. diversity of lifeforms not typically included in a commercial zoo should be included.)
5. Have students develop their own “map” of the proposed Project Noah zoo.
6. Rotating teams of students construct complete proposals for their chosen species within each “group” that they had initially proposed as a class.
7. Dissections of an organism in each representative group happen throughout the semester.
8. Suggested reading: Sociobiology by E.O. Wilson
The Story:
The Sedgwick County Zoo’s Board of Directors is ready to build a new virtual zoo, and they have contacted you – a zoologist – to pick out the species to include. You will be using Project Noah to explore and document indigenous wildlife in Sedgwick County and to explore the diversity of life worldwide! You will also be working with the zoo’s engineers to advise them on these new species’ virtual habitat needs. You will be advising the public on the structural / morphological and metabolic systems of your species, and you will also be working with behavioral biologists to determine the sociobiological patterns of these species and their specific enrichment needs.
Possible Activities:
1. Analyze the current zoo’s maps for clues on how its organized
(HINT: Each of the major biomes of Earth are represented in the zoo. Some of Cornell University's students' GoogleEarth biomes tours are downloadable for review of these.)
2. Conduct some classification activities within this lab manual to review modern classification systems (KPCOFGS).
KDWPT and GPNC both also have a variety of helpful guides.
3. Students independently propose a breakdown that best represents the diversity of life on Earth to include in the new virtual Project Noah zoo.
4. Have an initial “Board Meeting” to share ideas & collaborate, with a recorder GoogleDoc-ing the ideas shared. (Teacher needs to be the cognitive guide so that they do not have “gaps” in content, i.e. diversity of lifeforms not typically included in a commercial zoo should be included.)
5. Have students develop their own “map” of the proposed Project Noah zoo.
6. Rotating teams of students construct complete proposals for their chosen species within each “group” that they had initially proposed as a class.
7. Dissections of an organism in each representative group happen throughout the semester.
8. Suggested reading: Sociobiology by E.O. Wilson