Science Club advisor seeks information relevent to Zoology

[MLyn]

I work with emotionally disturbed teens ages 12-18 at a non-profit agency and as part of my duties I have been thrust into the position of advisor for their Science Club. Although I am well versed in the psychological field, my knowledge when it comes to Zoology is quite limited and since this is the current area of student interest I am reaching out for your help.

 

I understand that this is not a request for homework assistance per se, but I am seeking ideas and information relevant to Zoology.

Mainly, ideas about which areas of Zoology would be most beneficial for teens to learn as well as ideas on how to invoke the most interest out of the topic itself.

 

Any suggestions on activities are also welcome.

As are suggestions relevent to formulating lesson plans.

 

 

Thank you.

[mooeypoo]

I am just curious - is it just Zoology, or are you interested in any form of science activity? There are quite a lot of sites giving out great experiments and activities online. One of them is PhysicsQuest (which, incidentally, I'm going to work on this summer in my internship ) - this is also a good place to get an actual physical kit with a lesson plan you can deliver to the kids. The target audience is middle-school, so that's more or less the ages.

 

But it's physics. It's not Zoology.

 

SmarterThanThat (disclosure: it's my website. Shameless plug right here) - also has quite a few activities (look in the 'experiment' section) in Biology, Chemistry and Physics -- but again, no Zoology per say. If you have any suggestions for a topic, by the way, I'd be happy to research and make an activity out of it.

 

So I am wondering if there's a reason why it's strictly Zoology (in which case I'll try to find stuff for that in particular) or if you want to span out a bit to other areas of science.

 

~mooey

 

!

Moderator Note

I moved this to Science Education forum, it's a better forum for it, and will likely result in a bit more exposure to it.

 

I found these sites with Zoology activities for you, check them out:

• Illinois State Museum (Zoology activities): http://www.museum.state.il.us/ismdepts/zoology/activities.html
• TONS of science-fair ideas and projects in Zoology (by school grade): http://www.juliantrubin.com/zoologyprojects.html
• Zoology experiments (more involved, usually more long-term experiments for a science fair): http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/category78.html
• Another collection (this one seems to be directed to a bit of a younger audience, but it may have a few ideas in there for fun and shorter-term experiments in zoology and biology): http://sciencecastle.com/sc/index.php/experiments/room/1

Hope these help too.

[DrRocket]

I work with emotionally disturbed teens ages 12-18 at a non-profit agency and as part of my duties I have been thrust into the position of advisor for their Science Club. Although I am well versed in the psychological field, my knowledge when it comes to Zoology is quite limited and since this is the current area of student interest I am reaching out for your help.

 

I understand that this is not a request for homework assistance per se, but I am seeking ideas and information relevant to Zoology.

Mainly, ideas about which areas of Zoology would be most beneficial for teens to learn as well as ideas on how to invoke the most interest out of the topic itself.

 

Any suggestions on activities are also welcome.

As are suggestions relevent to formulating lesson plans.

 

 

Thank you.

 

What part of the country are you in ? The options for a school in the Bromx will differ ffrom those of a rural school in Montana.

[Genecks]

Psychology?

Then do consider animal behavior, right?

Mating rituals, comparative neuroanatomy (dolphins and sleep patterns), and maybe some other stuff.

 

If you think about it, I think you have the skills to put a good spin on animal behavior.

Perhaps some simplified neuroethological videos (not going into too much detail about the anatomy or cellular biology) may make things interesting.

 

The older individuals (16 to 18) may be more interested in neuroanatomical differences between an opossum and a human in reference to the corpus callosum.

The younger individuals may be interested in how a bat explores territory or how an owl travels at night.

Edited May 27, 2011 by Genecks

[michel123456]

Bring a real living animal in the classroom. Teens will be delighted.

A mouse for example.

Or better, a cow.

[ajb]

One hands on idea is to explore the diversity of invertebrate life found in the garden or local parks, or any other land you can have access to. See how many species one can identify.

[MLyn]

Bring a real living animal in the classroom. Teens will be delighted.

A mouse for example.

Or better, a cow.

 

 

I am definitely giving that idea consideration. We have already had a students pet turtle in a meeting and I am considering the idea of bringing my son's albino corn snake in for a visit. I will formulate a lesson plan around snakes if I do so.

 

Thank you for the suggestion.

 

What part of the country are you in ? The options for a school in the Bromx will differ ffrom those of a rural school in Montana.

 

 

We are located in California.

 

I am just curious - is it just Zoology, or are you interested in any form of science activity? There are quite a lot of sites giving out great experiments and activities online. One of them is PhysicsQuest (which, incidentally, I'm going to work on this summer in my internship ) - this is also a good place to get an actual physical kit with a lesson plan you can deliver to the kids. The target audience is middle-school, so that's more or less the ages.

 

But it's physics. It's not Zoology.

 

SmarterThanThat (disclosure: it's my website. Shameless plug right here) - also has quite a few activities (look in the 'experiment' section) in Biology, Chemistry and Physics -- but again, no Zoology per say. If you have any suggestions for a topic, by the way, I'd be happy to research and make an activity out of it.

 

So I am wondering if there's a reason why it's strictly Zoology (in which case I'll try to find stuff for that in particular) or if you want to span out a bit to other areas of science.

 

~mooey

 

!

Moderator Note

I moved this to Science Education forum, it's a better forum for it, and will likely result in a bit more exposure to it.

 

I found these sites with Zoology activities for you, check them out:

• Illinois State Museum (Zoology activities): http://www.museum.st...activities.html
• TONS of science-fair ideas and projects in Zoology (by school grade): http://www.juliantru...gyprojects.html
• Zoology experiments (more involved, usually more long-term experiments for a science fair): http://www.all-scien...category78.html
• Another collection (this one seems to be directed to a bit of a younger audience, but it may have a few ideas in there for fun and shorter-term experiments in zoology and biology): http://sciencecastle...eriments/room/1

Hope these help too.

 

 

It is strictly Zoology at this point because the elected student officers have chosen it as their current area of interest and the student members have all concurred.

 

Psychology?

Then do consider animal behavior, right?

Mating rituals, comparative neuroanatomy (dolphins and sleep patterns), and maybe some other stuff.

 

If you think about it, I think you have the skills to put a good spin on animal behavior.

Perhaps some simplified neuroethological videos (not going into too much detail about the anatomy or cellular biology) may make things interesting.

 

The older individuals (16 to 18) may be more interested in neuroanatomical differences between an opossum and a human in reference to the corpus callosum.

The younger individuals may be interested in how a bat explores territory or how an owl travels at night.

 

 

You make a very valid point and I think I will attempt to find a way to use animal behavior as a means to possibly enlighten the students about their own behaviors.

[michel123456]

You may be interested in body language and non-verbal communication. A good part of it comes from the fact that we are animals too.

 

For example the fact that many people are frightened by snakes is in great part caused by their absolute ignorance of the snake's body language.

[DrRocket]

 

We are located in California.

 

 

How about a field trip, maybe including some camping, in the mountains nearest you ? That should provide an opportunity to locate, identify, and observe several species.

 

You might also consider tidal pools on the beach.

[MLyn]

How about a field trip, maybe including some camping, in the mountains nearest you ? That should provide an opportunity to locate, identify, and observe several species.

 

You might also consider tidal pools on the beach.

 

 

We are unable to coordinate overnight trips (i.e. camping) due to the population with which we work, but we are going to a local Zoo next week and are considering a trip to Monterey Bay Aquarium sometime during the summer months.

 

You may be interested in body language and non-verbal communication. A good part of it comes from the fact that we are animals too.

 

For example the fact that many people are frightened by snakes is in great part caused by their absolute ignorance of the snake's body language.

 

 

 

Great suggestions! Both of which are perfect for a segue into recognizing their own forms of body language and non-verbal communication. As clinicians we often point out that what they are telling us verbally is not what their body is telling us. It would be interesting to see if by studying various animals we could generate some understanding and potential ' Ah Ha!' moments for the students by allowing them to be the observer rather than the observed.

 

Thank you.

 

One hands on idea is to explore the diversity of invertebrate life found in the garden or local parks, or any other land you can have access to. See how many species one can identify.

 

 

 

 

Based on its simplicity and the fact that our students love to venture out and explore (as it offers a means for removing themselves from the monotony of residential living) this is definitely something we will consider.

 

Thank you.

[Ringer]

My zoology professor liked to take us on nature walks, he was an ichthyologist so we were at lakes a lot, and have us identify different animals and see what animals were related and the like. If you are allowed to just take your kids outside for a minute you can find dozens of different animals. If you want to focus on stuff like evolution a fun game is making up animals and talking about what environment they may have lived in, how they could have evolved that way, etc.

[ajb]

My zoology professor liked to take us on nature walks, he was an ichthyologist so we were at lakes a lot, and have us identify different animals and see what animals were related and the like. If you are allowed to just take your kids outside for a minute you can find dozens of different animals.

 

My point exactly, you will find animals of some description everywhere.