Have you ever walked through Coe Fen or on Midsummer Common in Cambridge, looked at the cowpats and wondered what lived inside? Well now is your chance to find out! For Zoology Live 2021, we are launching Cowpats About Cambridge (and beyond). Inspired by the Cows About Cambridge sculpture trail, we are asking you to help us collect data on the animals living in cowpats. … Continue reading What’s in that Cowpat?
To celebrate World Bee Day 2021 our staff and volunteers have been filming the bees they see. Watch our video below to see what they found: Observing bee behaviour There’s lots of different types of bee behaviour, even in this short video. From hairy-footed flower bees digging to honey bees collecting pollen. Did you see the nomad bee trying to cut a blade of grass? … Continue reading World Bee Day 2021
Today (April 27) is World Tapir Day, a day to celebrate these wonderous animals and learn a little about why we should be protecting them. What is a tapir? Tapir’s are large, herbivorous mammals that live in rainforests, grasslands, swamps and cloud forests. There are four modern species of tapir. The mountain tapir, Brazilian tapir and Baird’s tapir of South America, and the Malayan tapir … Continue reading World Tapir Day: ‘Pin the Nose’ game
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The natural world is full of stories to discover. Use the Museum of Zoology collection to explore habitats, complete puzzles and build a team of the animals you meet along the way. Before you begin: Grab a pencil and piece of paper so that you can record your favourite stories or animals while you play. Draw a picture of your ultimate animal team to share … Continue reading Animal Adventurers: the game
How can people live in harmony with nature? See the ideas and solutions from participants in an artist-led workshop that took place earlier this year, and have a go at creating your own world of tomorrow at home today. Continue reading Saving Our World: Butterfly
February is LGBTQ+ history month and to celebrate the Museum of Zoology is sharing the story of how intersex whales are changing the way we think about ‘gender’ (or ‘sex’) in the animal kingdom. This page has been written with a young audience and families in mind. When we think of wild animals, one of the first questions we ask is, is it a boy … Continue reading Whale bookmark: celebrating LGBTQ+ history month
Brownfield sites? These are sites some might call ‘wasteland’, ‘post-industrial land’ or ‘derelict land’. These could be disused railway sidings, former quarries, abandoned industrial estates, amongst other things. Historically incredibly human-modified – one might wonder why, as a conservation scientist, I would be interested in brownfield sites. Brownfield sites do actually harbour biodiversity. In fact, these sites might support many nationally rare and scarce insects … Continue reading Brownfield Biodiversity
Deep-sea anglerfish live in the deep, dark areas of the world’s oceans and are named for the way that they attract a meal. Much like a fishing (angler) rod would entice a fish using bait or a lure, the female anglerfish houses bacteria in and around the end of a long fin ray. This bacteria glows in the gloom of the deep sea and attracts … Continue reading Twilight at Home: Anglerfish
There’s lots of animals to be found in the Museum of Zoology. Our Young Zoologists Club members show and tell you about their favourites and welcome you to explore the collection online and create your own. Download the trail and then use the links below to explore the collection online. Choose your creature to fill in the trail gaps! Delve into the collections online to … Continue reading On the Trail of a Creature…
Giacomo Gattoni, PhD Student, writes: When we look at the natural world we are often in awe at the richness and diversity of life forms that we can observe. As an undergraduate student, I became fascinated by evolution, the process through which this diversity originated during the history of life. I am particularly interested in reconstructing ancestors of modern animals, organisms that lived in the … Continue reading Reconstructing ancestors: insights from the ocean
Join us as we explore five species with Museum staff and Department of Zoology researchers, then have a go at a different art activity inspired by the featured animals. These videos and resources have been created in partnership with Dementia Compass, for adults with dementia and their care partners in mind. While they were initially created for participants of our Portals to the World course, … Continue reading Portals to the World: resources for adults with dementia and their care partners
Ever wonder what to do with all of the lovely cards that you get for birthday’s or holidays? The good news is that most are recyclable, minus those covered in glitter of course! But let’s go that little bit further for our planet and give these cards and underrated bits of mini-artwork a new lease of life! Gift tags for next year Find cards with … Continue reading Give Cards a New Life
Researchers have discovered significant variations in the ability of different UK butterfly species to maintain a suitable body temperature. Species that rely most on finding a suitably shady location to keep cool are at the greatest risk of population decline. The results predict how climate change might impact butterfly communities, and will inform conservation strategies to protect them. The results, published in the Journal of … Continue reading Provide shady spots to protect butterflies from climate change
At this time of year, people across the world will be celebrating Diwali or Deepawali, also known as the Indian festival of lights. Create a lantern bug light holder to celebrate the festival together. What is a lantern bug? Lantern bugs, Fulgora and Pyrops, (also known as lanternflies) are found across south and south east Asia, and the Americas; mostly in tropical regions. They are part of … Continue reading Lantern bugs for a Festival of Lights
Ever wondered how bees communicate with each other to work as a team? Learn about the important job these pollinating insects carry out. Play our ‘Talk like a Bee’ game and discover how bees can ‘smell’ each other when visiting flowers, and find out how we can give these insects a helping hand by building your very own bee-friendly winter refuge. Insect communication Insects can … Continue reading Busy Bee Communication
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