Portals to the World: resources for adults with dementia and their care partners

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

Lantern bugs for a Festival of Lights

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

Pumpkin lantern lit from the inside featuring frog design

Proud Pumpkins: making sustainable choices

Follow our top tips on how to use and dispose of your pumpkin in a sustainable way; looking after you and the planet. Plus, we’ve got four awesome autumnal animal stencils and a step-by-step guide for carving your own pumpkin lantern. Sustainable pumpkins There’s plenty of things to do with the leftover seeds and fibres after pumpkin carving. Here’s some top tips on where to … Continue reading Proud Pumpkins: making sustainable choices

Sloth craft finished, hanging from a branch in a tree

A Slumber of Sloths

This week we celebrate International Sloth Day (20th October) with a mossy mate that will hang from almost anywhere. Sloths are known for being a laid back mammal; feeding exclusively on leaves and moving rather slowly through the rainforest canopys of South and Central America. What you might not know about sloths is that many species live in symbiosis (mutally beneficial relationship) with mosses and … Continue reading A Slumber of Sloths

Badger mask complete with making materials

National Badger Day Mask

What’s black and white and likes eggs for dinner? The UK’s largest land predator of course! This week we celebrate the European badger; an omnivore that likes to snack on small mammals, birds’ eggs, worms, fruit and plants. Discover more about how scientists are Conserving Britain’s Carnivores here or delve into the details of a badger’s skull with our Exploring Skulls video: Creating your badger … Continue reading National Badger Day Mask

Rhino craft collage

A ‘crash’ of rhinoceroses

Rhinos are big herbivores (plant-eaters) that have a huge impact on their habitat, by spreading around seeds and walking through, pushing and shoving the vegetation, which helps other animals in their environments. They have also had a big impact on human culture, appearing in all sorts of art for at least 700 years! There are five species of rhinos alive today, but sadly four of … Continue reading A ‘crash’ of rhinoceroses

Yellow and black pom poms hanging in front of tree

Create a Bumblebee

Have you seen any bumblebees this summer? They often look more round and furry than other bees. They visit flowers to collect nectar and pollen, helping to pollinate plants as they go! Learn more about bumblebees from Ed Turner in the video below, or scroll down to get started on your Crafty Creature: Creating your bumblebee… You will need: Cardboard Wool or string(we’ve used yellow … Continue reading Create a Bumblebee

Paper okapi

Okapi? Okapi!

The okapi is the only living relative of giraffes and looking closer you can see the similarities. It has camouflaging body patterns, large ears and the males have stout horns above the eyes (ossicones). They even have a similar long, prehensile (meaning that it can grasp things) tongue, just like a giraffe. This helps them to quickly strip leaves from tree branches. They are however, … Continue reading Okapi? Okapi!

Fin whale illustration - (c) Angela Wade

Look Copy Make – Fin Whale

Join artist Kaitlin Ferguson as she talks you through how to Look, Copy, and Make with the Museum of Zoology’s fin whale skeleton. You will need: Paper Pens or pencils Scissors Kaitlin’s whale tail template Video of fin whale skeleton: https://youtu.be/CEb2UyXZq_w These activities can be enjoyed by anyone and have been made with young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) in mind. See … Continue reading Look Copy Make – Fin Whale

Lego pieces

LEGO Creature Challenge

For #ZoologyLive 2020 we challenge you to build an animal you have seen using LEGO. LEGO bricks are excellent building materials that allow us to use our creativity, imagination, and observations to create sculptures. The tips below will help you to get started and let you know how to enter our prize draw… #LetsBuildTogether and Create a Lego Creature Top tips: Build a creature you … Continue reading LEGO Creature Challenge