Giraffes: celebrating LGBTQ+ history month

February is LGBTQ+ History Month and to celebrate the Museum of Zoology is sharing the story of giraffes and the work of scientist Anne Innis Dagg. Read on for our tutorial on how to create your own rainbow giraffe fabric, perfect for your next sewing project! When we see wild animals behaving in a particular way, one of the first things we ask is ‘why?’. … Continue reading Giraffes: celebrating LGBTQ+ history month

Winter Wildlife: conservation storytelling

For Winter Wildlife 2021, members of the Zoology Club (13-18 year olds) met to discover and write about bird migration and the threats of climate change to migratory species. See the stories they created at the bottom of this post, or continue below to create your own story. Why migratory bird species? Scientists have calculated that climate change has affected around ⅓ of all UK … Continue reading Winter Wildlife: conservation storytelling

Girl in classroom with

Teachers: How can we help you?

As schools plan for a very different academic year to begin, we appreciate the new challenges being faced by teachers and pupils, and the amount of extra work and stress being placed on you at this time. The Museum’s learning team would like to support you however we can, and are looking to reimagine our schools programme with digital technologies in mind.To make this the best offer … Continue reading Teachers: How can we help you?

Citizen Science

Did you take part in our Zoology Live 2020 event on iRecord? Have you thought about taking part in a wildlife survey as a citizen scientist? Museum Research Assistant Matt Hayes takes a deep dive into the world of citizen science, discussing how it benefits our understanding of the natural world, and how you can get involved: What is Citizen Science? Citizen science is the … Continue reading Citizen Science

Weevil on hand. Credit S Steele

30 Days Wild Challenge

Kate Howlett, PhD student: Kate Howlett, PhD student at the University Museum of Zoology, talks about why she’ll be taking part in the Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild challenge. She’ll be doing one ‘random act of wildness’ each day this June and seeing what effects this has on her happiness and health. Click the button below to read her piece about why she’s never taken … Continue reading 30 Days Wild Challenge

Museum of Zoology Rhino Specimen. Please note that the horn on the specimen is a replica. Credit S Steele.

Rhinos in art: not just a pretty picture

Oscar Wilson, graduate student says, Not being conventionally beautiful, cute or colourful, rhinos might not seem like the obvious choice for most artists. However they have a much more important role in art history than most animals and the importance of art to the five modern rhino species continues to this day. “How did it die?” One of the scariest questions you can be asked … Continue reading Rhinos in art: not just a pretty picture

Photograph of a European otter

Conserving Britain’s Carnivores

For International Women’s Day 2020, Dr Kate Sainsbiry of the Department of Zoology gave a fascinating talk about her research into the conservation of British carnivores. Populations of these charismatic animals have gone up and down over the years. Here you can discover why, and what has been and is being done to protect them. Here are some things to think about from watching this … Continue reading Conserving Britain’s Carnivores

Boy looking through magnifyglass at camera

Teachers’ Newsletter

The Museum team are here to support #HomeSchooling and #LearningInLockdown during the lockdown period, and beyond. With online resources and ways to participate digitally, we are continuing our mission to inspire students to learn about, care for and discover the natural world. Stay up-to-date with our new resources, projects and learning offer by signing up to our teachers’ newsletter: The Museum of Zoology uses your personal information … Continue reading Teachers’ Newsletter

Climate Change: the board game

You are an animal species, living in the savannah. The world is divided in four habitats based on the average temperature and precipitation (rain and snowfall) in each area. There are hotter and colder regions around you, but you find the average temperature of the savannah very comfortable. The savannah is occupied by a number of different species (the other players), all adapted to this … Continue reading Climate Change: the board game