Virtual Museum Tour
Are you missing the Museum of Zoology? We are in lockdown again, but we have the next best thing for you here: a virtual tour with Assistant Director Jack Ashby. See our fabulous fin whale, get up close to specimens collected by Charles Darwin, and discover Diprotodon, the largest ever Australian mammal. You can find more highlights of the Museum in our online Highlights Trail. Continue reading Virtual Museum Tour
Busy Bee Communication
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
Segmentation of the backbone
Kate Criswell, Postdoctoral Research Associate, writes: One of the key features that distinguishes vertebrate animals from our invertebrate cousins (such as insects and molluscs) is a backbone, or a series of vertebrae that run the length of the body. These vertebrae can range in number from only nine in frogs to over 300 in elongate animals like snakes and eels! They are important for providing … Continue reading Segmentation of the backbone
The Changing Seasons
Look out of your window and you are probably seeing some big changes happening in the natural world outside. It is getting dark in the early evening. The leaves on the trees are changing colour from green to orange and yellow then falling to the ground. You might have spotted bunches of berries, or conkers and other nuts. And the temperature is dropping too. It’s … Continue reading The Changing Seasons
Sleepy Sloths
For October half term this year, we hid eight sloths in the displays at the Museum of Zoology. We had planned for these to be up until November 7 for you to find, but circumstances have changed and we have had to close our doors once more. But we can’t leave you without access to our wonderful sloths, so here’s a Puggle Club story all … Continue reading Sleepy Sloths
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
Palm oil boycotts may block the path to sustainability
Valentine Reiss-Woolever, a PhD student in the Insect Ecology Group, writes: Bamboo straws, Nordic flight shame, and reusable tote bags – environmentally minded consumption is increasingly common. A buzzword in recent years, “conscientious consumption” describes our attempts to spend money with an awareness of how our choices affect the world outside of ourselves. At the start of 2020, 64% of Germans said “living more sustainably” … Continue reading Palm oil boycotts may block the path to sustainability
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
Skeletons!
If you have ever visited the Museum of Zoology, you will have seen that we have skeletons big and small, from our enormous fin whale greeting you as you come into the Museum, to tiny mice and the exoskeletons of insects. In this Nature Classroom we will be exploring what a skeleton is, why skeletons are important, and taking you on a guided tour of … Continue reading Skeletons!
‘Chasing butterflies’ at the Museum of Zoology
Amjad Khalaf, undergraduate student, writes: One of my fondest childhood memories is chasing butterflies and ladybirds in the garden and being fascinated by their vibrant colours as they flew around. Thinking back, that was one of the main reasons I became interested in biology; I often found myself wondering why they looked the way they did and how they lived their lives that were so … Continue reading ‘Chasing butterflies’ at the Museum of Zoology
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
Highlights of the Museum of Zoology
The Museum of Zoology is open to the public again, pre-book only and with additional measures in place to keep visitors, staff and volunteers safe. Visit our website for more information and to book your free timed entry slot (tickets are released every Thursday for the following week). The Museum is home to a wonderful collection of animals, with thousands of specimens on display. Download … Continue reading Highlights of the Museum of Zoology
New study assesses the impacts of oil palm replanting on arthropod biodiversity
Michael Pashkevich writes: Palm oil seems to be everywhere: it’s probably in your shampoo, the instant noodles you ate for lunch and – if you’re wearing it – your lipstick. In fact, palm oil is the most traded vegetable oil worldwide, in part because it can be used in so many products. But the production of palm oil is highly controversial. This is because oil … Continue reading New study assesses the impacts of oil palm replanting on arthropod biodiversity
Amazing Animal Adaptations
To celebrate the Museum reopening on September 24, for pre-booked visits only (for details and how to book, see our website), we have developed a new trail around the galleries taking in some of the amazing adaptations on display. Not able to visit the Museum? You can explore these adaptations here, with some extra ideas on ways you can discover more about animal evolution at … Continue reading Amazing Animal Adaptations
Can how we manage agriculture’s impact on insects and biodiversity?
Martina Harianja, PhD student, writes: Imagine that you were eight times as big as a grain of sugar, and you live in a fast-flowing stream. To get food, you need to swim against the current. What properties would need to accomplish this? Semi-aquatic bugs in the genus of Rhagovelia offer a brilliant approach. Their body length ranges from two to four millimetres as an adult, and … Continue reading Can how we manage agriculture’s impact on insects and biodiversity?
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