We have a special treat for you as part of the Open Cambridge Festival 2021: not one but three virtual tours of the Museum. Go behind the scenes for a tour of the Bird Room with Curator of Ornithology Dr Daniel Field and a tour of the Insect Room by Research Assistant Matt Hayes. Then follow Assistant Director Jack Ashby as he guides you around … Continue reading Behind the Scenes at the Museum for Open Cambridge 2021
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
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
A few weeks ago in Nature Classroom we explored feeding adaptations in mammals (you can find it here). There we saw how mammal teeth are adapted to the food they eat. But what about birds? Birds don’t have any teeth, but we can see adaptations to their diets in the shape of the beak. In this Nature Classroom we will be exploring evolution and adaptation … Continue reading Bird Beaks and Evolution
Museum Manager Jack Ashby writes: ‘As this week is Bear Awareness week it’s a good chance to share a story from the history of science involving Charles Darwin’s interpretations of what some bears’ behaviour might mean for the evolution of future bear species. ‘He had become aware of observations of a black bear catching insects in the water by swimming for hours with its mouth … Continue reading Darwin and the bears ‘as monstrous as whales’
Task: Have a look out of your window. What animals can you see? Can you see a robin with a red breast? The robin shows this off when defending its territory. What about a peacock butterfly with ‘eyes’ on its wings? These are used to confuse animals that might want to eat it. And have you seen a brown bird – perhaps a sparrow, dunnock … Continue reading Exploring Evolution through Colour
Museum of Zoology Blog 