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New Education Program At The Academy Of Natural Sciences In Philadelphia Lets Students See Eye To Eye Like An Animal  |
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Ever wonder what your back yard or your boss would look
like if you were a bird or a snake?
A simple, but innovative new program called Seeing Eye-to-Eye offers
insight into how animals see their world. “The visual systems of other
animals provide them with a very different view of the world than humans
have,” said Timshel Purdum, who developed the program for the Academy
of Natural Sciences, the oldest natural history museum in the Americas.
The 90-minute program is designed for high school students who visit
the Academy on class trips. In addition, younger children participating
this summer in the Academy Explorers Camp will be introduced to the
animal-vision concept.
Seeing Eye-to-Eye gives students access to infrared cameras, UV lights
and other equipment that allows them to compare their vision with the
vision of other animals. During the lesson, students investigate the
properties of light and learn about the anatomy of vision systems.
Through the use of technology and through encounters with live animals
from the museum’s Live Animal Center, students can compare their
visual adaptations to the adaptations of other animals. Students also
learn about some innovative methods scientists use to explore light
phenomena in animals.
Humans have trichromatic vision which allows people to distinguish
light along the visible spectrum. “We teach students how the human
brain interprets what is seen, particularly color, and about ultraviolet
light and infrared, which is invisible to humans, but is an important
source of information for some animals,” said Purdum, the Academy’s
manager of school programs.
Birds possess a four-cone system which allows them to not only see
light on the visible spectrum, but to detect light in the ultraviolet
spectrum. Additionally, some lizards possess a “third” eye which can
sense ultraviolet light and help regulate circadian rhythms.
Having the Academy’s live animals right there in the class helps
bring the lesson to life and helps students apply what they see through
the high-tech equipment to the animals themselves. “It helps them
better understand how these lizards, snakes and birds use the
electromagnetic spectrum that is invisible to the students
themselves,” Purdum said.
The students also will learn about animals that see infrared light.
Certain species of snake, including boas, pythons and pit vipers, are
able to perceive the infrared signature of their prey. This allows them
to see their prey even in complete darkness. The students will use
infrared thermometers to detect the heat trail that is invisible to
humans, and they will use infrared cameras to investigate the heat
signatures of some of the Academy’s live animals.
To help develop this program, the Academy received a $2,800 grant for
optical equipment from SPIE, the world’s largest international
not-for-profit society in the fields of optics, photonics and imaging.
The Academy of Natural Sciences, founded in 1812, is the oldest natural
science research institution and museum in the Americas and a world
leader in biodiversity and environmental research. The mission of the
Academy is the encouragement and cultivation of the sciences.
HOURS: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5
p.m. ADMISSION: $12 adults; $10 children 3-12, seniors, college
students, military personnel; from May 28-Sept. 6 military and up to 5
family members are free; free for members and children under 3. $2 fee
for Butterflies!
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Are you hosting or promoting an event in the Philadelphia Area? If so then we want to hear about it. Email us at editor@philadelphiaathome.com.
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