Level Three Biology Field Trip
Posted on October 20, 2017
On 17 October, 68 Level 3 Biology students visited Auckland Zoo primarily for a Discovery and Learning session on Trends in Human Evolution presented by the effervescent, erudite and entertaining educator, Sarah Skoggard.
The first part of this session addressed primate comparative anatomy with particular attention paid to skeletal differences that enable full bipedalism in humans only. The use of full size human and chimpanzee skeletons provided tangible evidence to reinforce text book descriptions.
The interactive second half involved the identification and classification of several hominin skulls followed by a hands-on experience with old stone tools. Discussion revolved around their method of production, the brain development that would have been necessary to create them and their potential applications.
The bonus opportunity to view the primate and other enclosures, look at methods of enrichment and visit the NZ Centre for Conservation Medicine was much appreciated by the new, the not-too-recent and the seasoned visitors in our group.
