World of Animals

Cute, furry animals make us want to pick them up, cuddle them, and play with them. But do they want the same thing?

Imagine being a guinea pig. You’re sitting peacefully in your cage, eating hay. Suddenly, one wall of your home disappears, and through the opening appears an enormous hairless face with flashing white teeth. Then a giant paw with five hooked fingers reaches straight toward you...

From our point of view, someone is simply smiling and reaching in to pet the guinea pig. From hers, the situation may look considerably less friendly. So she runs away, and we are left wondering why nobody wants to be cuddled.

In The Jungle Book, Mowgli says, “We be of one blood, ye and I,” and the animals understand him. A fairy tale? Of course. But perhaps not entirely.

There are no magic words for talking to animals, but there are clues. Zoology and ethology, the science of animal behavior, teach us how animals live, how they communicate, what frightens them, and what makes them feel safe. By learning to read body language and understand an animal’s natural behavior, we can build relationships that are enjoyable for both sides.

Сurriculum

1. Reading Body Language
   Wouldn’t it be wonderful to understand what animals are trying to tell us? We’ll start with dogs and cats, discover how animals communicate through body language and other nonverbal signals, and explore the basics of animal behavior, ethology, and training. Then we’ll move cautiously on to the most complicated species of all: humans. Can you really read someone’s emotions from their facial expressions? And can body language tell you whether someone is lying?
   
2. Urban Wildlife

   Cities may look like terrible places for wild animals: traffic, noise, pollution, people everywhere, and precious little peace. Yet many species move in willingly. Let’s find out who lives beside us and why city life suits them surprisingly well.
3. How to Adopt a Pet
   Choosing a pet is exciting, but how do you know which animal is right for you? In this interactive, project-based science activity, students explore animal habitats, design a suitable home for their chosen pet, plan a realistic budget, and tackle veterinary challenges by recognizing signs of illness. From adopting a pet to caring for it responsibly, every decision brings them closer to their final project: creating a safe, healthy home for their new companion.
   
4. One-Star Zoo Reviews: True or False?

   Are zoos prisons, safe havens, or conservation centers? And what can we learn from their worst reviews? In this zoo field trip challenge, students investigate one-star zoo reviews, decide which complaints are fair, and discover what good animal care really means. Then comes the bigger challenge: design a better zoo! Can you create a place that keeps animals healthy and safe while giving visitors a chance to learn about wildlife?
   
5. Animal Tracking
   Finding forest animals in nature is often harder than observing them once you’ve found them. Learn to identify animals by their footprints, tracks, sounds, shelters, poop, feeding traces, and other wildlife signs that reveal who has been nearby.
   
6. Studying Animals: From Observation to Evidence
7. How Smart Are Animals
   Animal intelligence is surprisingly difficult to measure. Memory, problem-solving, communication, social skills, and tool use may all count as intelligence, but not in the same way. Explore what scientists know and why simple rankings rarely work.
   
8. Classification of Living Things
   Animals come in an astonishing variety of forms. Explore the major animal phyla and learn which structural features biologists use to tell them apart.
   
9. Vertebrates
   Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals all belong to the vertebrates, but they solve the problems of movement, breathing, reproduction, and survival in very different ways. Compare the major vertebrate groups and discover what unites them.

   

   

   
10. Aquarium Basics
    A well-kept aquarium is like a window into an underwater ecosystem. Learn how tank size, temperature, water chemistry, filtration, oxygen, plants, and stocking choices affect the health of aquarium animals.
11. Amphibians
12. Reptile Detective
    Snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodilians may look very different, but they share a common evolutionary history. What makes them all reptiles? A closer look at their anatomy, adaptations, and classification reveals what they have in common, how they differ, and how they compare with amphibians and birds.

    

    

    
13. Modern Dinosaurs
    Dinosaurs are not entirely gone. Some of them are probably outside your window right now. Explore the evidence linking birds to theropod dinosaurs and discover how feathers, flight, bones, eggs, and other traits connect them.
14. Mammal Detective
    Mammals are familiar, but their diversity is enormous. What makes an animal a mammal, and how do scientists classify them? From anatomy and unusual traits to adaptations for life on land, underground, in water, and in the air, mammal zoology is full of surprises.

     

    

    

    
15. Arthropod Detective
    Insects are only one branch of the arthropod family. Learn how to distinguish insects from spiders, crustaceans, and other arthropods, then practice recognizing major insect groups.
    

    

    

    
16. Butterflies of the World
    Explore butterflies from different parts of the world, learn how to distinguish them from other insects, compare their colors and forms, and investigate how they live. If you’re feeling ambitious, there’s even a butterfly card to build.
17. Inside a Termite Mound
18. Inside an Anthill
19. Bee Life
20. How Does the Human Body Work
21. Evolutionary Evidence Lab
    Charles Darwin noticed patterns that others had overlooked. Follow the evidence from fossils, anatomy, DNA, biogeography, and other sources, and investigate how scientists reconstruct evolutionary relationships.
    
22. Ice Age Expedition
    Travel back to the Ice Age and investigate when it happened, what caused it, how scientists know it occurred, and which animals shared the planet with early humans.
    
23. Human Evolution
    Travel deep into human prehistory. Compare bones and DNA, examine tools and archaeological finds, rebuild lost worlds, and meet the many relatives on our evolutionary family tree.
    
24. Fall Forest Virtual Field Trip

    Ever wondered why spruce cones turn up beneath a beech tree, or why some trees lose their leaves while others stay green? A fall forest is full of little mysteries once you know where to look. On this interactive temperate forest virtual field trip, practice tree identification using leaves, bark, and fruits, spot forest animals, and build food chains. Find out why deciduous trees shed their leaves, what causes mysterious gaps between treetops, and how a woodpecker turns an ordinary tree into its workshop. You might even recognize a few forest treasures hiding in your own home.