The Sharp Eyes of a Naturalist

Source Institutions

California Academy of Sciences

In this creative activity, learners will practice looking carefully to observe details and to become familiar with dioramas as a method for displaying naturalistic scenes. Educators present learners with three rounds of observation tasks, each with a different challenge. Although designed to improve observations in a gallery, this activity can be used to enhance observation skills for many scenarios. [Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org.]

Preparation Time:: 30 to 45 minutes
Learning Time:: 30 to 45 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:: free
Age Range:: Ages 4 - 14
Resource Types:: Activity, Game, Lesson/Lesson Plan
Language:: English

Materials List (per group of students)

random classroom objects
any detailed posters or overheads
Guiding Questions and Focused Activities reference sheets (1 per chaperone)
optional: images of dioramas from the previous African Hall installation

Keywords

Subjects

Life Sciences
- Ecology
The Nature of Science
- The Scientific Process
  - The Scientific Worldview
  - Asking Questions
  - Gathering Data

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

Learning styles supported:

Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

Includes alignment to state and/or national standards

Standards Alignment California Content Standards on bottom

Access Rights:

Free access

By:

California Academy of Sciences