Visit Primates and Elefants Observation Discussion

You will visit a museum, zoo, or nature center and write a 1.5 – 2 page paper on your experience. Choose one of the options below (zoo visit or museum visit):

1.) Zoo Visit

Instructions: Visit a zoo or nature center and observe one or multiple primates (non-human). Write a paper describing your primate observations. Include the ticket stub with your paper (you may take a picture and upload it on Canvas with the paper). Spend at least one hour making observations. This is generally easier to do if you observe a group of primates with at least 3 individuals.

Report: Write a report summarizing what you observed, discussing what you thought was interesting, and commenting on your experience. Include a ticket stub with your paper (you may take a picture and upload it on Canvas with the paper). Include the following:

Common and scientific name of the species

Name of the animal(s) – if no names can be found, give a name to the animal(s)

Natural habitat and geographic areas of origin

Behaviors/activities you observed

The zoo environment, including weather conditions

How many animals were observed, and information like sex and age

Primate characteristics (species characteristics, reproductive patterns, social organization, if they are endangered, etc.).

2.) Museum Visit

Instructions: Visit a museum or science center related to the class’s subject matter. Include a ticket stub with your paper (you may take a picture and upload it on Canvas with the paper). Spend at least one hour making observations. Describe the exhibits you observed and how the information presented relates to material discussed in class. Some possible places to visit include The Egyptian Museum, Cal Academy of Sciences, or the Body Worlds exhibit at the Tech Museum. Include the following:

The museum you visited and exhibit you observed

A brief summary of the museum and its objectives

Identify the key themes, ideas, facts, or issues the curators set out to address by creating this exhibit

What did you like or dislike about the museum exhibit?

What historical or contextual material is included in the exhibit? What might have been included but isn’t?

Reflect on how information is presented at the exhibit, how it relates to class content, and background information about the subject matter from what we have learned in class

You may also include background research about the contents presented in the exhibit

This paper will be graded like an essay, so it should be formal and professional (you can use the words “I” and “me”, but keep this as professional as possible…avoid contractions, cliches, idioms, jokes, and formatting errors, and make sure you have correct grammar throughout).