Zoo exhibit activity

1 Instructions

Students are to design two zoo exhibits for squirrels and mice. Each cage or exhibit has a partition to separate the animals. In Exhibit 1, the mice can move freely between both compartments, but the squirrels are restricted to one side. In Exhibit 2, the squirrels can move freely between both compartments, but the mice are restricted to one side. The designs must meet the following conditions.

• The animals cannot be hurt in any way. The design cannot use cats or anything that would cause harm or emotional stress to the animals. (Since this is a zoo exhibit, children will see it, and they won't want to see animals being harmed or distressed.)
• The animals cannot be restrained -- e.g., they cannot be tied or restrained in any other way.
• There are multiple squirrels and multiple mice; no solitary animals.
• Students are free to decide on the design, dimensions, and materials used for the exhibit, cage, or partitions.
• Students can make use of extra information that they look up about squirrels and mice, e.g., their eating habits, climbing or swimming abilities, etc.
• The designs can involve physical designs, mechanical devices, simple electronics, or other reasonable methods. They cannot involve anything unrealistic or extremely hi-tech, such as genetically modified animals, DNA scanners, or advanced engineering technology.

For Exhibit 1, an obvious solution is a simple 2 cm hole for only the mice to pass through. However, the groups cannot just propose this idea, since this is so obvious; more creative ideas will be needed.

2 Presentations

Students will work in groups to come up with the best ideas. Then the group will present their ideas to the class, with each person presenting at least one idea. The group component of the grade is based on collectively coming up with the best ideas possible, and giving equitable and balanced presentations, e.g., so that each presenter's presentation time is not excessively longer or shorter than the others in his/her group. Each person presents one of the group's ideas, so each group should present at least 2-3 ideas for Exhibit 1, and 2-3 ideas for Exhibit 2, depending on the group size.

3 Evaluation

Each person gets an individual presentation grade (a minor grade), and a group grade for overall group performance (also a minor 10-point grade). Presenters and groups are graded based on the following criteria:

1. Creativity, originality
2. Clear explanations
3. Sufficient details & contents
4. Clear speaking & vocal delivery
5. Equal work and contributions by each member
6. Media: Good use of PPT, whiteboard, handouts, or other aids (For this, I only require using the whiteboard.)
7. Feasibility or practicality of ideas

I expect that each presentation should take at least one minute, approximately, though this may vary depending on the complexity of the ideas.