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Zoo project is no child's play
Bedford academic in animal study
An academic from Bedford has co-authored a new study showing the positive impact zoos can have on children.
Dr Eric Jensen, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Warwick, lives in the Castle Road area of Bedford.
He co-authored Science Learning At The Zoo, a first-of-its kind study at London Zoo with a fellow academic from Aalborg University in Denmark.
Dr Jensen said: "It is clear from the primary school pupils' drawings that they have developed a greater knowledge of animals in their habitats as a result of participating in London Zoo's educational activities."
The project saw Dr Jensen and fellow academic Dr Brady Wagoner study children who took part in the zoo's formal learning project.
Youngsters aged between nine and 11 were asked to draw pictures of animals in their habitats at the beginning of their zoo visit and class session.
They then completed the same task directly afterwards.
After the sessions the children's meerkats 'moved' from forest homes to more accurate desert dwellings.
Jaguars also gained spotted coats, after appearing without them in the original drawings.
This was the first time such a study has ever been undertaken at a zoo.
London Zoo has around 120,000 school children through its gates each year.
The study also showed the effect the media can have on children's understanding of nature.
Pupils taking part in the study originally drew sloths as living in icy habitats, which some noted they had seen in the Hollywood movie Ice Age.
The students then depicted the sloths hanging upside down in a more accurate rainforest setting after attending the zoo's education session.
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Monday 13 February 2012
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