At four workstations, students learned about the similarities and differences between humans and other animals, as well as about the field of evolution, especially human evolution. In a relaxed environment, they tried to place the body organs in the correct positions on diagrams of different animals. They compared the skeletons of man, chimpanzee, gorilla and the austrolopithecus Lucy and tried to place them on the evolutionary timeline. They sorted the animals themselves according to their main sense of smell and the type of blood vessels and breathing patterns.
Some of the students’ reactions:
“I liked the workshop. Apart from reviewing the material, I learnt some interesting facts and got a good impression of the differences between the organic systems, the skeleton in animals and in humans. I liked each workshop very much, but the one I remember the most was the one on the senses, because it was presented in a really experiential and sparkling way (lots of fun facts, confirmed by research). We also had enough time to look at the different models… It was a combination of fun and useful, and I enjoyed it very much.”
“I really liked the workshop. It was informative and fun. I learned a lot of new things that will help me in the future in my biology lessons and elsewhere. I am glad I took part and experienced the knowledge I gained through these innovative workshops.”
Coordination and implementation: Zala Vidic, Katja Zdešar Kotnik, PhD, Tatjana Robič Pikel,PhD, and Petra Golja, PhD, with the help of Biology first-cycle students Eva Kopač, Blaž Režonja and Neža Kokalj, and Biology second-cycle student Maruša Poje
