Animals interact with and gather information on their environment using remarkable senses, from vision, to taste, to vibrations. Chat to researchers from the University of Oxford’s Department of Biology to discover the science of animal senses and meet the animals they work with.
Activities include:
Visually-guided flight in bird and drones
Birds are sometimes described as ‘a wing guided by an eye’. The Oxford flight group studies visually-guided flight in birds, and its applications to autonomous vehicles, computer vision and even wind turbine avoidance. Handle a hawk, see motion capture demos and bird-borne videos. Please note revised timings for bird of prey flying shows are 11am, 1pm and 3pm
Oxford Flight Group, University of Oxford
Vibration sensing in spiders
Enter the silent world of vibrations and discover how spiders sense web vibrations through their feet to detect mates and food. See the Animal Vibration Lab’s laser sensor and throw items into a giant interactive web model to find out what the spider ‘hears’ when the web vibrates.
Animal Vibration Lab, University of Oxford
Bees and their food
Discover bees and their food with the Oxford Bee Lab. Play interactive games and talk to members of the lab about their research and explore the bees’ remarkable senses of taste and smell. See the bees, their hives and bee-keeping equipment.
Oxford Bee Lab, University of Oxford
Animal behaviour adventures
Are you as clever as a crow? Explore your inner beast and learn about animal intelligence through interactive games. Notice animal behaviours around you – what might they tell you about yourself?
Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour
Storytime: animal behaviour
Join storyteller Sarah Law to hear stories about animal behaviour. From clever crows and mischievous meerkats to busy bees and house-hunting hermit crabs, find out if animals really behave in the way you think. Best suited to children aged 5-9 years. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Storyteller, Sarah Law
There are three arrival slots to choose from (10-11am, 12-1pm and 2-3pm) to ensure access to a flying display. Once on site, you can stay as long as you wish. The event closes at 4pm.
Saturday 22 October - 10am – 4pm
John Krebs Field Station, Wytham, OX2 8QJ
Pre-book, PWYD
Age 7 – 12, Teenage, Adult - Interactive
