Explore the Animal Kingdom Series

Travelling through time and space

Curious goats in the streets of Wales, wild boars roaming freely in Haifa, endangered turtles returning to nest on deserted beaches in Brazil and dolphins swimming in Marsamxett Harbour. Wild animals that usually keep away from all the noise of busy cities and seas have been spotted exploring and experiencing the world in a different way.

In some countries, nature is thriving as a result of people staying indoors. But that’s not always the case. Creatures heavily dependent on tourists and fallen food scraps have had to leave the sanctuary of their homes to forage for food to avoid starvation. Pigeons, monkeys in Thailand and deer in Japan are just a few of such animals. In other parts of the world, people who have lost their jobs have had to turn to illegal hunting of wild animals for food. Quarantine and tourism restrictions also mean that there is less wildlife protection of endangered animals and not enough money to fund conservation parks.

But COVID-19, despite its negative impacts on every aspect of our lives, has given us what might be a once in a lifetime opportunity – to see the world as we have never seen it before. To make us reflect more on both the positive and negative consequences that human behaviour has on wildlife and nature ecosystems. The more we learn about our planet and nature, the more we can respect it. We need to realise the effect that our actions have on our environment. In the words of primatologist Jane Goodall “Only if we understand, can we care. Only if we care, we will help. Only if we help, we shall be saved.”

Nature is fascinating. The world is fascinating. These days, we might be confined to our tiny island, but that doesn’t mean we can’t travel the world to visit new countries, to explore spectacular natural phenomena and to discover the amazing animals that we share our world with. Thanks to technology, we can now travel anywhere with a simple click of a button.

We’re aware that the role of technology and the amount of time spent online is a controversial topic when it comes to kids and parenting. But there are some excellent resources which are not only educational but are also bound to keep kids engaged, inspired and curious about the natural world.

There’s no denying the wealth of knowledge easily accessible through the internet. But the internet is more than just an infinite book of knowledge. It has made self-learning more accessible, encourages collaborative learning and has also increased our opportunities to learn beyond the classroom and to interact with other students and experts from around the world.

Here are just a few resources that you can use to travel the world; through space and time.

• Become an explorer and go on an adventure around the world. Learn about the hieroglyphs found in Egypt, discover hot springs and monkeys in Japan, learn how tribes that live in the amazon rainforest use red berries to paint their faces. National Geographic Kids has more than a hundred short educational ‘Are We There Yet’ episodes freely available online https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/videos/are-we-there-yet/

• Visit a natural history museum free of charge from the comfort of your own home!

• • The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in America https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits
  • The Natural History Museum in the UK https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/virtual-museum.html They also organise live streams with scientists twice a week – check out Nature Live Online!
  • Heritage Malta has also gone online! You can now virtually visit the Gozo Nature Museum https://heritagemalta.org/gozo-nature-museum/ and the National Museum of Natural History  https://heritagemalta.org/national-museum-of-natural-history/

• Watch 360° National Geographic videos for a more immersive experience. Just use the hand cursor to look around and to feel part of a lion pride! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPyAQQklc1s

• If you’re more of a sea lover, why not go on a virtual 360° virtual dive with sea lions at the National Marine Sanctuaries? (https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/vr/) Or go on an underwater adventure with National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry to explore the Buck Island Reef.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v64KOxKVLVg

• Introduce your child to wildlife conservation & rehabilitation centres and how they differ from zoos. Organisation such as the Wildlife Conservation Society protects wildlife in the last wild places on earth. There are lots of organisations doing great conservation work – these are just a couple:

• • Wildlife SOS protects and conserves India’s wildlife. Learn more about their role here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClDVWIdbYk0mCnL9nkRHSxw/videos.
  • The National Nature Reserve in China is a panda lover’s dream come true.  Check out how pandas play! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc7mqsD_sWM

Make sure to explore local initiatives by NGOs to conserve Maltese nature such as Nature Trust, Birdlife Malta, Sharklab Malta, GreenHouse Malta and numerous other organisations. And plan some time to enjoy a beautiful walk at Salina Park or Foresta 2000!

• Researchers have set up live cameras all over the world, both above ground and below the sea, to observe nature from a distance. From the magical Aurora Borealis in Canada, to brown bears fishing in Alaska, we highly recommend that you take some time to go through the vast array of live cameras set ups. https://explore.org/livecams

The website also gives you information about where the live cameras are set up, as well as information on what can be seen.

• If your children are train lovers, why not take them on a beautiful train journey around the world? What makes it even better is that you get to experience it from the perspective of the Train Driver or Engineer!

• • Switzerland to Italy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw9qiV7XlFs
  • Norway The Flåm Railway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHuGHrzwlqE
  • Royal Gorge Route https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpcJ6jJlz6o

• Encourage your older teenagers to participate in one of National Geographic’s Explorers Classrooms which connect students with explorers across the world. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/education/student-experiences/explorer-classroom/ Explorer Classrooms events are available live every weekday at 8pm Malta time. Different sessions are recommended for different age groups. Check out this link for some recorded sessions:   https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwDYgc65Zhn4Jn7ls69Pqo1YleErp34Ft

• Use 3D Images and AR to enhance motivation!

Technology has the power to engage minds in ways which we could not have thought possible 30 years ago. One of these technologies is AR, which is increasingly becoming more readily and freely available. Virtual reality, which is less readily available due to the need of a VR headset, has also created a new way of learning. We use it often at the science centre to explain difficult concepts, or if we want visitors to have a fully immersive experience. Seeing the emotions on peoples’ faces when they travel back in time or to a different continent altogether in a blink of an eye is something that we cherish at Esplora.

Over the past two years, google has been improving its AR features. You may have noticed that if you google particular animals using your phone or tablet, google gives you the option of viewing it not only in 2D but also in 3d or AR (depending on the device that you are using).

The majority of phones/tablets support the 3d version, but not all devices support the AR feature. How can you check whether your phone supports it? Type in ‘dog’ in google and click on ‘view in 3D’. If your device supports AR you will have the option to ‘View in your Space’.

The below are screenshots taken from two phones – one that supports AR, and the other that can only view the 3D images. Notice that one image does not have the ‘View in your Space option’ and thus does not support AR.

(To show you what AR look like, we’ve also added some photos featuring a couple of very patient dogs who agreed to be our models for the day.)

These photos were taken by using the 3D feature on Google Search.

To check out more animals in 3D or AR, just swipe up and choose from the available animals.

• Another great google tool that we often use at Esplora Interactive Science Centre is Google Expeditions. It’s a free APP compatible with most phones/tablets and it includes AR and VR features. We’re focusing on AR for this part but you could also use Virtual Reality if you happen to have a VR headset available at home. If not, you can specifically tick the AR option and type in what models you want to see in 3D or AR.

Models range from large mammals to tiny bees and also Jurassic Animals! Simply download your preferred animal to view in AR, look closely at it from all sides and read some information about it by swiping up.

Similarly to Google’s AR features, Google Expedition’s AR only works on specific devices. If your device does not support AR, you will see the object on a white background as a 3D image. You can still look at the image from all sides and you can still change its size, but you won’t be able to virtually place the object on a surface in your home.

These photos were taken by using the Google Expedition app.

Let us know which resources you used to travel the world, and if you’ve taken some photos, we’d love to see them! You can send them to us as a private message or share them on facebook – don’t forget to tag us @esploramalta or #esploramalta.