Diary Entry - January

 

The students really enjoyed the trip to Chester Zoo back in November and we were able to get a lot of useful information from the primate staff at the zoo. It has been a real plus to have the zoo involved in the design phase to highlight the needs of the animals in the materials of all the devices. We were able to see some great examples of enrichment not just in the mandrill enclosure but also with many of the other primates and animals. The students identified many behaviours of the mandrills including foraging, grooming and play. The enclosure of the mandrills is an excellent design and has given us a lot to think about in the designs of the devices. The zoo has asked for us to build 4 different devices to prevent monopolising by the dominant male.

December was a really busy month for designing the devices and the group work has been highly productive. During the design phase we have been lucky to be visited by Claire Willis from the Science Learning Centre, Durham who studied primate enrichment at university and worked with the students on their designs. Dr. Laura Grant of Liverpool University (and Discovery Channel fame) has visited us at the school to join in with the design phase. Her enthusiasm and passion for science education was inspiring for the students and a big thank you to both Laura and Claire for their efforts.

Also in December, Mr Aspden and two of the year 11 students visited Radio Teesdale to advertise the Primate Project, the Rolls-Royce Science Prize and to ask local listeners to get involved with donations to the project. The radio broadcast was interesting and both Jevon and Caroline handled the questions from the DJ with great self-confidence.

Over the Christmas holidays, the next tasks were to send the finished designs to Chester Zoo for their approval and to source supplies of materials including tree trunks and wood, metal bars and rope. This was a sensible plan until the record snowfall in the North East shut roads, the school and buried much of the materials in a few feet of snow. Being unable to get to or into school meant the designs for the devices didn’t go to Chester Zoo until the second week of January. Without the approval of the zoo we are unable to start building work on the devices. We are also still struggling to find tree trunks that have already been felled that are not still covered in snow.

We are currently recruiting for help from local community businesses who might be able to provide us with a supply of materials and/or help with the build. We have already been generously offered help from a local business called Rotters, a volunteer organisation in Teesdale. Our next priorities will be to secure more materials for the build and to organise when and how we will get 34 students to build the 4 devices in our technology department.

 

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