"To Save a Species" Wins Top Education Award
September 16, 2003
Inquirium-produced software earned the top Education Award at the 79th Annual AZA Conference.
Software produced by Inquirium LLC garnered the top Education Award at the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's (AZA) 79th Annual Conference.
Inquirium designed and produced the To Save a Species: Managing a Captive Population software for Brookfield Zoo's curriculum of the same name. The To Save a Species software is a simulation and database of animal populations designed to be used in Middle School and High School classrooms. Using the software, students take on the role of zoo scientists as they assess the genetic health of a population of animals and design a breeding plan to maintain the genetic diversity of the population.
The Education Award is given annually by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association in recognition of "outstanding achievement in educational program design,"judged on their ability to promote conservation knowledge, attitudes and behavior, show innovation, and measure success."
"Inquirium is unique in that they go beyond the computer interface to the underlying thought processes of users," says Keith Winsten, Curator of Education at Brookfield Zoo. "They make the work of our scientists approachable and relevant to learners by breaking research down into manageable tasks and then using software to help students fully explore and understand those tasks. The results are open-ended simulations which are authentic and engaging."
The software makes use of databases used by Species Survival Plan Coordinators across North America to manage populations held in zoos and aquaria throughout North America and the world. Inquirium designed a student-friendly interface for the database.
The To Save a Species software also includes a breeding simulation that enables students to set up and try different breeding plans. The breeding simulation, together with the database provides students with a hands-on way of real-world science.
This rich experience has allowed teachers to introduce their students to science in innovative ways. Jason Crean, a teacher at the Lyons Township High School in LaGrange, IL, was recently honored with a District 204 Innovative Educator Award because of his use of the curriculum and software. According to Crean,
The To Save a Species program [was] quite a motivational tool in working with my students... it [enabled] my students to formulate questioning technique, manipulate data, reason through the importance of data representation, and much more. The actual zoo data they use in the software component [helped] them come to the realization that zoos are a living laboratory and that these institutions are organized to save species who need our help. This is powerful, and this program has made this very real.
Although the software is designed to be student-friendly, it is based soundly in science. In fact, the software and curriculum are also being used to introduce professionals to the concepts of population management in a Florida college.
The software and curriculum are also currently being distributed and used by organizations around the world, thanks to a generous grant from the Conservation Education Fund of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. The grant has funded the development of a customized interface that allows other zoos and aquaria to enter their own animals into the database. In addition to the original species, Humboldt penguins, students can now explore and manage cheetahs, California condors, Amur tigers, Eastern Black rhinoceros, Siamangs, Malayan Sun bears, and the Sumatran orangutans.
The software comes with curricular materials, train-the-trainer materials, and a wide variety of animals in the database. Brookfield Zoo also provides professional development for teachers to learn how to use the software and curriculum.
The To Save a Species software and curriculum are available directly from Brookfield Zoo: http://www.brookfieldzoo.org
Inquirium LLC is a consulting company specializing in helping educational organizations design and implement innovative educational software. Inquirium is uniquely positioned as a company that has dual expertise in both leading edge educational research and leading edge technologies.