Biodiversity Hall Guide

Key words

Review the vocabulary in bold throughout this guide (as appropriate to the ages and levels of students)

Classification

Familiarize students with dichotomous keys. See: www.amnh.org/resources/biodiversity

Ecosystems/Habitats (Web-of-Life game)
1. On index cards, copy the names of organisms from the Rain Forest Diorama (see insert sheet).
2. Ask students to sit in a large circle and take one card each.
3. Toss a ball of string to one student who reads aloud the name of the item on his or her card. Keeping a tight hold of the string, the student throws the ball of string to another student.
4. The second student reads out the item on his or her card and tries to explain how it might relate to the item on the previous card. Anyone in the group can offer suggestions and discuss the relationship. (Use photographs with younger students).
5. Keeping a tight hold on the string, the second student tosses the ball to a third student who repeats the process, then throws the string to another student.
6. Repeat until the ball of string is used up. The web created by the string illustrates the complex ecology of a tropical rain forest. Ask students to predict what happens to the web if certain items are removed, or become extinct. How might people affect some of these relationships?

Human impacts on the environment:
1. As a class activity, make an inventory of objects in the classroom.
2. List the natural materials used in each object. (Use photographs with younger students.) Where do they come from, and how easy are they to replace?
3. What does this tell you about our use of the natural world and our dependence on biodiversity? How might this differ for people in other countries?
4. To illustrate the concept of extinction, choose a product, such as wood, and invite students to come up with alternative materials for all objects made of wood or wood-related materials.

	The HALL ofbiodiversity
before your visit come prepared! key concepts and orientation background map of the hall before your visit while you're at the museum how to read the labels back in the classroom connections to other places in the museum links to New York State standards credits	Key words Review the vocabulary in bold throughout this guide (as appropriate to the ages and levels of students) Classification Familiarize students with dichotomous keys. See: www.amnh.org/resources/biodiversity Ecosystems/Habitats (Web-of-Life game) 1. On index cards, copy the names of organisms from the Rain Forest Diorama (see insert sheet). 2. Ask students to sit in a large circle and take one card each. 3. Toss a ball of string to one student who reads aloud the name of the item on his or her card. Keeping a tight hold of the string, the student throws the ball of string to another student. 4. The second student reads out the item on his or her card and tries to explain how it might relate to the item on the previous card. Anyone in the group can offer suggestions and discuss the relationship. (Use photographs with younger students). 5. Keeping a tight hold on the string, the second student tosses the ball to a third student who repeats the process, then throws the string to another student. 6. Repeat until the ball of string is used up. The web created by the string illustrates the complex ecology of a tropical rain forest. Ask students to predict what happens to the web if certain items are removed, or become extinct. How might people affect some of these relationships? Human impacts on the environment: 1. As a class activity, make an inventory of objects in the classroom. 2. List the natural materials used in each object. (Use photographs with younger students.) Where do they come from, and how easy are they to replace? 3. What does this tell you about our use of the natural world and our dependence on biodiversity? How might this differ for people in other countries? 4. To illustrate the concept of extinction, choose a product, such as wood, and invite students to come up with alternative materials for all objects made of wood or wood-related materials.
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