ASTC - Traveling Exhibitions

Animal Eyes
Do dogs see in color? Do cats see what we see? Do some animals have more than two eyes? Answers to questions like these are the subject of Animal Eyes, an exhibition that explores what we know about human and animal vision, as well as our ongoing quest to understand what animals actually see.

Five exhibit areas explore the different facets of animal vision. Different Kinds of Eyes focuses on various types of animal eyes and how they work, while Different Places on Different Faces discusses the position of animal eyes and how this affects what they see. Night Eyes delves into how animals see at night, and Seeing In Color explores how color is processed in the eye and which animals can see color. Finally, 3 Eyes, 5 Eyes, 8 Eyes, More looks at animals with multiple eyes. Featured components include two Wentzscope stations, hands-on human and animal eye models, two audio stations, and other interactive components.

The exhibition provides several educational resources, including a family guide; Braille, large-print, and Spanish translation of exhibition text; and a planning guide for teachers bringing field trips to the exhibition. The teacher's guide includes an overview of the exhibition content, including main themes and messages; a key to the National Science Education Standards; a simple, fun classroom activity; and some classroom project ideas for instructors who want to build the topic into their curriculum in a more significant way.