Maryland Day: Using Trivia to Teach Local Ecology

March 27th, 2024

How does a scientist teach local ecology to your 90 year old grandma and her great grandchild at the same time? You make it fun (and offering prizes doesn't hurt)!

My fellow graduate students and I did just that at the Biological Sciences' Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution Wildlife Quest tent during Maryland Day at the University of Maryland.

At this tent the general public gets the opportunity to learn about local Maryland ecology in a variety of ways:

1. Touching and feeling local specimens such as taxidermy, preserved pelts, and realistic model animals and plants allows the public becomes familiar with the wide variety of organisms that call Maryland home.

2. Completing a campus-wide scavenger hunt brings participants to spots where they can observe organisms in their natural habitats and draws their attention to the unique features of each location they visit.

3. Jeopardy-style Maryland trivia draws the attention of nearly every attendee as they enter the science-centered 'learning neighborhood' on campus, and is often the most popular and much anticipated activity at the event.

Maryland Day 2024 was the second year in a row that I was able to volunteer and I've found that the event draws in people of all ages. With thousands of attendees each year, it's the perfect opportunity to engage the public in accessible science that they can then pursue at home.

Peaking an interest with events like this is a stepping stone into the sciences and hopefully our attendees choose to take that next step.