08/14/11

Frogs: A Chorus of Colors in NYC at American Museum of Natural History

The other day Susan and I ventured into New York City to see the traveling exhibit Frogs: A Chorus of Colors again at the American Museum of Natural History because we enjoyed it so much the first time we saw it. The exhibit features over 200 live frogs in re-created natural habitats, complete with rock ledges, live plants, and waterfalls.

If you live near NYC or need an excuse to visit the Big Apple, we highly recommend this exhibit, which runs until January 8, 2012. Most of the exhibits are at eye level for even the youngest kids, who had fun trying to spot the well-camouflaged frogs. They can also push buttons to hear frog calls, view videos of frogs in action, and even dissect a frog virtually with a program called Froguts. (Teachers take note: the kids were fascinated by this and several tried their hand at it.)

Here are a few things you will learn:

  • The Cuban tree frog is probably the smallest frog at only 1/2 inch in length
  • The cane toad lays 35,000 eggs in a single string
  • The Australian water-holding frog digs in desert soils and can remain underground for years
  • The world’s biggest frog is the West African goliath at 15 inches and weighing 7 lbs, as much as a newborn infant.

The stars of the exhibit were the dart poison frogs. Their  jewel-like colors warn predators not to eat them. One type of poison dart frog can kill 20,000 mice or 10 people with its poison, which is excreted through the skin. As the label on this exhibit says, “Don’t kiss these frogs!” The baby dart poison frogs, hiding in the palm leaves, were pretty cute. They were about the size of a fingernail.

Susan took some videos of the frogs in the exhibit:

 

 

 
Note: This is a partial repost of our original visit in 2009

10/30/10

Five Interesting Frog Apps for iPhone and iPad

Susan has taken a look at five of the popular froggy apps for iPhone, iPhone touch, and iPad. A few will teach you about frogs, one is for admiring beautiful frogs, and one is for fun only:

1. U.S. State Amphibians app

Want to find out what amphibians live in your backyard? Download the U.S. State Amphibians app by Scott W. Hotaling, which lists the amphibians of each state along with detailed information and a photo. You can zoom in on the photos.

Screenshot from U.S. Amphibians app

2. Frog Flip: Flashcards of Frogs and Salamanders

If you want to test your knowledge of frogs, check out Frog Flip by Proffitt Ink ,which has assorted pictures of frogs and their names, and then a little test section for memorizing them.

3. Frog Dissection

We’ve blogged in the past about alternatives to frog dissection.  One new app that’s been getting a lot of attention is Frog Dissection by Emantras for iPad, which received the Mark Twain Ethical Science Award from PETA. It is available on the iPad app store and features:

  • A virtual specimen
  • Clear instructions
  • Dissection tools like pins, marker, scissors, scalpel, and forceps
  • Touch-operated dissection
  • Dorsal (back) side of the specimen
  • Ability to open the external skin and muscles of the specimen using digital tools
  • Individual organs viewed in large 3D imagery
  • Below is a video introduction to the app. While most kids don’t have iPads, schools might buy a few for this purpose for kids to use for dissection. My college-age son Tim didn’t attend his biology class on dissection because he has ethical objections to dissecting any animals. A tool like this would have been ideal for him.

    4. Frogs!

    If you’re interested in amphibian eye candy, check out Frogs! , a slideshow of one hundred stunning frogs by different photographers. The app doesn’t provide information about the frogs or the photographers, but has lots of interesting photos. All the photos can be used as wallpaper by simply tapping the screen and pressing the “Save” button. This will save the image in your Photos app.

    screenshot from the FROGS! app

    5. Pocket Frogs

    Finally, if you need a break from all that amphibian study, check out Pocket Frogs. For the past two months, our google news alerts about frogs keeps coming up with stories about this new game. After a bit of investigation, it turns out that Pocket Frogs is a widely popular free app for the iPod and iPad.

    Pocket Frogs features lots of cute imaginary frogs and is a Pokemon-type game. You discover, collect, breed, and trade over 10,000 unique frogs. You can connect with other frog fans through Facebook or other online social media sites and it is fun.  We know because we have it!  With background music of the peepers, birds, and the sound of streams, it simulates being among them in nature. We hope it will put people in a froggy state of mind.

    If you know of any other fun,  interesting, or educational amphibian apps, please let us know.

    08/25/10

    Back to School: Alternatives to Frog Dissection

    Note: this is a rerun of last year’s frog dissection post, updated with new information.

    Remember that scene from E.T. when Elliott frees all frogs in his science class? Elliott reminds me of my younger son Tim, who probably would have done the same thing (without being inebriated)!

    This past weekend, Tim returned to college, where he is thinking of minoring in biology. He brought up an interesting issue: Would he be required to dissect an animal even if it is against his beliefs? Are alternatives provided for these students?

    When I was a student, I didn’t have a choice. In both junior high and high school, I dissected a fetal pig. Each student had his/her own animal to dissect.

    But with the rise of animals rights groups, PETA being the most visible, I wondered if times had changed. Do students have a choice? Are there alternative ways for students to learn about anatomy that don’t harm animals?

    I discovered a site called Dissection Alternatives (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) that explores these issues and offers lots of practical solutions. I was surprised to learn that research has shown that animal-friendly alternatives to teaching students about anatomy and biology are just as effective as the traditional methods of dissection. Computer software can now provide detailed, sophisticated graphics, interactive features, videos, and in-depth accompanying text to help students learn about anatomy.

    I was also surprised to learn that the majority of medical schools often use these alternatives rather than traditional animal dissection. In addition, The National Science Teachers Association recently amended its official position statement on animal use, approving the use of non-animal alternatives as replacements for dissection.

    Dissection Alternatives sponsors the Cut Above Awards, which honors teachers and students who have taken great leaps to adopt humane alternatives to dissection.

    cutabove_bigicon_001

    Dissection Alternatives provides information about the following:

    PETA also created a site to address dissection alternatives called TeachKind, which is loaded with information, and includes a video demonstration of Digital Frog 2.5.

    Virtual Reality Frog Dissection Software:

    Digital Frog 2.5

    V-Frog (from Tactus Tech).

    Froguts

    Operation Frog (Scholastic)

    Neotek Dry Lab Frog

    iPad/Ipod frog dissection apps

    Emantras Frog Dissection App  (available from iTunes store).

    If you have thoughts about animal dissection, or have experience using these or other dissection alternatives, please leave us a comment!

    08/24/09

    Back to School: Thoughts about Frog Dissection

    Remember that scene from E.T. when Elliott frees all frogs in his science class? Elliott reminds me of my younger son Tim, who probably would have done the same thing (without being inebriated)!

    This past weekend, Tim returned to college, where he is thinking of majoring in biology. He brought up an interesting issue: Would he be required to dissect an animal even if it is against his beliefs? Are alternatives provided for these students?

    When I was a student, I didn’t have a choice. In both junior high and high school, I dissected a fetal pig. Each student had his/her own animal to dissect.

    But with the rise of animals rights groups, PETA being the most visible, I wondered if times had changed. Do students have a choice? Are there alternative ways for students to learn about anatomy that don’t harm animals?

    I discovered a site called Dissection Alternatives (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) that explores these issues and offers lots of practical solutions. I was surprised to learn that research has shown that animal-friendly alternatives to teaching students about anatomy and biology are just as effective as the traditional methods of dissection. Computer software can now provide detailed, sophisticated graphics, interactive features, videos, and in-depth accompanying text to help students learn about anatomy. UPDATE: We recently learned about the first virtual reality frog dissection software called V-Frog (from Tactus Tech).

    I was also surprised to learn that the majority of medical schools often use these alternatives rather than traditional animal dissection. In addition, The National Science Teachers Association recently amended its official position statement on animal use, approving the use of non-animal alternatives as replacements for dissection.

    Dissection Alternatives sponsors the Cut Above Awards, which honors teachers and students who have taken great leaps to adopt humane alternatives to dissection.

    cutabove_bigicon_001

    Dissection Alternatives also provides information about the following:

    PETA also created a new site to address dissection alternatives called TeachKind, which is loaded with information, and includes a video demonstration of Digital Frog 2.5.

    If you have some thoughts about animal dissection, or have some experience using these dissection alternatives, please leave us a comment!