Innovative camera trap project connects middle school kids from NC, Mexico and India
For immediate release ‐ May 06, 2015
For science, education, government and general news writers and editors.
Contact: Jon Pishney, 919.707.8083 / 919.244.7913. Images available upon request
RALEIGH — Imagine seeing, for the first time, a jaguarundi from Guadalajara, or a dhole from Mumbai, all from the comfort of a middle school classroom. A select group of Wake County Public School students and teachers have enjoyed just such an opportunity recently as they continue to participate in eMammal International, a project that connects school kids from North Carolina, India and Mexico through the animals they photograph (using motion-activated cameras called camera traps). An event celebrating this innovative project took place at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences on May 6 and brought more than 200 participants together to share their experiences and images.
eMammal International is one of nine new projects funded by the Museums ConnectSM program, which is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State that is administered by the American Alliance of Museums. The program links U.S. communities with communities around the world through innovative, museum-based exchanges that foster cultural understanding among community members, especially youth, while exploring topics of mutual interest, such as the environment, social inclusion and women’s empowerment, among others. In addition to raising cross-cultural awareness, eMammal International teaches students more about the scientific method and introduces them to intriguing careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields as they actively contribute to making new discoveries about how wildlife adapts to humans around the world.
Stacy White, Cultural Programs Division Chief at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, spoke at the event: “One of the things that we do at the State Department is people-to-people exchanges … and this is one of our most favorite projects because it says a lot about our country. You should all be very proud of yourselves because you are all citizen diplomats; you are ambassadors of your country. In participating in this project you’re sharing what you know and you’re learning about another place and another culture. This is about an opportunity for all of us to work together to make the planet a better place by understanding each other. We hope that this project has been planting some seeds that will continue to grow.”
The international project, led by NC State University post-doctoral researcher Dr. Stephanie Schuttler, expands upon the work of Dr. Roland Kays (Director of the Biodiversity Lab at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences) and his ongoing eMammal research, a citizen science project that uses camera traps to document animal population sizes and habitat use. The Museum (Raleigh, NC), the Bombay Natural History Society (Mumbai, India) and the Museo de Paleontología (Guadalajara, Mexico) have been working together to collaboratively engage children and their teachers while also generating data for scientists in each of these respective countries.
Early data has already proved intriguing, according to Kays. “The cameras have revealed a surprising diversity of mammals, not only in suburban Raleigh, but also in forests surrounding the Indian and Mexican schools. Raleigh kids (and scientists) were surprised to photograph a coyote on school property at Carrol Middle School, near the North Hills Mall. Outside of Guadalajara, the Mexican students’ cameras recorded some species that were also found in North Carolina — such as white-tailed deer, coyote and gray fox — but also two tropical cat species — ocelot and jaguarundi. The biggest wildlife came from the Indian cameras, which proved that tigers, leopards and dholes were using the same forest paths that local communities walked daily.” The project runs through June 2015. For more information about eMammal, visit http://www.facebook.com/eMammal and http://emammal.wordpress.com.
Since its inception and now in its seventh year, Museums Connect has linked American museums in 26 states and the District of Columbia with partners abroad in 45 countries, including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Mexico, Kenya and Morocco. This year’s grantees embrace the discipline and geographic diversity that is the signature of Museums Connect; locations new to the program include Cambodia, Honduras, Jamaica, Mongolia and Romania. Further information about the 2014 awardees can be found at http://www.aam-us.org/museumsconnect.