What You Can Do, What You Can See, and Activity Suggestions; or return to Tips.

You may want to use these questions for a whole-class discussion, or you may use them with the “Launch Question-Further Discoveries” activity suggestion.

North American Mammal Halls (Floors 1 and 2)
- Ask students to consider which animals appear to be solitary and which may live in groups. Do they see any patterns between which animals seem to prefer which type of lifestyle.
- Some animals have more than one common name such as the mountain lion. Take a class vote to see which name students are most familiar with. Why do you think the same animal may have many different names?
- Encourage students to look at the length of fur of each animal. Does it appear to match the type of biome it lives in?
- There are a number of different types of bears in the second floor North American Mammal Hall. What similarities and differences do students notice between these animals?
- Have students guess which mammals are carnivores and which are herbivores. Ask them to explain how they can determine this.

African Mammal Hall
- Ask students to identify the wettest climates in the hall as well as the driest. Can they find a pattern within the hall?
- Encourage students to note how many different animal species they see at the elephant watering hole. Why do they think this area would attract so many different animals?
- There are animals with a variety of different horns in this hall. Have students identify the different ways these horns can help with survival.
- Have students first study an ape such as the gorilla or chimpanzee. They can then compare it to one of the species of monkeys in the hall, such as the baboons in the tree. What similarities and differences do they notice between the two?