Primary from Year 2 to Year 6
Depending on their diets, animals have characteristic teeth (or beaks) adapted to their precise function. Studying an animal’s skull and more specifically its jaw yields more information about how the animal feeds.
In most non-mammalian vertebrates, teeth are a tool for trapping prey or food and have a primarily prehensile role. In mammals, they are also used to tear up food. The shape of teeth vary according to an animal’s diet. In fact, you can obtain quite an accurate picture of an animal’s diet just by studying its teeth.
However, the notion of diet is quite vague because depending on their habitat, age and the season, species change up their menu quite a lot. Furthermore, not all vertebrates have teeth. The absence of teeth in some mammals (anodontia) can be seen in species such as the leatherback sea turtle which does not have teeth but does have a powerful bird-like beak. Birds do not have teeth but do have a beak or bill which come in lots of different forms adapted to various types of food.
Assisted by the facilitator, children will carry out an investigation of the many different skulls in the museum. Another activity will explore the topic of food webs in fun and informative ways.
Workshop aims:
- Learn about the teeth of vertebrate animals
- Learn the characteristics, functions and adaptations of vertebrates’ teeth
- Discover the difference between the teeth of different mammals
- Study human teeth
- Identify different diets
- Draw up food webs and learn the concept of ecological balance
During the workshop, the facilitator will present a selection from the Museum of Bordeaux collections including a host of osteological pieces. Participants will also be introduced to learning resources specially devised for the workshop.
To book a workshop of The Museum comes to you and on all administrative matters, the secretariat is listening to you.
By phone: 05 24 57 65 30
By e-mail: museum@mairie-bordeaux.fr
