Find science information on all the animals and plants topics that Science Alive covers. This includes education classes, resources we hire, exhibit examples, interesting animals and plants facts, fun activities, experiments, useful links and general animals and plants information.
Animals and Plants exhibit examples: See our exhibitions page for more
Largest Animal (Pepper's Ghost) - Through a peep hole visitors see the image of an Uttrasaurus Dinosaur. By using the Pepper's Ghost Principle, a whale is superimposed for the Uttrasaurus and relative sizes can be compared.
Insect Eyes - Look inside the head of a praying mantis and see how it might view the world through compound eyes.
Animals and Plants resources: See our resources section for more
Insects, spiders etc
Life Cycle - Butterfly & Beetle, Common Garden Insects, Butterflies & Moths – Pupae, Common Garden Insects, Butterflies & Moths – Differences, Huhu and Cicada, Butterflies & Moths – Differences, Common Insects, Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle, Spiders, Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle, Spiders and how they feed, Some NZ Butterflies, Common Spiders, Weta, Carnivorous Snails, Cockroaches, Locusts, Cicada, Lichens.
Birds
Town birds' nests and eggs, Whitehead, Birds' nests and eggs, New Zealand Wood Pigeon, Birds & Nests – photos, Little Owl, Birds & Nests – photos, Kea, Bird photos, Little grey Kiwi, Bird photos, Californian Quail, Bird photos, Australian Kookaburra, Hedge and House Sparrows, Little Blue Penguins, Finches, Spotted Shag, Starling and Sparrows, Pukeko, Blackbird and Starling, Red Billed Gull, Grey Warbler, Black Billed Gull, Tui, Pied Oyster Catcher, Tui and Bellbird, Kingfisher, Bellbird, Kingfisher and nest, Shining Cuckoo, Penguins, Long-tailed Cuckoo, Penguin photos.
Reptiles, mammals, etc
Rock Pool, Hare, Freshwater Fish, Squirrel monkey, Turtle, Skulls, Whales and Dolphins, Bird Skulls, Whale stranding photos, Bird Skulls, Rats and mice, Skulls, Stoat, Bones 'Hands On', Weasel, Bones 'Hands On', Rabbits.
Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over 1 million descendents.
Cheetah's can accelerate from 0 to 70 km/h in 3 seconds.
The blue whale can produce sounds up to 188 decibels. This is the loudest sound produced by a living animal.
The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee.
In New Zealand, Ryan Dickey found something interesting in the incubator at his Te Uku home. This is a rare genetic mishap, where stem cells that should have divided into 2, instead divided into 4 - creating 2 pairs of legs. This chicken mutation is not unheard of, but is definitely not common.
The New Zealand Science and Technology Charitable Trust
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In New Zealand, Ryan Dickey found something interesting in the incubator at his Te Uku home. This is a rare genetic mishap, where stem cells that should have divided into 2, instead divided into 4 - creating 2 pairs of legs. This chicken mutation is not unheard of, but is definitely not common.