WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Is it possible to know what an animal eats just by looking at its teeth? Put your detective skills to use and find out with the help of the “Be A Tooth Sleuth” exhibit, now at the Oak Park Conservatory through August 28th.
The exhibit, organized by the Purdue Agriculture Exhibit Design Center, teaches children that mammals are carnivores, herbivores or omnivores and that there are different types of teeth and feeding habits for each. Among its features are animal skulls, including a tiny weasel and a polar bear.
The four-sided display is designed to appeal to children of kindergarten age through fourth grade and their families. It contains components, such as a touch-screen game, for the “tooth sleuths” to test what they have learned about mammals from the exhibit. They also can look at their own teeth in the Tooth Sleuth mirror and to determine their eating category.
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"Unraveling the mystery of wildlife behavior can be a fun and exciting venture," said Robert N. Chapman, a Purdue Extension wildlife specialist who created the exhibit with Rod N. Williams, an assistant professor of forestry and natural resources at Purdue University. "There are many things we can learn about how a mammal lives just by looking at a skull, like how they see and hear as well as what they eat and whether they are a predator or prey. The Tooth Sleuth exhibit shows how you can take the first step in becoming a detective into the secret lives mammals."
