Below you will find a list of games, posters, graphics and more that may assist teachers and students with rain forest ecology teaching and outreach. (These can be downloaded, but please be sure to acknowledge Dr. Meg Lowman and National Science Foundation for their use, and do not use them for sales purposes.)
- Organisms of the World – This poster illustrates biodiversity worldwide. The relative size of the organisms represents their biomass (translation: weight) on the planet. In other words, beetles comprise the largest weight of any group of organisms on Earth! In comparison, human beings are a relatively small amount of the weight of all organisms on Earth. Enjoy studying the relative importance of different organisms according to their biomass
- Cycles
– This poster illustrates the major ecological cycles for rain forests. This poster is printed in English and also in Spanish (coming soon), depending on which is most useful for your classroom. Nitrogen, water, energy and carbon all represent important cycles in forest ecosystems. - Rain Forest Benefits – Rain forests have important benefits to people all over the globe, even those of us who live far away from these ecosystems. Look around your classroom and household– you will find many ways that rain forest products affect your everyday life. Memorize at least 5 major functions of rain forests, and discuss these with your science class.
(Spanish Version) - Bromeliad Beetle Poster – This poster illustrates research on the bromeliad beetle, called the Nutmeg Beetle, in the canopies of Amazonian Peru. This beetle was discovered during Jason X and is written up in the book, Its a Jungle Up There (written by Meg Lowman and her 2 sons, Edward and James Burgess – published by Yale University Press, 2006). In scientific conferences, students often create posters to display to other students and scientists in order to share discoveries and ask questions.
Additional activites and educational tools are available on the Out on a Limb exhibit activites page here.