Catawba College students enrolled in a fall semester honors course titled “Primates at Play,” have had some opportunities to enhance their classroom learning thanks to recent field trips.
This course, taught by Dr. Amy Holmes, an assistant professor of psychology, is an exploration of human and nonhuman primate play behavior and the effects on physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development throughout the lifespan.
Trip to Duke Lemur Center
Catawba students who have been researching play theories and discovering the differences between play and non-play behaviors visited the Duke Lemur Center in Durham in early September to participate in a tour called "Enrichment: More Than Just a Toy!"
While there, these students learned about the importance of enrichment activities for the animals living at the center and observed the lemurs engaging with the enrichment activities. The students were able to observe these types of lemurs: blue-eyed black lemur, coquerel's sifaka, black & white ruffed lemur, ring-tailed lemur, and collared lemur.
Honors students who made the trip to the Duke Lemur Center included Zach Alford, Ashley Bornkamp, Madi Dolchan, Brooke Freeman, Ryan Frick, Amanda Johnson, Heidi Mueller, Samiyah Rasheed, Hannah Ryan, Kelly Sandoval, Suzu Sidney, Tom Singhgolden, Liam Wallace, and Abby Walters.
Trip to N.C. Zoo
In late September, Dr. Holmes’ students in this same honors course visited the N.C. Zoo in Asheboro to attend a workshop entitled, Playful Pedagogy. The workshop presenter talked about the importance of play with regard to learning and development. Catawba students completed a cardboard challenge where they created transportation made from cardboard, painted with water, climbed rocks, used loose objects to create games and songs, and made clay figures to protect the forest. Students were challenged to use their imaginations and nature to engage in play. Honors students who attended this workshop were Zachary Alford, Madison Dolchan, Ryan Frick, Amanda Johnson, Samiyah Rasheed, Kelly Sandoval, Suzu Sidney, Tom Singhgolden, and Liam Wallace.
