Videoconferencing Programs Let Students Explore the World Without Leaving the Classroom

摘要

Students on Long Island "ooh and aah" at a mother sloth grooming her baby. They observe the triumphant and tireless journey of leafcutter ants as they bring tiny pieces of exotic plant life back to their colony. They excitedly view footage, which is taken with night-vision cameras, of ocelots as they stalk their prey without human interference. The young explorers are full of questions, which are answered by research scientists located on Barro Colorado Island, a government-protected tropical rain forest in Panama that is managed by the Smithsonian's Conservation and Research Center.