COLUMBUS -- Whether it was teaching rats to make their way through a maze or studying the territorial traits of crickets, students in a science class have been learning all about critters big and small.
Columbus High School students in the animal science class have done several hands-on activities this year to find out more about animals and insects and their behaviors.
Several of the students were volunteering Saturday at the Erna R. Badstieber Paws & Claws Adoption Center as part of the class. There they helped clean and care for the dogs and cats.
Getting exposed to how and why animals behave the way they do is one of the main purposes of the elective class, said senior Katrina Brave Heart.
She said they have done several projects this year including one that involved her new pet, Master Splinter, a rat named after the fictional rodent from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Master Splinter was just one rat used in the classroom this year. Brave Heart said they studied the behavior of the rats as the rodents learned to navigate a maze and climb a rope.
Her classmate, Kendell Blahak, said the purpose of the experiment was to see how quickly the rats could learn those skills with positive and negative feedback. If a rat wasn’t able to make it through the maze well, it was left alone in its cage for a few minutes. But if it got through it quickly, it was praised and cuddled.
Brave Heart said they also have been learning about how animals show emotions, something she finds interesting especially because she hopes to go into a career as an animal psychologist or a vet technician.
While students said being in the class and getting to do hands-on activities like they have done is fun, it also is important to learn about animals to get a better appreciation of them.
“Animals are pretty much like us, but they just walk on four paws,” Blahak said.
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