IN-PERSON VISITS
Please contact us if you would like to schedule a visit to the Primate Center’s Marmoset Learning Lobby (15-person limit per group, masks still required), or our Stem Cell Learning Lab at the Biotechnology Center (22-person limit per group). Please review other campus COVID-19 safety protocols before you plan your visit. You may also contact us to schedule a talk for your school or community group.
VIRTUAL LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES
- Watch our marmosets live on the Callicam and click on links to learn more about them!
- Common Marmosets at the WNPRC: Learn about the members of a common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) family and watch how they rear their infants. (No sound, with captions, 7 minutes, 2013.)
- Observational ethogram activity for home, classroom, zoo, or in the wild
- Are you smarter than a monkey? Try the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test right on your phone!
- WNPRC animal care word search
- Marmoset coloring sheet (with hidden objects)
- Request a virtual talk about the Primate Center with Q&A for your class or group! (See also Badger Talks and search “primate”)
- Let’s hear from our animal care staff about what it’s like working with the monkeys.
MORE PROGRAMS, LESSON PLANS AND OTHER RESOURCES
SUMMER PROGRAMS
- UW–Madison Summer Programs
- Curious Science Writers summer program for high school students. Learn more here.
YEAR-ROUND PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES
- Request a virtual talk about the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center with Q&A for your class or group! (See also Badger Talks and search “primate”)
- Animals in research and teaching at UW–Madison. Read, learn and discuss views on animal research, animal care, hot topics and more.
- Foundation for Biomedical Research
- Americans for Medical Progress
- Northwest Association for Biomedical Research’s Teacher Center. Most of these curriculum covering biology, genetics, virology, stem cells, ethics and more are designed for high school, however there are some for middle school and upper elementary school.
- Ted-Ed: What are stem cells? Video and curriculum produced by Craig A. Kohn in conjunction with the UW-Madison Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center and the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center. See also A starring role for nonhuman primates in the stem cell story (article) and Growing stem cells in the lab. (Video of basic stem cell culture techniques in a UW-Madison lab, general audience, 9 minutes.)
- Lab rat chat: A podcast to engage with the public about the necessity of humane and ethical animal research.
- Go behind the scenes at the WNPRC and other research facilities and COME SEE OUR WORLD!
- Additional resources for educators and learners from the National Primate Research Centers
- STEM virtual workshops for educators and other free resources for teachers from the USA Science and Engineering Festival.
Do you have lesson plans or ideas on how to incorporate biomedical research into your teaching that we can share on this site? We are interested in biology, genetics, gene editing, virology, stem cells, bioinformatics, bioengineering, animal care, animal research regulations and ethics, and careers in biomedical research. Please contact Jordana Lenon with your resources and ideas.
COVID-19 RESEARCH BY THE NATIONAL PRIMATE RESEARCH CENTERS
Nonhuman primates, macaques in particular, have proven to be invaluable models for understanding transmission, pathogenesis, genetics and other characteristics of RNA viruses such as HIV, Ebola, Zika and now COVID-19. Vaccines and other medical treatments informed by nonhuman primate research have prevented countless deaths from viruses and other global infectious diseases. Learn more here and also here.