It's a familiar sight in every major city: pigeons feeding on waste or being fed in a square. Less well-known are pigeons with deformed legs due to toes being trapped by human hair. Do pigeons belong in the city? What perspectives are there on this issue? What is your opinion? These are just a few questions addressed in this SSI. Also, how has the pigeon adapted to pollution in the city? How can you conduct research on pigeons? With these questions and their own inquiries, 195 students (aged 14-15) from AcademieTien dove in over the past few weeks. They learned how to conduct research: a social science study based on a question about the role of pigeons in the city. They also participate in an ongoing natural science study on pigeon adaptation in the city by Utrecht University. The kick-off for the 7-week project took place at the University Museum Utrecht. A wonderful museum for the curious. Students learned about various research methods by meeting researchers and exploring their inventions from past and present. And in such an interactive way that they start seeing themselves as future researchers.
During the day, there was an interactive lecture with pigeon researcher Wouter Schaake. He aimed to spark interest in pigeons with questions such as: What is the highest amount ever paid for a pigeon? (€1.6 million). How fast can pigeons fly? (160 km/h) What might have caused this evolution? With such questions, he placed the pigeon in an evolutionary and cultural context, presenting various perspectives from the past. He also elicited views from the students, ranging from "flying rat" to "A homie's pigeon."
During the weeks before summer break, students conducted research at various locations in the city to collect data to answer their social science and natural science questions.
The driving force behind this project is Myrthe van Dijk.
‘We actually want to use this SSIBL approach every year in our science curriculum. It fits very nicely and makes it very fun, because doing research can be very ballsy, stuffy and boring, but if you can actually influence the world as a student yourself, that is of course fantastic, so we are going to try to build that out further’.
It was a fantastic kick-off, thanks to the wonderful UMU and their logistics team.
