Design a Wildlife Corridor

Provided by: WCS Education |Published on: March 1, 2025

Lesson Plans

678

Scientist Reviewed ↗

Synopsis

In this design challenge activity from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Bronx Zoo, students will learn about the need for wildlife corridors to help elephants travel to habitat areas that have been fragmented by roads and other human structures.
Students will plan and create a model corridor, adhering to design constraints and performing iterative testing on their design.

Related Teaching Resources

Subjects: Engineering

Authors: Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx Zoo

Region: Asia, New York City

Languages: English, Thai

View Resource

Teaching Materials

Positives

By giving students a real-world problem to design a solution for, they will be more engaged and invested in the design process.

Prerequisites

Students should be familiar with measurements for length and weight.
The resource is also available in Thai using this link.

Differentiation & Implementation

Before completing the challenge, students can discuss biodiversity and the importance of protecting species. This may help them understand why keeping elephants safe is an important project.
To access students' background knowledge, teachers can ask students if they have had any experience with wildlife crossing the road and resulting in danger for drivers and the animals.
Many students may benefit from having the design constraints posted prominently in the classroom or from having them written or printed on a sheet of paper.
Teachers can elaborate on and emphasize the importance of testing and redesigning solutions and the importance of failure. If a growth mindset is something students have background knowledge about, teachers can connect to this idea.
After completing their designs, or as a step in the redesign process, students can participate in a gallery walk and leave constructive feedback on the designs.

Scientist Notes

Teaching Tips

Standards

Resource Type and Format

Scientist Reviewed

This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.

Learn about our review process →

Related Teaching Resources

All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.

Cookie Preferences

Design a Wildlife Corridor

Synopsis

Teaching Materials

Scientist Reviewed

Related Teaching Resources