Monique Minter picked the squirrel monkey for her Denver Zoo science project because it was “small and cute.”
Spoken like a seventh-grade girl with a baby sister.
But Minter was all business after that Wednesday evening, during a celebration to cap off middle-school scientists’ two- week projects at the zoo.
Minter’s five-kid team was among 16 finalists selected from more than 200 animal-behavior experiments run at the zoo in the last few months.
Her team didn’t win one of the top four awards, but it was fun to observe the animals’ behavior scientifically and to learn about what they do in the wild, she said.
The best part, though, was designing a new enclosure for the zoo’s squirrel monkeys, based on the group’s findings.
“They needed more space, and we didn’t see any enrichment,” Minter chided, referring to objects that might incite curiosity in the monkeys or encourage them to be active. “And they like to be around water. We put a stream in their enclosure.”
No, Minter doesn’t want to become a scientist. “A lawyer. I’m argumentative,” the 12- year-old student at Park Hill School of International Studies said with a smile.
But the two-week animal-behavior project at the zoo gave her great respect for the scientific process of observation and analysis, she said.
“It works,” Minter said. “We know so much more because of it.”
Like the fact that when squirrel monkeys have an itch, they don’t scratch, they bite. And in captivity, the animals do better with their family around.
The students who won first prize – a team from Cresthill Middle School in Highlands Ranch – analyzed the behavior of the zoo’s reticulated giraffes and designed a snazzy new enclosure for them.
It featured a maternity area for mothers and babies, and shared space with zebras, giraffes’ compatriots on African savannas.
Members of the Cresthill team were genuinely enthusiastic when explaining their results and conclusions, but none of them wanted to become scientists, either.
“It took too much attention to detail, and I had trouble staying on task,” said Chelsea Rames, 13.
“I don’t have that much patience,” said Andrew Heaton, 13.
Susan Schmelzer, teen education coordinator at the zoo, was clearly frustrated with those responses.
“That’s our society,” she said, throwing up her hands. “We need to celebrate science more than we celebrate sports. Science should be on the front page. … It matters because these are the kids that are going to be taking care of the planet.”
Also on the winning team were Hannah Patridge, Alan Siu, Miranda Mason and Jacob Herlin.
Staff writer Katy Human can be reached at 303-820-1910 or khuman@denverpost.com.
