Chloe & Eilidh

Today we made pop-up animals with moving mouths. we had to choose from a selection of urban animals that live in Scotland. we chose a red squirrel and made a back story fro him (Sammy).

We learned how to use different techniques in art with paper and make them 3D using pop-art.

Next day we can do bigger  scence of pop-art using different animals and different techniques form today. 

Today we made pop up animal faces. The animals mouth moved and we gave them a back story. Our group made a fox called Edward and a wife named Wendy. We showed how shocking the world can really be and gave our story quite a gruesome side to it.

We learned  that cars are the  biggest killer of urban foxes and that you can add a mouth to any piece paper you want so you can let it tell a story.

next time we would like to try and have a hole pop up fox and not just a face.

Today  we learnt how to make a paper pop up with a moving mouth. We also managed to add perforations to give it an abstract effect. It turned into a hedgehog named Henry, we painted it brown and wrote a really sad story about him and his family. Holly did a good job when folding and adding the perforations. Holly didn't do a great job of the painting side of things. 

Oliver's Brief:

The Dwarf Wedgemussel (Alasmidonta Heterodon) is an endangered small bivalve mussel that lives in freshwater rivers scattered throughout the northeastern United States. The mussels rely on one of 3 three species of fish to help them grow to maturity by carrying their eggs. The male mussel will launch its sperm downstream, to be caught by the female. After many months the female will hold the larvae [glochidia] in its gills. When the mussel feels a fish on top of it launches the glochidia onto the mussels face[explain the lifecycle here]. [explain here: One of these species is the mottled sculpin.] Since waterways have gotten blocked off and/or they have gotten heavily polluted, the fish have abandoned their old routes for cleaner and more easily traversable routes away from the mussels. This has caused an even greater decline in their populations in the past few decades. The Mus-Bus provides a substitute for the fish, giving the mussels the final step in their maturing stage back. Our project uses tiny motors to propel a fake duck forward and to allow the model fish at the bottom to seem like it is swimming by the mussel habitats, hopefully picking up the larvae, also known as the glochidia. The mussel will launch its larvae into the river when it detects a fish swimming directly above it. The mussel deploys a fleshy lure, and when the fish swims above it and comes in contact with the lure the mussel shoots the glochidia onto the fish, where they attach to the scales using tiny hooks. The project uses sonar and servos to raise and lower a tiny model mottled sculpin that attempts to imitate its real-life counterpart as it is designed to be convincing enough that mussels will put their glochidia on it.

By working to save this species, the Mus-Bus upholds biodiversity, which is necessary for balance in the ecosystem. It prevents other, potentially invasive, species from acquiring too strong a grasp on the environment. It raises interesting questions and hopefully provides an answer about how other species will react to imitations of life, and if whether they would shun them or believe in them. By finding an answer to this it could speak about nature overcoming the ‘uncanny valley’, the feeling of discomfort humans have when they see an eerily lifelike replica of a human being. This could show how animals react to different species and whether or not the mussel specifically has a similar ability to recognize specific species of fish. Biologists, both professional and amateur, can use the project to study the behavior of the Dwarf Wedgemussel and its ability to recognize different species of fish. Our project uses tiny motors to propel a fake duck forward and to allow the model fish at the bottom to seem like it is swimming by the mussel habitats, hopefully picking up the larvae, also known as the glochidia. The mussel will launch its larvae into the river when it detects a fish swimming directly above it. The mussel deploys a fleshy lure, and when the fish swims above it and comes in contact with the lure the mussel shoots the glochidia onto the fish, where they attach to the scales using tiny hooks. The project uses sonar and servos to raise and lower a tiny model mottled sculpin that attempts to imitate its real-life counterpart as it is designed to be convincing enough that mussels will put their glochidia on it. Once the user deploys it in the water upstream from the mussel population in late April or early May they let it be and at the end of July use the embedded GPS to find and retrieve the duck with the fish attached. Other than that it is completely autonomous.  

Tinna's Brief:

Pollution from industry and agriculture, and manmade structures, like dams, are endangering the Dwarf Wedgemussel by limiting the number of fish in the mussels' natural habitats. During the Dwarf Wedgemussels’ reproduction cycle the mussel relies on the fish to provide a safe environment for the mussel larvae to develop. The reproduction cycle of the Dwarf Wedge mussel is: the female mussels launch the mussel larvae on to fish and the mussel larvae attach to the fins or gills of that fish. As they develop they stay on the fish until they become juvenile mussels. At that point, they let go and fall to the bottom of the river and keep developing into adult mussels. With this in mind, the Mus-bus aims to help the mussels reproduce by providing an artificial substitute for the fish.

The Mus-bus has two parts: a) an artificial fish made out of silicone and b) a hollow wooden duck. All the mechanics are stored inside the duck, i.e., the motor that activates the webbed feet that propel the duck forward; the reel; and the line that attaches to the fish. A GPS device ensures that the duck doesn't get lost and a sonar that determines the length of the line to keep the fish at the right depth. All the mechanical parts are powered by a battery pack that is inside the duck. The objective of the Mus-bus is to make the Dwarf Wedgemussel no longer an endangered species, Because if the Dwarf Wedgemussel disappears it will have a rippling effect on the ecosystem and other species. For an example, if the mussels go extinct algae will build up and lower the oxygen level in the water which could kill fish which would lead to food shortage which will affect us and other species.  This shows that it is important to maintain a balanced and diverse ecosystem and the first step is to protect all species no matter how big or small because we all serve an important role on this earth.

Hannah and I's 'House of the Hedgehog' Protects hedgehogs from the cold weather,  predator and from getting run over which is their biggest threat. It also keeps them comfortable at all times. It is made from waterproof materials to stop it from getting wet and cardboard for overall structure. The hedgehogs house will be filled with the hedgehogs favourite food and will be the perfect place for hedgehogs to live in.

In the hedgehog house we will put food out we will also make it nice and homely for the hedgehogs. When it's finished we will put in the Botanic garden and we will hide in the bushes so that the other animals will find it hard to see. Today we will add a obstacle  tunnel for the hedgehog to go in to the hedgehog house. 

We made this project for deer. We are doing it on deer for a couple of reasons. The first is that every other group did theirs on smaller animals like birds and squirrels. The second reason is that baby deer (fawns) get left on their own a lot when their mum's go hunting for food. When they are left on their own in the woods near roads its a big sign of danger for them because there are predators just waiting for them because they have no protection. Humans and cars are one of their biggest predators! We read a news article that took place a few years ago when a group of 17 year old's got fined £1000 due to stamping on a baby deer and killing it!

We are making a home for  fawns that may be left alone because their mum's leave to go get food. This leaves the fawns vulnerable to predators and other dangers like.... Our design for fawn shelter works as a small  den fort the fawn to fit in and feel cozy while the mum is away. The structure is covered in grass and leaves so it camouflages with with nature and is well hidden. We made this decision so that the structure does not stand out with bright colors or look unusual or out of place, appearing as natural as possible. We don't necessarily want people to know where it exactly is so the baby deer and the mum's don't feel exposed and frightened.

What we hope people will realize when they see our fawn den, is that these creatures are very vulnerable when their natural homes in nature disappear. We hope that people will feel more empathy by taking care of baby animals in the city grounds.

Our Birdie Crunch and Brunch of a Lunch (On wheels) creates a way for the public to interact with The Glorious Botanic Creatures of Glasgow. Both citizens and animals can benefit from this device. The Grateful Nature-felt botanic strollers will feel contentment as they interact with nature and in return, the wildlife get a healthy diet instead of inappropriate "Trash" food. 

From our food dispenser, Comforted Strollers will get  healthy seeds that  canto the squirrels and pigeons.

(Unlike  other vending machines this one looks at urban animals such as pigeons and squirrels. Our vending machine, unlike others, feeds creatures the healthiest option instead of unhealthy Quavers.

Red squirrels nests are cozy and efficient but in some ways they are not safe. If their nest is not camouflaged well, predators can break through easily. We have designed unique interconnected domes modeled out of paper mache for squirrels to feel safe in.On the outside, the domes are covered in spikes so that when something lands on the dome it will be put off. Additionally, the domes  are covered in varnish so it is solid and waterproof.We know that red squirrels like their nests in the forks of the branches so our dome is the right size to fit.

We got our inspiration from looking at man made domes and red squirrel nests. They like cozy areas and there heads must be covered. Our nests are originally designed to be installed in the john duff lodge area and are custom built to fit to the site. 

It took us a while to think but in the end we came up with the idea of safe havens for squirrels. We had many ideas we shared with each other and the teachers. One teacher suggested that once we make our final project it could go up to the john Duff lodge. We put a lot of sketches down on our jotters and started by using items to make domes. They didn't work out very well and when it got to the part about sharing our ideas and first prototypes we kind of failed, after all the only thing we made that day was some twigs put together.

After the weekend we came back to hopefully build something better than twigs. We learned about making a comfortable floor for the squirrels by weaving paper and wool. In a way it showed us how the squirrels make their habitat.  

The next few days we were making paper mache balloons because it was almost like a dome. We were layering up and painting the balloons and when we painted i got paint all over my hair. As we got closer we only got farther because we found out connecting tubes in the dome wouldn't work. So in the end we quickly varnished them and were left with 3 waterproof eggs.

The day we went to the botanical garden we didn't really get any visitors so whilst we waited we went around the park seeing the others projects.