Artis Trip

On 25th of November, the trip to Artis Royal Zoo took place. The day started off by attending a lecture by dr. E.A. de Jong. He spoke about how the name of the zoo has been derived from the latin ‘Natura Artis Magistra’ or the relation between nature, art and science and how this has played a key role in Artis since it’s opening in 1838. He explained that the zoo wants to redefine the relation between man and nature as nature and culture are inseparable and equal. The different ways of how we can approach nature in human life was very interesting.

Next, a lecture was given by microbiologist Jasper Buikx. His lecture focused on the recently opened Micropia. In this ‘microzoo’ we can have a look at the smallest creatures on our planet, the world of microbes. Buikx spoke about microbes in and on humans and, relating to the first lecture, how they are a part of us.

After these lectures, we had the ability to freely explore Artis. We visited the animals, but also the planetarium and aquarium of Artis, while doing an interactive assignment ‘Fighting, mating & caring by answering questions from a booklet. This gave you the opportunity to win a prize! We ended the day by paying a visit to Micropia, which was a very informative and fun experience. We definitely recommend paying Artis a visit!

Anniek Henselijn