Did you know that all animals (and plants, viruses, and other organisms, for that matter) have official, international names that are in Latin (or Latinized forms)? The so-called ‘binomial nomenclature’ (from the Latin word “nomen” meaning “name”) are the official genus and species designations for animals in the scientific community. For example, canis familiaris refers to the common domestic dog. Last week students in Magister Stringer’s Latin II class spent an engaging period combining their learning of Latin with biology in BHS’ Science Center on an interactive scavenger hunt. Students were given a list of Latin sentences describing animals, their body parts, and their actions. Students then had to figure out which animals were being referenced and film themselves interacting with them as instructed by the sentences and then finally make connections to how those words related to some of the animals’ Latinized binomials. Fun and learning were had by all!
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