Field of Wishes is a PIGVISION project aimed at young students and their teachers. Its purpose is to explore the potential of new teaching programs in the interface of art and science. The project included the production and distribution of 500 educational packages on animal behaviour to agricultural studies teachers across Australia, and has been supported by the Science and Technology Awareness Program (STAP) of the Australian Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science and Tourism.
From this page you may choose to browse through the educational package, or have a quick look at four experiments, which bridge the gap between art and science. The four experiments can either be integrated into a classroom theme, such as animal behaviour, pig husbandry, science, etc. They can alternatively be organised as a separate program. Particularly the fourth experiment is designed to offer an attractive event for a class celebration or the school's open day.

Who's doing what?: Research Strategy:

Two or three pigs are released into a paddock. The students study the pigs' exploration of the paddock by using small hand-held mirrors. Direct visual contact should be avoided. The teacher wears a mask and records the students' comments.

Curriculum Objectives:

• Introduction to the theory of animal behaviour.
• Aspects of communication and body language.
• Basic observation and development of a terminology of pig behaviour.

Inside and outside the object: Research Strategy:

Wildlife observation often requires a hiding cabin. Both students and teacher build a simple cabin inside the paddock using a frame and paper. Objects are brought in from home. They can be quite large, such as a bicycle, a pram, a chair, a tyre, etc. The objects have to be wrapped in paper before being placed in the paddock. Video recordings and photographs should be taken of the pigs' exploratory activity.

Curriculum Objectives:

• Introduction to feeding behaviour.
• The use of video and photographic recording in animal behaviour studies.

Looking for intelligence! Research Strategy:

A 5x5 plot grid is laid over the paddock, and bricks or wooden logs are placed on all 25 corners. When all students are blindfolded the teacher hides food (popcorn or pieces of fruit) underneath three bricks/logs and marks them with a balloon. The time is measured between the release of the pigs until each discovery of a food hiding place. The teacher also records the time whenever students signal that they believe a pig has found a food hiding place. The experiment has to be repeated five times, and the data graphically illustrated.

Curriculum Objectives:

• Introduction to learning behaviour and animal intelligence.
• Measuring a variable and presenting data graphically.

The poetics of measuring... Research Strategy:

For this final experiment every student receives a balloon filled with helium gas, and a label attached to it with a string. The students are encouraged to write a private wish onto the label. The balloons will be fixed to the ground by placing a brick or a wooden log on top of the label. A piece of fruit or popcorn is also hidden underneath the brick/log. Subsequently, pigs are released into the paddock. They will start turning the bricks over in search for the food, releasing the balloons and the wishes into the sky. The experiment consists in measuring the time it takes until the last balloon has taken off.

Curriculum Objectives:

• This experiment can be run on an open day or at a class celebration.
• Presenting a research theme for a public audience.
• Basic statistical analysis of recorded data.

In order to be listed in the table below you will have to run Block No 4, and e-mail the results. Photos are welcome, and the best will be shown here. But feel free to provide a link to your research documentation, even if it focusses on other themes.