Exploring the Relationship between Animal Behavior and Consumer Products: Developing Critical Awareness through Classroom and Home-Based Experimentation

Abstract

This article presents a series of exercises using consumer products to teach students and children basics of the scientific method. Ants and honey bees are used to test the effectiveness of popular magnetic field insect repellents, domestic house cats are used to determine preferences for litter and litter box sizes, and earthworms are used to determine the significance and effect of soil additives and compression. Suggestions on possible variations in experimental designs are included. Ethical questions raised by the use of animals in product development and environmental effects are discussed, as are issues related to critical awareness of how consumer products are marketed.