You've hear that humans have five senses, right? Did you know that there are actually more than five senses? Humans have five, but some organisms have other senses that we don't! Use the links at the bottom of the page to start researching how different animals sense the world around us. Choose one or two of the senses below to focus on and explore in more detail, OR challenge yourself to answer the questions for all of the senses below.
Vision
How does the human eye work? How are the eyes of other organisms different?
What colors can humans see? How many different types of cone cells do humans have? How many different types of cone cells do shrimp have? Do shrimp see the same colors as humans? Explain.
Some organisms, like snakes and caribou, can see light waves that humans can't! What are infrared and ultraviolet (UV) waves? How are snakes able to see infrared light waves? What do organisms that can detect these waves see that humans can't?
What is night vision? What types of animals have night vision? Why do their eyes look like they shine light at night?
Sound
What is ultrasound? Describe its frequency. How do animals use ultrasound? How do humans use ultrasound?
What is infrasound? Describe its frequency. How do animals use infrasound? How do humans use infrasound?
Smell
How do humans smell things? Why do some animals have a better sense of smell than humans? Which animals have some of the best noses out there, and why are they so special?
Touch
How do humans detect the sense of touch? Is the sensation of touch the same on your fingertips as it is on your face or on your knees? Why are there differences in humans feel things?
Taste
How do you know what things taste like? Does food taste the same to all people? Why do some people like broccoli but others don't? Do animals taste all the same things humans do?
Electricity
Humans are conductors, which means electricity can pass through us, but some animals actually create and sense electricity! What animals create their own electricity? Which animals sense electricity? How do they do this?
This is a great article for learning more about the senses and answering most of the questions.
This website has a variety of videos to get you started on learning more about the different senses and how humans compare to different animals.