Schedule for one day
| Check in with Research Base staff and register. (5 minutes) |
| Brief introduction to the Research Base and safety rules. (15 minutes) |
| Tour Research Base with one of our trained guides to learn about giant and red pandas and the research being conducted at the Research Base. Watch panda film. (90 minutes) |
| Tour our laboratory (30 minutes) |
| Learn and perform scientist duties for pandas. (2 visitors per Research Base staff member) (1½ hours in afternoon) |
| Observe a behavioral training session with a panda to learn how specimens are collected for analysis (30 minutes) |
| Award International Volunteer Certification and souvenir to visitors. (10 minutes) |
Your Research Duties may include:
Learn from our scientists and veterinarians how they perform artificial insemination to help giant pandas reproduce.With a microscope, look at panda sperm, disease pathogens, and other microscopic materials that our scientists use to understand and keep our pandas healthy.Visit a panda patient with one of our veterinarians, and learn how he/she is being treated. (If we have panda patient at the time of your visit).Learn from nursery house keepers and researchers how the Base perfected our ability to keep panda twins alive through "cub swapping". (Female pandas can only take care of one cub at a time, so when they give birth to more than one, they can only keep one alive. The cub swapping technique allows a twin to be pulled into a nursery and the second remains with its mother. After a few days, the cubs are swapped so that the nursery cub can spend some time with its mother, and vice versa)Learn how to examine hormone levels to determine whether females are in estrus or pregnant.Observe a behavioral training session with a panda to learn how specimens are collected for analysis.With gloved hands, laboratory glasses, and lab uniforms, visitors can help laboratory staff to grind up freeze dried panda feces and distribute into vials for preservation and possible future analysis.Learn how to cryopreserve sperm. Also in gloves, glasses, and uniform, using a grape as a substitute for sperm, visitors can place it into liquid nitrogen to learn how sperm is cryopreserved.Visit the technology department to view our panda website and publish your sentiments about our Research Base to let more people know about pandas and how to protect them.Schedule for Day Two (optional)
Perform Laboratory duties for pandas. (2 visitors per staff member) (1 hour in morning)Meet and learn from one of our behavioral researchers about panda behavior. With our education staff, learn how to do your own behavioral research project. (2 hours in morning, 2½ hours in afternoon)Analyze and publish your findings on our panda website (15 minutes) Do you have a question? Use our online support system! Simply click on the "live chat" icon, fill in the required fields and choose an available operator.
