Visitors to Techniquest are being asked to put on their thinking caps and help decide the name of a brand-new ant exhibit.
The educational charity, which previously had a popular ant exhibit, revealed its new attraction to the public in June.
As well as being much bigger than its predecessor, the exhibit allows visitors to observe the colony and their ecosystem more closely, witnessing how the ants work together to keep their queen and nest alive.
Settling in a purpose-built tank, which is three meters wide and over a meter tall, the ants have access to a feeding tube and separate feeding station. The exhibit allows the ants to search for food, cut the leaves and carry it back to the nest.
While the ants don’t consume the leaves they cut, they farm them to grow a fungus which they then use for their meal.
The tank houses over 15,000 leafcutter ants from Trinidad, and as they are already hard at work making tunnels, the public will soon be able to see the ants make chambers across the display, such as a farming and nursery chamber.
To celebrate the new addition, Techniquest is asking its visitors to help name the new exhibit. On the weekend of 7–8th July, the public will be able to have their say when they visit the science discovery centre. They will also be able to vote for the new name on the Techniquest social media channels.
Lesley Kirkpatrick, CEO at Techniquest said: “We’re always looking at new ways to make science as educational, entertaining as accessible as possible for our visitors, and we’re thrilled to be bringing this new attraction to our exhibition floor.
“Our visitors input is critical to us, and we thought what better way to involve them than to let them have their say on what to name our latest exhibit.
“This is just one of the exciting additions we have planned for our upcoming season of interactive science, and we’re looking forward to announcing our summer plans just in time for the school holidays.”