ZOO SCHOOL

The children had the opportunity to participate in a wonderful program sponsored by Petro-Canada. The children spent a week at "Zoo School." It was a full week of hands-on learning and up close encounters with a variety of animals. The children, teachers and parents were delighted to have this opportunity!

DAY ONE

WELCOME

•We were welcomed to the Valley Zoo on the morning of February 3rd by our Zoo leader “MRS. ZOO CAT.” The children settled into their "new" classroom and prepared themselves for a busy and learning rich week!

•In order to familiarize ourselves with the Zoo we had the opportunity to tour the Zoo facility.

•First stop for these children…the Birds of Prey! These children stopped for a picture with the Snowy Owls!

ZOO TOUR

CLASSROOM PETS

•On our first day at Zoo School we met Caramilk and Patches, two expecting female guinea pigs. The children enjoyed “checking-in” on them and anxiously awaited the arrival of the baby guinea pigs.

SEA LION ENCOUNTER

The children had the opportunity to have an “up close” interaction with the Sea Lions, Nauticus, Honi and Inga. We also watched the Sea Lions enjoy their lunch...FISH!!

PREPARING FISHICLES

•All of the children had the chance to participate in making a special treat for the Sea Lions; FISHICLES! All of the children looked at and then added a fish to the Fishicles. Later in the week, we had the opportunity to watch the Sea Lions play with and eat the Fishicles!

PRIMATE OBSERVATIONS

•The children were sorted into “Primate Groups" (White-Handed Gibbons, Squirrel Monkeys, Spider Monkeys, Cotton-Topped Tamarins and Red-Fronted Lemurs). A portion of each day was set aside for the children to observe their primate. The looked for types of animal movement, set-up of habitat and animal interactions. The children enjoyed watching the primates and collecting lots of information which we later looked at in the classroom.

DAY TWO

The children began their day in the Commissary (Zoo Kitchen). They learned about how the food is prepared and they learned about the "special diets" of each animal. The children quickly realized that many animals eat foods that are similar to their own such as vegetables, pasta and cereal.

ELEPHANT ENCOUNTER

The children met Lucy and Samantha, the Zoo’s Asian and African Elephants! They were very excited about being able to touch Lucy!

Children's Reactions:
"Lucy feels hairy."

"I didn't know she had hair on her trunk."

DAY THREE

TIGER ENCOUNTER

•We were able to get within feet of the tigers at the Zoo, Lashka and Rachelle. We learned that they are carnivores and we watched Wade (the Zookeeper) feed them and clean their enclosures. The children also got to watch the reaction of the tigers when perfume and cologne were sprayed in their enclosure. We discovered that the tigers are very possessive of their territory and were quick to respond to this "new" scent.

Children's Responses:
"Look! They are running around the whole fence."
"Hey, the tigers are going to the bathroom where the perfume was!"

TIGER ARTIFACTS

The children also had the opportunity to look at a tiger skin and some tiger bones including the skull of a tiger.

PRIMATE ENRICHMENT

On Wednesday afternoon each Primate Group had a chance to prepare an enrichment (present) for their primate. The purpose of this activity was to allow the children to observe the “reactions” of the primates with the introduction of this “present” to their environment. The children quickly raced around from one enclosure to another to see the reactions of the primates.

DAY FOUR

PATTERNS IN ANIMAL ARTIFACTS

We began our fourth full day at the Zoo by looking at some animal artifacts. The children focused their attention on the patterns in nature and in animals.

REPTILE ENCOUNTER

The children were all very excited about meeting some of the many reptiles that call the Zoo their home. What was even more exciting was that they had the opportunity to touch these different reptiles.

The children observed the two snakes; Darth the Speckled Kingsnake and Sygmund the Red-Tailed Boa Constrictor. They observed and noted several similarities and differences between the two snakes

CAMEL ENCOUNTER

The children learned lots of facts about Camels: Camels have fat in their humps that they can use when needed, camels have a clear eyelid so they can close their eyes and still see and many more. Each of the children also had the opportunity to have a RIDE on the Camel!!

DAY FIVE

BIRD ENCOUNTER

Our final day at the Zoo was devoted to learning about birds. We discussed the characteristics of birds, the kinds of birds and we also had the opportunity to see a “Flight Demonstration."

•We had the opportunity to look at a variety of bird artifacts. We looked at several bird feathers, eggs, as well as several different kinds of birds!

FLIGHT DEMONSTRATION

Rusty, a Zookeeper, introduced us to a variety of “Birds Prey.” Not only did he describe these birds to us, he also showed us how they fly!

We saw a Barn Owl, a Kestrel, a Peregrine Falcon, a Swainson Hawk and a Red-Tailed Hawk!

Everyone greatly enjoyed their week of learning at the Zoo. The children learned a great deal about animals and benefited from the opportunity to get so "up-close and personal" with such a wide variety of animals. The children brought back to school a wealth of knowledge and information which we continued to build on and extend for several months after the Zoo School experience.