Let’s Talk about Zoos, Baby
Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas
When it comes to education and zoos, parents and teacher can focus on three areas:
the hands on experiences that the zoo provides
the resources that the zoo offers
and the programs that the zoo offers
Feeding the Giraffes
Giraffes are amazing creatures. The giraffes height by itself is something to stand in awe of. When I was at the zoo, I passed by the giraffe feeding station. There were people lined up to feed the giraffes. The kids who were feeding the giraffes were loving it. From what I could see, people pay $3 if they are a member and $4 if they are not a member. They then send the people up onto a platform where they have food specifically for giraffes. The people feed the food directly to the giraffes. The giraffes seemed very happy to come over to the people when the food was offered. A few things to keep in mind: wash your hands after contact with the giraffes, giraffes should only be fed the food provided, and people should not pet the giraffes.
Children’s Farm
Who doesn’t love the opportunity to feed and pet animals? In a zoo, kids are so often told to look and don’t touch. The children’s farm allow kids to get up close and personal. The children’s farm is a great place to talk to kids about how to approach animals respectfully. Many animals are going to respond best when approached quietly and calmly. This is something that parents and teachers might need to model for kids.
The children’s farm includes an American farm and an African Farm. Kids can feed and pet the goats and sheep. Kids can also get close to a variety of different animals. The following link provides information about the different animals at the children’s farm: What's Here? Some kids might like to research the animals before visiting the children’s farm.
African Zoo
Resources
Nature STEAM Weekly Activities- This Sedgwick County Zoo website has weekly activities that focus on birds, rocks, sticks, leaves, water, plants, invertebrates, and after dark.
California Academy of Sciences- Teachers and parents can look for resources on this website and the search engine lets people search based on grades, language accessibility, subjects, science and engineering practices, and resource collections.
NAAEE Virtual Tours and Field Trips- This link provides teachers and parents with some great virtual tours.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Explorers Activities- This website has coloring pages, online activities, and craft ideas.
Sedgwick County Zoo Programs
Early Childhood Programs- The zoo offers a variety of programs for newborns to kindergarteners. Each program is different, but some of the activities involved in the programs include story times, visits from animals, pajama parties, and interactive educational activities.
Homeschool Expeditions- The zoo offers classes focusing on life science, animal science, and physical science for homeschool families with kids in grades 1-5. Parents are expected to stay for the classes and be involved with the classes.
Junior Behind the Scenes Tour- This program gives elementary students the opportunity to go behind the scenes.
Middle and High School- The zoo offers a program called Zooniversity for 13 year olds and a Zookeeper Apprentice Program for ages 14-17.
Learning Adventures- Some other programs offered by the zoo are summer learning adventures, adventures that take place over holidays, overnight adventures, family adventures, and adventures for adults.
A tip from someone who has been there.
If you, your family, or your class cannot make it to the zoo, one show on Disney + called Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom does a great job of telling the stories of the animals at Animal Kingdom. I liked it because it covers a variety animals and really shows the behind the scenes of Animal Kingdom.
