Category — Photos

Meet Christen, our current Education Department intern:

Hey guys!  My name is Christen and I have a few positions in the Education Department here at the Zoo, but just taught my first youth program in November. The kids learned all about the relationships between animals and their mothers in “Does a Kangaroo have a Mother, too?” It was awesome watching my three-year-olds put facts and concepts together and understand that every animal on Earth, including the wildest of animals (of course, I’m talking about those three-year-olds) come from their mother and have a very special and unique relationship with them. They even got to meet (and touch) Keystone, our baby American Alligator! How many three-year-olds can say they have touched an American Alligator? What a great story to tell the family at Christmas!

Christen and Keystone get to know each other.

Of course, after such a great experience teaching my first class, I had to know what we were offering in December. The program is called “Bird Treats.” Are you ready for this? The kids get to make a bird feeder! Now, they are three-year-olds, so the bird feeder is comprised of cereal and popcorn, but what a cool craft! And they will be able to take that home with them and watch the birds eat it right in their own backyard, reinforcing everything they will have learned in the program. They will learn a lot about our feathered friends while they are here, and you never know, they might even have a feathered visitor!

“Does a Kangaroo have a Mother, too?” and “Bird Treats” are programs that are specific to three-year-olds, but we have great programs here for every age group and for the whole family, too! All of the educators here (tooting my own horn) are very talented and you’re sure to have a positive experience attending any of these programs. If you’ve never tried one, go ahead and check them out! You can find all of the information here: http://cincinnatizoo.org/education/kids-families/

Each summer camp season we challenge our campers to collect and recycle more cell phones than any other Zoo camper to get kids active in our Eco-cell program and build awareness about how our efforts can really make a difference in global conservation.  This year we had three young ladies–Cece, Lucy, and Avery– collect over 100 phones for our program.  Their efforts were rewarded a couple of weeks ago when they came to the Zoo for a special treat. They met Zoo Director Thane Maynard and interacted with Primate Team Leader Ron Evans and one of the gorilla groups. They took home a super-sized plush gorilla as a reminder of their contribution to gorilla conservation.

The girls meet Thane and their new plush friend.

How does recycling cell phones help save gorillas? Cell phones contain an ore called Coltan, which is mined in endangered gorilla habitat in Africa. Reducing the demand for Coltan lessens the negative impact the mining industry has on gorillas and their habitat. The Zoo’s Saving Species program recycled more than 19,000 cell phones through Eco-cell thanks to efforts of people like Cece, Lucy, and Avery. Got an old cell phone sitting in a drawer at your home? We’ll take it!

Have you ever been to one of our family sing-along programs? All children love music, but when you invite them to sing along and throw in some silly movements and props like scarves or hula hoops, it is transformed into a fully interactive and oh-so-cute to watch experience.

Family Sing-Along Fun

Our family sing-along programs, offered for children 1-5 years old (infants under 1 are welcome to attend with a paying older sibling) and their accompanying adults, strive to introduce children to the idea of experiencing music with their senses and their imagination. And we do it with a Zoo twist. Kids (and their parents) will dance around like falling leaves, find a good place to curl up and hibernate, fly through the woods like an owl, and much more. Plus, real live animals from our education collection will visit the classroom to allow an up-close and personal animal experience.

Live animal encounter

This program is offered in collaboration with Amanda O’Bannon of Miss Amanda’s Music Garden.  Pre-register for our October 27^th Family Sing-Along classes at http://cincinnatizoo.org/education/kids-families under Family Programs.