Meet Christen, Education Department Intern

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!

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/