Thursday was our day to visit the Glacier Run classroom with our Zoo educator Mr. Ben.  The students were introduced to the concepts of biomimicry-or how engineers/designers are inspired to create usable objects based on natural structures.  Students began to reflect on their own lives and the challenges they face day-to-day.  Some challenges include wanting to help mom carry in the groceries quicker or waking up earlier for school.  Students tried to think of animals that could solve their problems easier and brainstormed some animal inspired inventions as well. Thursday was also a great day to observe our animal training demonstrations: bears, tigers, and sea lions.  The students watched the training demonstrations and were able to ask the zookeepers questions as well.

Friday was full of fun! We rode the carousel saw gorillas and went to the playground (all before lunch)! After lunch we reflected on conservation and the actions that they can take to help save the planet. They also came up with a list of how the Zoo helps the earth in a big way!

We were visited in class by a ferret, white’s tree frog, and a ball python.

We also got to visit with our orangutan keeper Stacy who talked to us about ape structures and their rainforest ecosystem.

Each student got a certificate that states that they have completed School of the Zoo.  We will miss our students and look forward to meeting their families at science night in January.