Walking on the Wild Side: Our Zoo Day!

What an incredible way to kick off the week! Our Grade 1 classes enjoyed a fantastic day of learning and discovery at the Edmonton Valley Zoo. The sun was shining, the students were curious and engaged, and the adults were just as excited for the adventure!

Our morning was spent participating in the "Animal Movers and Shakers" program, which connected with our Science Energy Unit, helping us explore how things move. As we travelled through the zoo, we discovered the many ways animals move and the reasons behind their movements, from swimming otters and soaring birds of prey to prowling carnivores, slithering snakes, and swinging gibbons. Along the way, we learned about the unique adaptations that help animals survive and thrive in their environments. A special highlight was meeting Pepperoni, a blue-tongued skink, who is an omnivorous lizard with some remarkable adaptations. And yes, we got to see Pepperoni's blue tongue!

After lunch, students explored the zoo in small groups alongside our incredible volunteers. These smaller groups gave students the opportunity to spend extra time with the animals that captured their interest most. It was a wonderful way to follow our curiosities, deepen our learning, and enjoy an awesome afternoon together. 

One fact we were amazed to learn today is that the peregrine falcon, one of the birds of prey we saw, is the fastest animal on Earth, even faster than a cheetah! Even more surprising, though, was the fact that not a single student fell asleep on the bus ride home. Truly shocking!

Our students were incredible ambassadors for our school. Our zoo interpreter even reached out to express how genuinely impressed she was, sharing that our students were "some of the best behaved, most engaged and active participants" she has ever had! 

We're not surprised! These kids are incredible!

Our Zoo Adventures!

Zoo School was an INCREDIBLE week of learning! We had demonstrations, up-close animal encounters, behind the scenes tours, and so much more! Come share in our journey!

TUESDAY

We jumped right into learning with animal observations! Tasked with sketching and labeling, we observed the cuddling lemurs ...

... and then the mischievous gibbon!

We began the challenge of Zoo Bingo! This became a weeklong task that we eagerly worked together on:

WEDNESDAY

Today was all about animal adaptations!

We observed several skulls, focusing on the teeth. We enjoyed predicting if an animal was a carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore (like us!). Herbivore teeth tend to be flatter while carnivores teeth are sharp. We loved examining skulls from a beaver, tiger, owl, lemur, wolf, and even an elephant!

We met a milk snake named Nouvel, who eats mostly mice. She is a non-venomous snake with some interesting patterning. Her bright colouring mimics the patterns of a venomous snake to scare away predators. 

Next came Chutter, a burrowing owl. She spends most of her life on the ground, eating insects and mice. 

Meeting Frodo the tortoise was a highlight for many! He was surprisingly speedy and curious, and we were challenged to sketch such an active little fella!

We ended the day drawing comparisons between the adaptations of a tortoise and the adaptations of a sea lion! What a joy to experience these sleek swimmers! 

THURSDAY

Our focus today was training!

We learned about why the zoo trains animals to learn behaviours. We observed Hula the harbour seal and saw some of her trained skills. Her keepers even trained Hula to have her teeth brushed and receive eye drops!

We practiced training eachother using clickers and targets, much like animals at the zoo are trained. Trainers use positive reinforcement to teach behaviours that are helpful for the animal to know, especially behaviours used in feeding and health care. 

We visited the commissary, the kitchen that feeds all the animals at the zoo. We learned about carnivores, herbivores, omnivores, and more! We were excited to see the foods the zoo uses to feed the animals, peek at the animals' menus, and examine the meat cart and fridge. Can you spot the primate "cookies"?

We crossed paths with Lucy, the Asian elephant. Being almost 50 years old, Lucy is fully retired and is not out on exhibit for public viewing. She does go for walks to exercise and we were lucky enough to catch her special stroll!

Mystery animal artifacts got our brains thinking! There was lots of wondering, discussing, observing and sketching. We saw an elephant hair bracelet, zebra fur, bald eagle talon, Lucy's baby tooth, a beaver tail, and Lucy's poop! 

FRIDAY

Off the bus and straight to finishing our Zoo Bingo! 

We had an encounter with the reindeer. Their adaptations are amazing! Can your child tell you about their hooves? It looks a little like the reindeer are wearing high heels. Their feet spread out and act like snowshoes!

Using snow and veggies, we made enrichments for the chickens in the Urban Farm. Enrichments stimulate the animals' senses,  challenge them to problem solve, and add to their quality of life. 

We were such wonderful ambassadors of our school that we were allowed a whirl on the newly restored carousel!

Zoo School was truly amazing, and we came home absolutely exhausted every day! Yes, all of the walking was tiring and we also got heaps of fresh air, but a huge part of WHY we were so tuckered was because of HOW we learned. We explored, wondered, compared, observed, problem solved, predicted, and learned so very much. 

As we prepare to return to our classroom, we are so thankful for the opportunity we had to learn at Zoo School. Thank you to all of the adult helpers to supported our week, the incredible zoo staff, and our students, who rose to the challenge each and every day!

Our Zoo School Adventures!

What an INCREDIBLE week of learning! We had demonstrations, up-close animal encounters, behind the scenes tours, and so much more! Come see our adventures!

TUESDAY

We arrived at our zoo classroom and kicked off our week with daily animal observations. Students broke into in small groups to sketch, label and observe the lynx, gibbon, meerkats, lemurs and seals!

We learned about why the zoo trains animals to learn behaviours. We observed Hula the harbor seal and saw some of her trained skills. Her keepers even trained Hula to have her teeth brushed and receive eye drops!

After lunch, mystery animal artifacts got our brains thinking! There was lots of wondering, discussing, observing and sketching. We saw a wallaby fur, an owl wing, a replica of an elephant tooth, a beaver tail, a python snake pelt, and shoes made of sea turtle. 

Before heading home, we squeezed in a visit with Zuri, the sand boa! Her senses and adaptations are fascinating, and we adored meeting this non-venomous little constrictor!

WEDNESDAY

Off the bus and straight to feeding the river otters, Bow and Steve! We learned why we don't interact with or feed animals in the wild, as humans are river otters #1 predator. 

We visited the commissary. This kitchen feeds all the animals at the zoo! We learned about carnivores, herbivores, omnivores, insectivores, and frugivores. We were excited to see the foods the zoo uses to feed the animals, peek at the animals' menus, and examine the meat cart and insect room!

We met a beautiful royal ball python named Sid, a beautiful reptile who is 4 feet long! 

And finished our day with our small group animal observations!

We made MANY miles today all over the zoo and made lasting memories!

THURSDAY

We learned a new word today, "conservation", which means learning about animals and their needs and then finding ways to care for them. We talked about how our choices can help animals flourish or how they can be hurtful. We looked at several animal artifacts and had to decide if having the artifact HELPS or HINDERS animals. 

We saw a conch shell, coral, tagua nuts (ivory alternative), a seal painting, and paper made of elephant poop. 

Elephant poop was an animal artifact we can have that does not hinder the animal, and we were elated to get our hands on it!

We were thrilled to observe lemur training:

We crossed paths with Lucy, the Asian elephant. Being 48 years old, Lucy is fully retired and is not out on exhibit for public viewing. She does go for walks to exercise and we were lucky enough to catch her special stroll!

We took a peek at a sleepy little bearded dragon, Pumpkin, and made comparisons to yesterday's python, Sid!

Groups swapped animals to observe, sketch, and describe today! 

It was a beautiful, sunny day of learning!

FRIDAY

Our last day was fabulous!

We got busy journaling, writing little comics about our observation animals:

We met two animals with incredible senses and adaptations, Kevin the Western hognose snake and Chutter the burrowing owl. 

We learned about enrichments. Enrichments stimulate the animals' senses,  challenge them to problem solve, and add to their quality of life. Then we enjoyed watching rabbits in the Urban Farm received their enrichment:

Zoo School was truly amazing, and we came home absolutely exhausted every day! Yes, all of the walking was tiring and we also got a tonne of fresh air, but a huge part of WHY we were so tuckered was because of HOW we learned. We explored, wondered, compared, observed, problem solved, predicted, and learned so very much. 

As we prepare to return to our classroom, we are so thankful for the opportunity we had to learn at Zoo School. Thank you to all of the adult helpers to supported our week, the incredible zoo staff, and our students, who rose to the challenge each and every day!