Toronto Zoo
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Steve Jones - What's New At The Zoo - January 2016 Edition
From:
schools
Date:
2016-01-26 5:00 PM
Subject:
What's New At The Zoo - January 2016 Edition
ZB7.6
Appendix 2
WHAT'S NEW AT THE ZOO!
E D U C A T OR S'
ED IT I ON
Zoo Field Trips – Exploring Nature’s Classroom
As you settle back into the school year, January is a great time to start
Hours:
Weekdays
9:30 am – 4:30 pm
planning your field trip to the Zoo! As a living classroom, your students’
sense of wonder and curiosity will be ignited as they explore the over
Weekends
5000 animals that call the Zoo home- ranging from the big to the small,
9:30 am- 4:30 pm
the fast to the slow, the furry to the feathery to the scaly, and everything
in between.
School Group Admission
Rates
Benefits of a Toronto Zoo Field Trip:
• 10 km of walking trails to explore in the natural setting of the
Rouge Valley.
• A captivating learning environment brings the curriculum to life
*Child Care Centres
Elementary:
Secondary:
Post-Secondary:
$8
$8
$9
$10
and allows students to make real-world connections through
observation, inquiry, and critical thinking.
• A great way to apply knowledge learned in class.
• Incorporates visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning.
• Encourages an awareness of how all life is interconnected.
• Inspires students to love, respect, and protect wildlife and wild
places.
• Supports conservation projects, with proceeds from school visits
supporting the operations of the Toronto Zoo, including on-going
conservation and education initiatives to protect endangered
species at home and aboard.
*Child Care Centres must be licensed
with the Ontario Ministry of Education
to receive the $8 admission rate.
A minimum of 10 children required. Excludes school holidays.
School Group Supervision
Ratios
PreK – 3:
4 – 8:
9 – 12:
1:5
1 : 10
1 : 20
Book Your School Visit!
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Discover the Zoo with your students this winter!
Have you ever wondered what happens at the Toronto Zoo in the
winter? A winter field trip to the Zoo is the perfect opportunity to find
out! While exploring the Tundra Trek and Eurasia Wilds, your students
will discover some amazing animals that are uniquely adapted to survive
in a cold environment. Winter is a great time to see giant pandas, polar
bears, Arctic wolves, snow leopards, and many more in their snowy
element! A few animals may even spark a discussion amongst your
students of how animals from warm climates can adapt to survive in a
cold environment.
Then, escape the cold and enter into the warmth of one of our five
INDOOR pavilions, which are collectively home to hundreds of
species of plants and animals from around the world! With fewer
visitors, encourage your students to take their time at each exhibit and
observe the interactions and behaviour of the animals.
Contact Information
School
416-392-5944
Programs:
Guided
416-392-5942
Tours:
Self-Guided 416-392-5932
Visits:
"We loved the
programming and Zoo
visit!"
-St. Jean de Brebeuf
Come prepared with your hats and scarves, but don't worry, warmth is only a short walk away!
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Check out the Winter Interactive Map to help plan your visit.
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Planning a Spring Field Trip… Book your Zoo Programming Today
Spring dates for workshops, panda programs, and guided tours are filling up quickly! Book today to reserve
your preferred trip date. Please click here, for more information about Toronto Zoo field trips, to discover programs offered, and to
plan a self-guided visit. Additionally, take a moment to explore the Zoo’s learning resources (elementary &
secondary), including teacher resources packages and self-guided tour scripts. These curriculum-linked
resources have been created to enhance and extend your students’ learning both in the classroom and at
the Zoo and are FREE to download.
To book your school visit
Self-guided Visits:
•
416-392-5932 or BOOK ONLINE
Guided Tours: Popular – Book Early!
•
416-392-5942 or email [email protected]
School Programs: Popular – Book Early!
•
416-392-5944 or email [email protected]
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Do you work at a Child Care Centre? Are you planning a field trip?
Licensed Child Care Centres* qualify for the $8.00 school group admission rate for children aged 3-12
during the 2015-2016 school year (excluding school holidays). On school holidays, licensed child care centres
will receive 25% off regular admission rates. Call Guest Services at 416-392-5932 to book your visit today.
*Child Care Centres must be licensed with the Ontario Ministry of Education to be eligible to receive the discounted school group admission
rate. A minimum of 10 children is required.
Toronto Zoo – Where learning comes naturally!
CLASSROOM CHALLENGE – Bundle Up For Polar Bears!
Celebrate International Polar Bear Day on February 27 by “Bundling Up For Polar Bears!” The Toronto Zoo
is challenging students and educators to bundle up in their warmest sweaters, socks, and toques and turn
down their school and/or home thermostat by two degrees from February 21 – 27, 2016. By ‘keeping it
cool,’ students will be reducing their CO2 emissions and raising awareness about how taking action now can
help protect the Arctic sea ice polar bears depend on for survival. Not able to turn down the thermostat, but still want to get involved?
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Students can make a Polar Pledge and tell us what action(s) they will take to reduce their impact on the environment and help save and protect polar bears and their Arctic habitat.
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To learn more about "Bundle Up For Polar Bears" and to register your school, class, or family, download the
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school resource package, visit torontozoo.com, or email [email protected]. Registering for
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Bundle Up allows us to track the amount of carbon emissions saved during the Challenge. Please help spread the word about the Bundle Up Challenge to your family and friends - more people participating = bigger impact!
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Take Action Today, Protect Our Planet For The Future!
SPECIAL EVENT – First Comes Love… (Ages 19 and up)
Educators... are you interested in an opportunity to learn more about parenthood in the animal world while
enjoying a relaxing night out?
Saturday, February 13 OR Sunday, February 14 – 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
The mystery of birth and parenthood has been explored throughout the ages and it's no surprise that many
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of the most interesting discoveries have come from the animal world. Join us for an evening of fascinating
facts on parenthood, including how the male sea horse, and not the female, carries their young or that giant
pandas only have 72 hours a year in which they can mate!
Our Valentine's Program includes a romantically inspired dinner, special animal encounter, an interactive
group presentation, and a tour of the Reproductive Labs led by our Reproductive Specialist Team! Proceeds
gathered from this program will be directed towards funding the Reproductive programs at the Toronto
Zoo.
For more information about this program and to register, please click here.
DID YOU KNOW?
CUTE ALERT – Baby Polar Bear!
Born on November 11, 2015, our female polar bear cub has just turned two months old. The tiny cub
was moved to the Zoo's intensive care unit (ICU) in the Wildlife Health Centre (WHC) shortly after birth
to give her the best chance of survival. While her mother, Aurora, demonstrated good maternal
instincts, it was determined that she was not producing milk to feed the newborn. Once the cub was
moved to the WHC, our team of veterinary staff and wildlife care experts began the process of
providing 24/7 care, including monitoring her temperature, weighing her, and feeding her a special
formula which has been perfected over time by the Toronto Zoo’s staff given their past experiences
hand-raising polar bear cubs, including Hudson and Humphrey.
Now weighing 2.8 kg, the cub is growing stronger and reaching new milestones every day. Her eyes
and ears are now fully open, allowing her to see, hear and explore her surroundings. She continues to
become more mobile, learning both how to place her feet correctly for walking and rolling over, and
enjoys ‘exercise time’ after each feeding. Her nose and foot pads are now black, her fuzzy white coat is
becoming thicker, and she is teething.
This polar bear cub has become a great ambassador for polar bears worldwide, highlighting the threats
of climate change to the Arctic and helping to spread the word on how each person can take action to
help save this magnificent species and many others. Toronto Zoo continues to be involved in a
collaborative research project involving multiple accredited zoos to understand polar bear reproductive
biology.
To learn more about her story and for her latest updates, pictures, and videos, check out the
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Zoo's Polar Bear Cub Update Webpage or follow us on Twitter @TheTorontoZoo, Facebook – The
Toronto Zoo, or Intsagram – The Toronto Zoo. For polar bear and Arctic-related classroom
resources, download the Zoo’s Polar Bear Teacher Resource Package or visit Polar Bears
International (PBI).
*Note: the polar bear cub is still within our Wildlife Health Centre and is not viewable to the public at this time.
CLASSROOM CONNECTI ONS:
Primary
• Investigation: How have polar bears adapted to survive in the tundra? Are their physical and
behaviour adaptations unique to only polar bears? Experiment with Blubber Gloves to investigate
how polar bears stay warm. Is it similar or different to how humans stay warm?
Junior
• PBI’s Polar Bear Tracker Map: Polar bear researchers are using GPS collars to track the
movement of polar bears in the Arctic and study the impacts of climate change. Explore the
distance travelled by each bear. Determine how far the bears travelled using references (e.g.
travelled around the school X number of times). How far did they travel in a day, week, or month? Is
that more or less than the distance the student travels? Discuss possible reasons as to why some
bears travel further than others.
Intermediate
• Critical Thinking: If the sea ice in the Arctic continues to decrease, can polar bears adapt to a life
on land?
Secondary
• Design Challenge: After researching the causes of climate change and its impact on polar bears,
design and construct a working model of a device that uses an alternative energy source. Describe
how the device would positively impact the environment.
Toronto Zoo is accredited by CAZA (Canada's Accredited
Zoos and Aquariums). Look for CAZA's logo whenever you
visit a Canadian zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you
are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent
care for animals, a great experience for you, and a better
future for all living things.
Toronto Zoo
361A Old Finch Ave
Toronto, ON M1B 5K7
Canada
torontozoo.com
For more information, visit www.caza.ca.
Copyright © 2016 Toronto Zoo, All rights reserved.
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Working together we can create a healthy environment for animals, plants, and people.
*Events, admission rates, and hours are subject to change without notice.
For general Zoo information, please visit torontozoo.com
We want to hear from you! Your feedback is important in helping us to continue delivering quality educational
programs/experiences. Contact us at: [email protected].
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