One of our young granddaughters is a raccoon fanatic. She loves, adores, lives, and breathes raccoons. Her local zoo just got a raccoon exhibit. Her reaction was akin to suddenly arriving at Disney World!
This got me thinking about animals in zoos. For young learners, zoos are a wealth of authentic project ideas. And many zoos have ways to visit many exhibits virtually. Which reminds me of when my class logged into the camera in the polar bear exhibit in an Alaskan Zoo. It was pitch black when we logged in, which made me think the camera was broken. Bummer. It was actually one of my students who realized that as it was early morning where we were on the east coast of the United States, it was still the middle of the night in Alaska! Authentic Teaching Moment!
But I digress… Zoos are a wealth of authentic topics. Learning about animals and habitats. Protected Animals. Endangered animals. Taking care of different animals. And students can pick an animal of interest to further investigate. My favorite is definitely the giraffe!
Back to the raccoons. I did wonder where the raccoons came from. Turns out they were rescue animals. This would be a great authentic project for older students. Where do zoos get their animals from? What is in place in different countries to protect animals in zoos? What organizations exist nationally and world-wide to protect zoo animals?
And in case you are wondering, I love giraffes, but their tongues are disgusting!
The Educational Journey 