Take your students on a trip to the Zoo without setting foot outside your own classroom! Using two-way videoconferencing technology, the Bronx Zoo can bring engaging programs for K-12 students right into your own classroom—live! All Distance Learning Expeditions include several live animal "guests"—gorillas, alligators, owls and more. Programs are 45 minutes to an hour and all include extensive teacher support materials. These time-tested, teacher-endorsed programs are aligned with the National Science Education Standards and have received rave reviews from students and teachers alike.
Size & Shape
Grades K-3, Approx 45 minutes
Why is a ferret long and thin? Youngsters consider this and other questions about how an animal's size and shape are related to its way of life. By observing a variety of animals, students discover some fundamental concepts about how size and shape help an animal survive. Students also draw conclusions about where an animal lives and what it eats.
Animal Colors
Grades K-3, Approx 45 minutes
This appealing program capitalizes on children's natural curiosity by engaging them in observation and deduction. Using visuals, games, and live animals, students will explore the role that color plays in animal survival. Students will learn that an animal's color may help it to attract a mate, to warn off other animals, and to hide from other animals.
Moves & Meals
Grades K-3, Approx 45 minutes
There seems to be no end to the ways in which animals move. Some slither, swim, hop, fly, run, crawl, and swing. In this lesson students explore the many different ways animals move about in order to find their food and to avoid becoming someone else's food!
Food Webs
Grades 4-6, Approx. 50 minutes
Each individual species is concerned with obtaining energy - energy to keep going, energy to grow, energy to reproduce, energy for survival. Starting with analyzing their own breakfast, students examine the flow of energy in living systems as represented in food chains and webs. Students discover the role of producers, consumers, herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores, as they build an actual food web.
Awesome Adaptations
Grades 5-8, Approx. 50 minutes
If you've been to a zoo lately, you
may have seen some odd-looking creatures and wondered why some animal
body parts are so unusual. In this program students will uncover the
mystery of land animals' feet. Adaptation, a challenging yet essential
concept, becomes clear in this program. Understanding how physical
adaptations are related to the environment will lead students to
additional insights, such as why an animal cannot survive when its
habitat is destroyed.
Leaping Lemurs! Conservation on the Edge
Grades 6-8, Approx. 50 minutes
Coming in Fall!
Take your students to the heart of Madagascar. Visit diverse habitats and explore the relationships between lemurs and their environments. Live cameras will transport your class to the Bronx Zoo's new Madagascar! exhibit, where students will observe lemurs, fossas, and a ring-tailed mongoose, and make decisions on how to best protect them and their native habitats.
Animal Colors
Grades K-3, Approx 45 minutes
This appealing program ..
Madagascar; Conserving Biodiversity
Grades 9-12, Approx. 50 minutes
Coming this Fall!
How do scientists protect the future of a species? Students will answer this question as they explore the diverse world of lemurs at the Bronx Zoo's new
Madagascar! exhibit. Live cameras will transport your class to our lemur exhibits, where students will explore the world of biodiversity. Through observation and classroom activities, students will learn what it takes to ensure a future for lemurs. This program has a strong focus on the role of genetics and geography in wildlife conservation, and includes visiting our fossa and ring-tailed mongoose exhibits.
Videoconference Demonstration
Teachers & Administrators, 15 minutes, Free of Charge
Is your school new to videoconferencing?
Connect with the Bronx Zoo to explore its Distance Learning Program.
Teachers and administrators will observe a live animal and have the
opportunity to ask questions regarding lessons and registration
policies and procedures.