- Zoos: A Historical Perspective from Smithsonian Institution Libraries
The National Zoological Park is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums.
AZA
From Erika Bauer, the Zoo’s first Fujifilm Curatorial Resident in Animal Care
May 2008
Every year in the United States, each state (plus a few extra jurisdictions, like the District of Columbia and American Samoa) selects a teacher as the State Teacher of the Year, who is recognized for his or her excellence in teaching.
As part of this recognition, the teachers (56 in all) have an opportunity to participate in several special activities in Washington, D.C., including a meeting with the President in the Rose Garden of the White House.
During their D.C. visit, the teachers spend one day with the Smithsonian Institution. For part of the Smithsonian Day, these 56 teachers split off into small groups for special break-out sessions at different locations. Some attend sessions at the various Smithsonian museums located on the Mall, and some attend a break-out session here at the National Zoo. This year, I was asked to develop an activity for the group of teachers who signed up to come to the Zoo.
OK, so no pressure, right? All I needed to do was develop a lesson for several of the most excellent teachers in the country. Yep, not at all intimidating.
Studying Animal Behavior
I wanted to provide the teachers with information they would be able to use in their own classroom activities. The teachers I would be addressing taught students ranging from first grade through high school. So the information I gave them had to be adaptable for a variety of learning levels. This was the first goal.
In addition, not every teacher came from a school that was near a zoo, so another goal was to give these teachers the tools they would need to develop activities for their students no matter what their location.
I worked with the Zoo’s education staff to coordinate the activity. We decided to present information about how scientists collect data for animal-behavior studies. The level of complexity in observational studies can be modified depending on the age of the students participating in the activity. And animals are all around us, so a zoo is not required for this activity. Students can observe the class hamster, the family pet, any of the animals that appear in the backyard, or whatever animals they happen to be exposed to in their lives.
We began the breakout session with a classroom activity. I presented a PowerPoint about why researchers study animal behavior, how we study animal behavior, and where teachers can find Smithsonian resources to support their own animal-related classroom activities. I stressed the importance of collecting data in an objective (rather than subjective) way, and shared some of the tricks of the behavioral research trade.
Then, after taking a little detour to visit the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat, we conducted a short behavior watch of the Zoo's western lowland gorillas. It was a crowded but rainy day, and the Great Ape House was jam-packed with visitors trying to get a look at the gorillas in their indoor enclosures, and avoiding the wet conditions outside.
Our behavior watch was brief, and the teachers got to experience just how tricky it can be to conduct observations in a zoo setting. We collected data as best we could, all the while trying to keep the gorillas in our sights while not tripping over (or standing right in front of!) other Zoo visitors who were as excited as we were to watch the animals.
After this activity, we all traveled to the Mall to reconvene with the other Teachers of the Year and provide feedback about the afternoon’s experience.
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| Some of the Teachers of the Year and me, after our behavior watch. |
Spending time with these teachers was a great experience for me. They really seemed to enjoy watching the pandas and getting to know the gorillas, as much as any youngster would. And they learned several brand new concepts about animal-focused science.
It was clear that these teachers were thinking actively about how they would be able to apply what they were learning to create activities for their own students. It’s a great feeling to know that one break-out session with a group of teachers can snowball quickly into a hundred more lessons for their students in the future. Pretty cool!
Free Resources for Everyone
One of the comments made at the feedback session really hit home for me. The Smithsonian Institution, which includes the National Zoo, produces a wealth of high-quality materials for educational purposes. Here’s the kicker: most of these resources are FREE. (As you might imagine, this is a particularly attractive feature to teachers, who are constantly trying to provide thought-provoking and engaging lessons to their students under often-remarkable funding constraints.) And the materials that are free aren’t just free to professional teachers—they’re free to everyone, including you.
Education resources
You can access many of the educational resources provided by the Zoo through this website, so spend some time exploring. Believe it or not, there are more than 16,000 pages on this site, so you’ll find plenty here! Whether you are planning a field trip for a large group of students, helping your own child with homework, or simply expanding your own knowledge, we provide plenty of tools for you.
Animal fact sheets, articles about current science initiatives, and interactive tools are available. For example, when you visit Conservation Central, you can design your own panda habitat online. (Incidentally, Conservation Central is sponsored by Fujifilm, which also sponsors my position here at the Zoo!) You can find curriculum guides on a variety of scientific themes as well as activity sheets that you can use during trips to the Zoo or in your classrooms.
Another fabulous feature of our website is the wide array of web cams that are available. You can sneak a real-time peek at what many of our animals are doing from any location, as long as you can connect to the Web. So not only can you read about the animals, you can see them, too—without even traveling to the Zoo. (Though personally, I think the full Zoo experience is well worth the trip!)
Now you know some of the not-so-secret Smithsonian secrets that I shared with 2008’s most exceptional teachers. Next month, I’ll share some of the information that I presented to the teachers about how behavioral research is conducted. To include all of it here would mean a very long diary entry, but if you’re interested in knowing how scientists study animal behavior, and how you can design a student activity or begin a study of your own, stay tuned.
