What happens to a seal who has a toothache? How does an orangutan get a checkup? Wild Medicine invites students to Join our team of veterinarians and other animal health professionals to explore how animals go to the doctor, just like us!
This virtual school program is part of Conservation Classroom, a collection of monthly lessons for K-5 students. Each lesson has four elements: wonder (video), engage (live virtual program), act (activities), and connect (video). Follow along with all four parts or pick and choose the videos and activities you want to explore.
K-5
Supports NGSS K-LS1-1, 3-LS1-1, 4-LS1-1
Health, animal care, veterinary medicine
Patterns, cause and effect, systems and system models, structure and function
Free
Wonder
I wonder... Do animals at the Zoo go to the doctor? Bring your curiosity along on an exploration of the Zoo's animal hospital.
Me pregunto... ¿Los animales del Zoológico van al médico? Traiga su curiosidad a explorar el hospital de animales del zoológico.
¡Próximamente vídeo en español!
Engage
February 19, 2025 at 2pm Eastern
In this free, live virtual program, students learned about animal health while watching an animals get a check-up!
Program is hosted in Zoom webinar. Please note: audio and video are disabled for participants, but students can still engage via polls, chat, Q&A and emojis. The program recording will be made available approximately 48 hours after the live program. Need to watch sooner? Check out last year's recording.
Language & Access: English, Spanish (simulcast), American Sign Language interpretation, and live English captions.
Act
During the program, take doctor's notes on the two animals we will be viewing. Use one exam sheet for each animal. After the program, draw yourself as a veterinarian conducting an animal exam. You can also compare medical tools and practice reading radiographs. Share your drawings with us at nzp-education@si.edu.
Click here for the Early Learners Exam Sheets
Hojas de actividades disponibles en español: Chequeo veterinario. Comparta sus dibujos con nosotros en nzp-education@si.edu.
Connect
Meet Veterinarian, Dr. Katharine, and Veterinary Technician, Dave, whose patients include animals big and small throughout the Zoo. Their "unZOOsual" careers use biology and technology to keep animals at the Zoo heathy!
For Educators
Educator's Materials
Conservation Classroom: Wild Medicine is best suited for grades K-5. The full lesson consists of two videos, a live program, and two activities. Refer to the Smithsonian Learning Lab collection to help teach this lesson.
Letter to Guardians
After participating in the live program, print or send the following letter to guardians, explaining what their student learned in this lesson and how they can continue to engage from home.
Carta para el tutor
Después de participar en el programa en vivo, imprima o envíe la siguiente carta a los tutores, explicando lo que su estudiante aprendió en esta lección y cómo pueden continuar participando desde casa.
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