Education Resources

Elephants live together in communities called herds. Each individual elephant in the herd has her own personality and things that make her special, just like we do! Join the National Zoo to learn more about elephants and how to celebrate the differences that make us all special!

What makes you who you are? It’s important for young learners to feel good about themselves and their futures. Grab some paper, small objects and scissors and get ready to explore identity and create a collage self-portrait with the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

Have you ever wondered where the Zoo keeps the food for its animals? It's called the commissary, and it's a large grocery store just for Zoo animals! First, watch the video of keeper Antar and Pinky Jackalope as they chat about what food the animals eat. Follow along as they prepare a special birthday meal for Zahra, the gorilla. Then, download the lesson below to create your own gorilla birthday!

¡Aprendamos más sobre cómo elegimos los alimentos que nos gusta comer con una famosa amante de la comida: la Chef Julia Child! Este recurso ofrece contenido para jóvenes estudiantes que incluye:

• Cómo Julia Child aprendió a cocinar y hizo que la comida elegante fuera accesible para todos
• Cómo las personas usan los jardines para cultivar sus propios alimentos hoy y en el pasado
• Actividades complementarias para ayudar a los niños pequeños a aprender más sobre la comida y la cocina

Let's learn more about how we choose the foods we like to eat with a very famous foodie: Chef Julia Child! This resource provides content for young learners that covers:

• How Julia Child learned to cook and made fancy food accessible to everyone
• How people use gardens to grow their own food today and in the past
• Extension activities to help young children learn more about food and cooking!

Help your students explore nutrition and healthy eating with this fun lesson. Talk about different kinds of food and then create your own favorite meal with the "Pick Your Plate" activity, based on MyPlate from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Gather your stuffed animals and make them a meal, just like Zoo keepers and employees do in the National Zoo commissary, where they store and prepare animal food. This activity includes creating your own Zoo Commissary Cookbook for your dramatic play space and a video of Pinky Jackalope modeling the activity with a National Zoo early education specialist.