Organization at its best!

Who says spring cleaning is just for the spring time? Over the past week the Education Department has been in a frenzy of “spring” cleaning. It has been about a week since our Summer Camp Zoofari program ended, and that means there is a massive cleanup occurring in the Brown Education Center!

In order to get ready for a fall full of programming we’ve taken on some big projects-painting, organizing, cleaning, redecorating, hauling…you name it, we’re probably in the process of doing it!

There’s no better way to prepare yourself for something new than by cleaning out the old…and the Education Department is taking that literally. We’ve taken down our temporary classrooms, reopened the exhibit hall, taken everything off of our walls in order to paint, spackled the walls, organized and put away all camp materials, cleaned our classrooms and reorganized our biofact rooms…phew! Who knew you could do all of that in just one week?

Bare walls ready for a makeover!

This process is very important, but we’re also in the midst of another important task post-camp…planning! We’ve been planning our fall programs all summer but it’s time now to start implementing those programs, writing curriculum and gathering supplies. The work sounds never-ending, doesn’t it? Well, we wouldn’t do it if we didn’t love it, and we certainly think it is a very important (and fun!) job to do.

 *Post makeover pictures to come in a later blog!

One of this summer's Camp Zoofari highlights was a visit to Dinosaurs!

We have been having a blast this summer.  It’s hard to believe, but we only have two exciting weeks of Summer Camp Zoofari left!  Our teachers are already starting to finish up their summer commitment, going back to their own classrooms and schools.  What has been a trickle of last days will soon become a river, and before we know it the summer-sized Education team will contract down to our usual year-round crew.  The end of camp is always bittersweet; we’re glad to have survived another busy season, but it’s sad to say goodbye to all our campers, staff, interns, and Zoo Crew.  (At least we know we’ll get to do it again next summer!)

Wild Wheels, our toddler program, returns in the fall!

We may get a brief moment to breathe when camp ends, but the Education Department never comes to a full stop.  The end of camp means the beginning of fall programs!  The planning is already underway for our school-year classes.  During the summer we focus on the 4-12-year-olds, along with our 13-17-year-old Zoo Crew.  During the year that range expands dramatically, with something for every age.  Adults, seniors, school groups and scout groups, teachers, home schoolers and preschoolers, we even have Wild Wheels for kids up to the age of 3.  I enjoy the planning aspect of this time of year; creating themes for the semester, arranging for special adventures within the Zoo, and selecting handling animals.  It can be challenging to find the time during camp, but we make it happen - you can check the program websites soon for fall information!

So as we say goodbye to Summer Camp Zoofari, we say hello to a full array of fall programming.  We’ll have a short pause to breathe - most programs start again in September – but the transition has already begun.

A Physical Challenge is always a great way to start a Friday!

Summer camp is a fun experience for campers, and we want every week to be exciting.  Our part-time teachers are the primay people responsible for the atmosphere in camp, and we want them to be enthusiastic every day.  This year, Victoria (our camp principal) devised a great way to get everyone’s energy up in the morning: teacher games! 

We have a morning camp meeting every day, and Tuesday through Friday our meeting now starts with a game.  The goal is to do something different every day.  So far, the teachers have done animal and zoo trivia, played pictionary and animal charades, identified movie quotes, and re-assembled the art carts.   On “Physical Challenge Fridays” they’ve tossed water balloons, thrown frizbees, and raced in jumping sacks.  The team with the most points at the end of the week gets a little prize. 

This week we came up with a diabolical plan.  (Insert scary laughter here.)  Throughout the summer we’ve quizzed the teachers on their knowledge of the principals and the full-time staff.  This week every challenge has been this type, which makes it more difficult.  Instead of competing for points, they’ve been accumulating items: hula hoops, balls, and frizbees.  Today their physical challenge relied on the use of these items to complete the challenge, giving the teams different advantages based on their earlier results.  The orange team, which had more hoops but fewer of the other items, succeeded in “crossing the ocean” first.  

It will be hard to top this week’s games for the remaining weeks of camp, but we will definitely try.  The teachers have been enjoying the competition, and the staff have had fun creating the games.  And the ultimate goal, getting everyone excited for the day, has definitely been accomplished.

Our newest camp innovation - an Art Cart!

Every year we try to find ways to make our Summer Camp Zoofari run smoother while making things easier on the teachers.  This year, one of our innovations is the Art Cart – rather, the Art Carts, as we have three of them.

At a program at one of the local hospitals, Victoria (our camp principal) saw their art cart. With wheels on the bottom and a plethora of art supplies, this was a way to bring all of the art supplies to the participants.  When the kids may not be able to come to the art, the art cart can come to them.

Doesn't it just make you want to create some art?

We’ve took this idea for camp and ran with it.  Last year, every classroom had their own set of scissors and glue, and teachers had to collect their own paints, brushes, and construction paper every day.  The art carts relieve the need for all of that.  Now, the teachers just sign up for a time for the art cart and pick it up when it is their turn.  They only have to collect the more specialized items for their crafts, which saves them time in the mornings.  It also means we only have to stock enough scissors and glue for one classroom worth of kids per cart! 

Each of our art carts has enough glue and scissors for our biggest group of kids, bottles of paint in 11 colors, paint trays and brushes, googly eyes, clear tape, a stapler, and a rainbow of construction paper.  Our camp interns have taken on the task of keeping everything neat and refilled.  And the teachers enjoy having a few extra minutes and a mobile supply closet that comes to them.

I would say our art carts are a success!!

Toad Trackers measuring a Gulf Coast toad!

Have you ever wondered what the Zoo would be like at night? Do you have an interest in conservation and amphibians? Maybe you’ve always wanted to become an expert field researcher during the summer? Well this summer you can! During Toad Trackers, a week-long summer camp offered July 19th and July 26th children ages 10-12 can become field researchers while spending the night at the Zoo.

In this brand new conservation education program, students become familiar with local amphibians and field research tools such as kestrels, GPS units, calipers, microchips and scales.  Students practice using this equipment in order to perform tests and measurements when they search for Gulf Coast toads on Zoo grounds during their overnight.

In May of this year we had a home school group join us to pilot the program. We had two very successful evenings of tracking toads on grounds, where we found about four gulf coast toads each night. Each student that participated had a specific job during the field research portion of the evening ranging from catching the toad and placing it in the bucket to sexing and weighing the toad. After the students performed their tests they handed the toad to an employee of the Conservation Department that specializes in amphibians, who placed a microchip in the toad. The microchip allows the conservation department to track the toads for several years. Both the home school group and our summer camp groups play an important role in gathering information for this research project. Not only do these students have the opportunity to become a field researcher for the week, they also contribute to one of the Zoo’s conservation projects.

 So, if your kids are like me and spend lots of time outside getting dirty and collecting snakes, frogs, toads, salamanders or any other wildlife to bring back home-this camp could be for them! Spaces are filling fast, so visit our website to register now: http://www.houstonzoo.org/camp/.

Written by Martha, Education Programs Specialist

It's almost time for Summer Camp Zoofari!

It may not be summer yet, but it is definitely on the horizon.  And you know what summer means for the Education Department – Summer Camp Zoofari!  Registration is open, and preparations are well under way.

For those of you who have read some of my earlier posts, you know two things about me when it comes to camp: I am the camp supplies guru, and I spent some time on grounds last fall thinking about new camp topics.  First, to the topics.

We kept some of our topics from last summer – why write new stuff when the existing stuff is still perfectly good?  A few of last year’s new camps sold out really fast (Bringing Up Baby, Island Hoppers, and Keeper Camp come to mind) so keeping those for this year means more people can have a chance to experience them!

We have some new, exciting topics debuting this year, too!  Toad Trackers, for our 10-12 year old age group, includes real field research on Zoo grounds.  8-9 year olds can take an Asian Expedition with us to visit elephants, red panda, Komodo dragon, and other awesome Asian animals.   The 6 and 7 year olds have a chance to explore some of the most remote habitats of the world in Natural Mysteries.  And Colossal Creatures for our youngest group should be tons of fun. 

Some of the camp supplies that arrived at my desk last year.

Now that we have our topics, the fun part for me begins: supplies!  I spent most of my day yesterday “shopping” with school supply catalogs covering my desk and at least 5 browser windows open to craft supply sites.  I know a lot of people like bargain hunting, but this is a little different.  When is the last time you did price comparisons for owl pellets or rubber fish replicas for fish printing?  But I got it done!  The list to order is finished, we’ll start placing those orders next week, and then it’ll start to feel like my birthday.  Boxes will arrive, I’ll get to open all of them and see what’s inside, and then I’ll have the task of finding someplace to put everything.

Camp Zoofari is 10 weeks long, and it takes a lot of supplies for a camp this big.  This year we had requests for more than 6,000 sheets of construction paper (in a variety of colors), nearly 4,000 googly eyes, and 2,000 feet of yarn!  And we have to get some odd things, too: pantyhose, plastic insects, golf balls, and a blubber mitt were also on the list, just to name a few.  But we find it, we make it, we order it, or we borrow it – there is very little that we end up needing to substitute.

So now that I’ve told you all about my part of camp planning, it’s your turn!  What are you looking forward to about Camp Zoofari? 

Summer Camp Zoofari is filling fast, so register your kids today!

Campers participate in lots of fun activities at Camp Zoofari!

Everyone wants to have fun plans during the winter holidays.  Maybe you’re heading to visit family, or going someplace snowy to ski, or even just hanging around Houston with friends.  This year, kids can take a trip around the world during Camp Zoofari!

We’re spending four days exploring some of the habitats of the world: dry, cold, wet and tropical.  Each day is a different topic, and every age group does different activities based on the same habitat.  We’ll be starting off in the rainforest, taking a dip in the ocean, drying out in the savannas and deserts, and capping it all off with polar explorations on our last day.

Unlike summer Camp Zoofari, you don’t have to take the entire trip during Winter Camp.  You can join us just to spend a day on the savanna, or maybe to take a cold-weather polar excursion.  Winter Camp Zoofari is a day camp from Dec 28th through Dec 31st for kids age 4-12.  If you want more information, check out our Camp Zoofari brochure.  We’ll be enjoying our trip around the world, and hope you or someone you know can come along!

Campers checking out lion enrichment

Camp Zoofari has only been over for a month, although it seems like it was yesterday.  But as soon as one camp ends, the planning for the next begins!

Our first planning efforts are for Winter Camp Zoofari.  This camp is structured like our summer camp, but instead of registering for a whole week, campers register by the day.  The dates for Winter Camp this year are December 28, 29, 30, and 31.  Right now, we are working on selecting our theme and the topics for each day. Each day has its own topic, and every age group learns about the same subject, which makes dinner conversation that night easy!  We won’t have registration open until we choose our theme, but if you are interested in Winter Camp Zoofari, keep an eye on the Education section of the Houston Zoo website.  We’ll have a page available soon!

While we’re all thinking of theme and topic ideas, we might as well keep our brains running on the same track and come up with camp topics for next summer at the same time.  We usually keep several topics from the previous summer and simply update them, as kids who took Scat Attack or Globe Trotters two years in a row can tell you.  A lot of campers come back every year (we did get voted Best Day Camp in Houston, you know) so we try to offer new topics and themes each summer. 

Learning about animals at Camp Zoofari

To that end, I spent an hour walking zoo grounds today, looking to our animals for inspiration.  They delivered, too – I came up with 5 potential new topics just during that walk!  Not every idea turns out to be a good one, and maybe only one or two will end up chosen for next summer, so I’m going to keep my ideas to myself for now.  I will give you a few tiny hints, though:  I took special note of tall birds, hoofed mammals, and range maps.     

Inspiration for topics can come from more than just our animals – perhaps you can help, too!  Are there any animals in the zoo that your kids can’t get enough of watching?  Any animal topics you’d like us to explore?

Want to live a day in the life of a Camp Zoofari camper? Now you can through this wonderful video created by Annie, one of our super fabulous camp interns. I’ll let the video speak for itself.

I think it captures a lot of our camp activities perfectly, but I’m just wondering when Art Linkletter and Bill Cosby came to the Zoo…?