Posted by Martha Petre in Animal Fun Facts,Animal Information
It’s that time again! What time you may ask? It’s time for a new series on our Education Blog! This series will focus on the animals that we house here in our education building. Most of the animals we use for our educational programming reside in the Children’s Zoo and are taken care of by their very knowledgeable staff. However, here in the Brown Education Center we do house a few select fish, invertebrates and reptiles.
So why not jump in head first? Let’s meet our plethora of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches (Gromphadorhina portentosa). This species of invertebrate hails from the island of Madagascar, off the coast of east Africa. They usually feed on fruit and plant material which they find on the forest floor.
Our Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches chowing down on some lettuce
Here at the Houston Zoo we have so many that we can’t even name them all! We have every size…from “Teeny tiny are you a piece of shrunken carrot?” to “My oh my you could be the national bird of Madagascar!”
These cockroaches may range in size from itty bitty to a small bird, however they cannot fly like other species of cockroaches. Their main way to ward off predators is to hiss! They make this noise by exhaling air through several breathing holes. Although both males and females can hiss, only males display unique horns on the tops of their heads which make them look more impressive to other males.
A male cockroach enjoying a fruit snack
These cockroaches can also use their hissing noise to attract mates. Can anyone say triple threat?
Here in the Education Department we love to use these inverts to bring to Adventure Classes, Critter Encounters, or on ZooMobiles. There’s nothing like engaging a group of students while simultaneously scaring the heebee jeebies out of teachers and parents!
Don't be scared, put your hand in there!
What do you think…would you touch our cockroaches?
Posted by Martha Petre in Camp,Classes/Programs,Education Office
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!
Posted by Leigh in Education Office
The Education Library at the Houston Zoo
Here in the Education Department, we maintain a library of books for use during our education programs. These books range from animal reference books and curriculum resources to storybooks and board books, and we use them for many of our programs, from Wild Wheels to Camp Zoofari. We currently have nearly 1800 titles, with multiple copies of many of them.
One of my roles in the Education Department is to maintain the library. This includes several tasks: putting the books back in order after Camp Zoofari, conducting an annual book inventory, and keeping the inventory list up to date by adding new books when we get them.
The newest additions to the Education library
Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the Friends of the Houston Public Library Children’s Book Sale. This is where the books that are “discarded” from all the Library branches end up for sale, with the proceeds benefitting the Library. Of course, the Zoo benefitted as well; with all the books costing $2 at most, we got 11 new storybooks for less than $15!
If you come to one of our programs, look for a book. If you find one, it has probably been on my desk or in my hands at least once!
