CONNECTIONS: Early Childhood Education and Elementary
- All classes are 50 minutes unless otherwise noted.
- Please note that there will be a $45.00 per class fee for any cancellation which is not rescheduled for the current school year.
CRITTER COVERINGS I
Pre-K only. Offered Monday through Friday.
September 1 through June 12. $4.50 per student.
If you want to sort animals, think of coverings! Visit Brookfield Zoo to learn how to recognize and categorize mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Hands-on activities, songs, and contact with live animals will help your students learn to sort animal groups.
CRITTER COVERINGS II
Grades Kindergarten and 1. Offered Monday through Friday.
September 1 through June 12. $4.50 per student.
If you want to sort animals, think of coverings! Visit Brookfield Zoo to learn how to recognize and categorize mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Hands-on activities, songs, and contact with live animals will help your students learn to sort animal groups.
HAMILL FAMILY PLAY ZOO
Birth through early elementary students. Open seven days a week year-round.
Free November 1, 2008 through March 1, 2009.
March 2 through October 31 $3.50 per child with adult chaperons free.
Visit this revolutionary new concept in zoo experiences for children. During this unique adventure, children play and interact with animals, plants and people as they develop caring attitudes toward the natural world.
Dinosaurs of All Shapes and Sizes
Pre-K through 1. Offered Monday through Friday.
April 3 to November 1. $4.50 per student.
Students will investigate dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes—from very small to very large. Compare yourself to an Apatosaurus and its baby. Learn how dinosaurs measure up against each other. Marvel at the vast variety of shapes, plates, and horns.
ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS
Pre-K through 3. Year-round. $4.00 per student.
NOTE: THIS CLASS IS 30 MINUTES IN LENGTH.
During this indoor class, students will meet and touch live animals. Information will be adjusted for the ages of students. The children’s interests and questions will guide a discussion about animals’ features, how they are alike and how they are different. Students will meet two animals during the class.
SEASONAL WILDLIFE FESTIVALS
Grades K through 3. Offered Monday through Friday.
September 1 through June 12. $4.50 per student.
A 1:5 ratio of chaperones to students is required.
Engage and delight students with a seasonal celebration! Festivals are 50-minute, instructor-led programs that include a presentation, exploration stations, and more!
Find out how animals adapt to each season and touch animal artifacts. Students will
meet a live animal.
BEARS
Grades Pre-K and K. Offered Monday through Friday.
September 1 through June 12. $4.50 per student.
A 1:5 ratio of chaperones to students is required.
In Brookfield Zoo’s Bears class, students will investigate artifacts and compare themselves to bears. After an introduction to bears, students will follow their instructor to the Bear Grottos at Brookfield Zoo to talk about our live bears. Please remember to dress for the weather.
GIRAFFES—HEAD TO TOE
Grades K through 2. Offered Monday through Friday.
September 1 through March 27. $4.50 per student.
Come learn why giraffes are “head and shoulders above the rest!” Giraffe artifacts and engaging activities will help students see how they measure up to this tallest of land animals. A chance to observe Brookfield Zoo’s giraffes will top off the day. Please remember to dress for the weather.
ANIMALS THAT FLY
Grades 1 and 2. Offered Monday through Friday.
September 1 through June 12. $4.50 per student.
Birds are not the only animals that fly. Learn about bats, insects, and other flying animals, and how they move through the air. Students will use artifacts and hands-on activities to discover more about the mechanics of flying.
ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS
Grades 1 and 2. Offered Monday through Friday.
September 1 through June 12. $4.50 per student.
What makes the “perfect animal”? Students will have the opportunity to find out as they build their own animals, touch animal artifacts, and meet a Brookfield Zoo animal up close and personal. After class, students and their chaperones can explore the park to find
animals that are perfectly suited to their habitats.
BATS
Grades 2 and 3. Offered Monday through Friday.
September 1 through March 27. THIS CLASS IS
90 MINUTES IN LENGTH. $6.00 per student.
A 1:5 ratio of chaperones to students is required.
Ready for the batty truth? Bats aren’t blind, they won’t fly into your hair, and they don’t—technically—suck blood. Students will have an introduction to bats and
bat artifacts. They will then accompany their instructor to Brookfield Zoo’s Australia House to conduct a bat inquiry while observing our live bats.
Dinosaurs Across the Ages
Grades 2 through 4. Offered Monday through Friday.
April 3 to November 1. $4.50 per student.
Move through time as you follow the progression of dinosaurs throughout the ages. March through the Mesozoic Era and visit dinosaurs from the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods.
ANIMAL BITES
Grades 2 and 3. Offered Monday through Friday.
September 1 through June 12. $4.50 per student.
Learn more about what different animals eat by exploring their teeth. Using observation, games, and hands-on activities, students will learn to sort animals into groups based on the foods they eat. Your students will have the opportunity to use real animal skulls to
practice identifying herbivores, carnivores and omnivores.
DESERT COMMUNITIES
Grades 3 and 4. Offered Monday through Friday.
September 1 through June 12. $4.50 per student.
Did you know that deserts get cold at night and teem with color and life? Your students will find out what’s so hot about deserts when they use inquiry to conduct experiments and meet a live desert animal. After your hands-on class, you are invited to take your students to The Fragile Kingdom where they will see first-hand what they have learned.
NATURE HIKES
Grades 1 through 8. Offered Monday through Friday.
May through October. $4.50 per student.
A 1:5 ratio of chaperones to students is required.
Held outside at Brookfield Zoo’s Indian Lake, this class allows students to explore the woods and lake area to find evidence of local animals, their homes, and other activity in nature. There will be hands-on opportunities with animal artifacts. Please remember to dress for the weather.
AFRICA: The Land, The People, The Animals
Grades 4 through 6. Offered Monday through Friday.
September 1 through June 12. $4.50 per student.
Come build an Mbuti dwelling, wear Maasai jewelry, and identify Gabbra household items. The awe and wonder of Africa await your students as they engage in these hands-on activities. Investigate three human cultures surviving in three diverse ecosystems:
The rainforest, the savannahhh, and the desert. After your class, you are invited to visit Africa’s famous animal ambassadors: gorillas, monkeys, giraffes, zebras, meerkats, and more.
WONDERS OF OUR WETLANDS: EVERY STUDENT IS A SCIENTIST
Grades 4 through 6. Offered Monday through
Friday. September through January. NOTE: THIS
CLASS IS 90 MINUTES IN LENGTH. $6.00 per
student. Maximum 30 students per class. A 1:5 ratio of chaperones to students is required. Suitable for inclusive classrooms—including students with visual, auditory, or physical disabilities.
What good are wetlands? Creative discovery stations and activities followed by a visit to Brookfield Zoo’s The Swamp exhibit—using interactive tablet PCs—will get your students knee-deep in all the cool things wetlands do. Students will learn how wetlands help control floods, shelter wildlife, purify water, provide recreation, and support human cultures. Dive in…the water’s fine!
SCIENCE INQUIRY
Grades 4 through 12. Offered Monday through Friday. September 1 through March 27. NOTE: THIS CLASS IS 2 HOURS IN LENGTH. $6.50 per student. A 1:5 ratio of chaperones to students is required.
Students are engaged in hands-on activities as they explore the inquiry method of learning. During this two-hour class, they will learn to develop comparative questions, gather data, and make presentations of their findings. The topics will vary. The class includes a visit to an exhibit to investigate animals and habitats. Please remember to dress for the weather.