Welcome! We are excited to have you visit. Minnesota Zoo Field Trip Our mission: To connect people, animals, and the natural world to save wildlife.
Your team has decided a Minnesota Zoo field trip fits into your school year and have selected a few dates. What next? First visit the Zoo’s web site at http://mnzoo.org/education/schools-teachers/ to view the Teacher Field Guide, fees, and consider adding a program. Register your field trip online or by email. Read through all confirming paperwork. Schedule the bus transportation as per your school procedures.
Add a program to your trip. Zoo Classes : These are 45-60 min in length. We offer a variety of topics and grade levels. Guided Tours: Minnesota Heritage Tour, Tropics, Aquariums, or Russia’s Grizzly Coast. Recommended for 4 th grade or older. Animals After Dark : Experience the ZzzZoo after hours in this awesome overnight experience. School Event Days : Spanish, French, Math and or a Zoo Career. Using the Zoo in a real world context.
Now, what to do at the Zoo? Visit our animal exhibits. Home to more than 4,700 animals in award-winning exhibits, you’ll tour along the Tropics Trail, Minnesota Trail, Northern Trail including the Russia’s Grizzly Coast, Discovery Bay (oceans) and the Family Farm (open seasonally). See the animal shows and encounters. Bird Show, Dive Show, Monk Seal Demonstrations and daily animal encounter talks. Add some at-the-Zoo activities . We have at-the- Zoo activities available; self-guided STEM Treks and math activities. Visit our Teacher Resources area on the education web page.
In-class preparation Visit the Teacher Resource page of the Minnesota Zoo web site to download free curriculum and in-class activities. Minnesota Quest Curriculum • STEM Quest Curriculum • Math Activity Curriculum • Have students visit the Zoo’s web page accessing the Animal Information with facts on what they eat, where they live and how they are doing. Use social media sites like the MNZoo monitored Facebook page for current news stories. In class use the zoo animals in spelling words, English projects, math problems, art work, and science studies. Have students select one animal to do more in-depth study and plan to visit that animal when at the Zoo.
Before your field trip Send home field trip forms. Collect payment, copies of membership cards and list of attendees. Plan to invite at least one adult with each ten students. Check the Zoo’s web site for any updates www.mnzoo.org Reread paperwork received from the Zoo. Prepare any student and chaperone materials. Some suggestions are; create a timeline schedule for the chaperone, have a students list for each leader, share cell phone numbers for emergencies and note your departure meeting location. Some schools use the MN Trek or STEM Trek packets found on the Teacher Resource page mnzoo.org/teachandlearn/teacherresources or create their own activities for use at the Zoo. Prepare boxes or brown paper grocery bags to hold lunches to be transported in. Remember to label them with your school name. Check the weather and send a reminder home for students to dress for being outside and to bring their bag lunch. Gather paperwork for final head count, payment, and emergency contact information. Remind yourself to bring your water bottle and comfortable walking shoes.
At school the day of your field trip Greet students and parents. Pair chaperones with student group and hand out student/chaperones information. Pack lunches in bags or boxes to transport them. Give last minute instructions, plan where to meet at the end of the field trip. Take attendance count of students from your classroom and all attending classrooms. Divide this number by 5 to obtain the number of FREE adults you are allowed. Take final count of all adults, including teachers. Any number over the free allotment pays chaperone admission. You will need these numbers to check-in at the Zoo. Load buses, give any last minute instructions to your bus driver . Away you go….
-Follow signs to bus drop off. -Lead teacher can go to the Zoo entry to begin check in. Watch for signs for school main entry from Sept-April and upper level entry April-June. There will always be a Zoo staff to help answer your questions. -Teacher/chaperones begins to unload bus. Students and chaperones group and enter the Zoo when ready. -Upon Entering chaperones receive Zoo maps and daily schedules. Arrival at the Zoo
Drop lunches off for storage Second teacher can lead group to lunch storage area. Jackets can be left during the winter months. Two eating areas are available at the Upper Tropics and in Discovery Bay, here you will find shelves, bins, and see the lunch tables. Remember you can eat anytime you need to, the Zoo has no scheduled lunch times required for bag lunches.
Ready to explore? . Start with the map. Choose a trail or follow the schedule from your teacher.
To make your visit more enjoyable remind students to- Take time viewing the animals. They might not have time to see everything, enjoy the trails they choose. Stop and watch at each exhibit for awhile, students will be surprised by what they see. Remember animals will be moving, eating or could be sleeping, we all make small movement even sleeping. Take time to read the signs along the pathways. They will give students a lot of information about the animals they are seeing. Ask questions of volunteers and staff, we like student questions! Visit the volunteer stations along each trail with artifacts and more details on the animals.
Along the Trail you will experience a variety of Minnesota landscapes, ranging from views into a beaver pond, a walk alongside a northern forest glade and a bird-watching perch in the treetops. This Trails features animals from Minnesota including raccoons, gray wolves along with smaller favorites, like turtles, frogs, all starting at a warm stone fireplace in a welcoming lodge. Here’s a glimpse of some animals you will see…. Medtronic Minnesota Trail
Beaver
Puma
Venture into the world of the rain forest where lush, green foliage and beautiful orchids envelop guests along a winding path. The beauty of unique wildlife first attract you, but the Tropics Trail also showcases several of the world’s biodiversity “hotspots”— areas especially rich in species found nowhere else that are also at extreme risk of destruction. Tropics Trail
Binturong
Greater Hornbill
Minnesota is renowned for its long, cold winters – perfect for the residents of our Northern Trail. Majestic Amur tigers frolic in the snow or in their moat, depending on the weather. Woodland caribou and the stately moose display their ingenious adaptations for survival. A walk along the 3/4-mile trail provides the opportunity to enjoy the animals during all seasons. Also visit the Penguins and Snow Monkeys in the South Entry. Northern Trail
Caribou
Tiger
Journey to one of the last true wilderness areas of the world; a vast place where the silence is broken only by the playful call of sea otters, where massive bears roam among steaming geysers and bubbling mud- pots, a land of stunning scenery including a rocky coastline, erupting volcanoes, and dense forests. Russia’s Grizzly Coast
Sea Otter
Grizzly Bears
Witness the spectacular beauty of the deep in Discovery Bay: United Healthcare Marine Education Center. Over 1.1 million gallons of water provide a home for sharks, rays and other marine life. Five highly endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals now reside in Discovery Bay, come and say ‘aloha’. Guests can also touch sharks, sea stars, and sea anemones in an interactive estuary and tide pool. Discovery Bay
Hawaiian Monk Seals
Sea Turtles
The Wells Fargo Family Farm engages visitors with animals and nature by encouraging and educating visitors to become part of a community of people, plants and animals striving to maintain balance with nature. Come to learn about how food gets from farms to tables and see some interesting animals along the way. Farm is open end of March – November. Wells Fargo Family Farm
American Cream Draft Horse
Wings Financial World of Bird Show (check web site for dates and times) Tropical Reef Fish Feeding - Tropics Trail. Talk with the Zoo volunteer at their booths and at bench talks around the Zoo. Watch for special animal encounters through out the day. Daily Penguin Feeding. Hawaiian Monk Seal conservation talk. Special Presentations and Talks
Tropical Reef Dive Show
Here’s our favorite step -by- step guide as designed by a 5 th grade student.
And don’t forget to snap a few photos.
Wow, the day will go quickly. Time to head back to school. Meet at your preselected meeting location at the end of the day. Load buses where you were dropped off. Why not snap a great classroom photo before you leave! Have a safe trip back to school.
Talk about your field trip. Use animal facts you learned in your curriculum. Write thank you notes to your funders, parents and chaperones . Post student Zoo artwork around your school. Back at school
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