3rd-5th Grade Discovery Programs

All of our programs are designed to be inquiry based.  To ensure an interactive and hands-on experience for all students attending a Virginia Zoo program, they will be limited to 30 students per program.  We are able to accommodate up to three programs at the same time on Zoo grounds (except as specified below). Guided Zoo tours also are available. Click here for information. For an additional program option, see "Animals in Class" under "Multigrade Program" below.

Some programs are available to go to your school. These presentations must take place in a space that does not have any air-breathing animals. We are able to offer multiple presentations of only one program on each outreach.

Grade Three

Adaptation Investigation
SOL 3.1, 3.4  

Investigate animal adaptations by turning your class into animal detectives.  They will follow clues to identify mystery animals by their unique features and incredible survival abilities.
Presented on-site at the Zoo or at your school as a Zoo-to-You program

Fit for That Habitat

SOL 3.4, 3.6

This program will bring animals from diverse dry-land habitats to your classroom to promote student understanding of how the animals' physical adaptations and behavior allow them to satisfy life needs in the wild.
Presented on-site at the Zoo or at your school as a Zoo-to-You program

What Big Teeth You Have
SOL 3.1, 3.5
Predator or prey, what am I?  This lab-style program will give your students a hands-on opportunity to compare and contrast a variety of mammal skulls and teeth to uncover the mystery of herbivore, carnivore and omnivore dentition.
Presented at the Zoo only

Third-grade teachers: consider also second-grade programs for review.

Grade Four

Pass on the Energy        

SOL 4.5

In this program, our animal visitors highlight individual niches, food webs, and communities, and help students better understand potential human impacts.
Presented on-site at the Zoo or at your school as a Zoo-to-You program

Wildlife Sleuths    
SOL 4.1, 4.5     
Our Virginia Zoo researcher has been studying a mystery animal in detail. She has collected information about this animal's habitat, life cycle, eating habits and its community. Unfortunately she has not reported in for two weeks. Your class will be sent to her research station where they will discover where our researcher has been and meet this elusive animal she has been studying!
Presented at the Zoo only

*Due to the nature of this program we will only be able to teach one program at a time.  

Multigrade Program (Kindergarten through Grade 4)

Animals in Class

Specific content can be adapted to SOLs at one or more grade levels by request, or one particular unit topic can be emphasized.  Facts and ideas about specific animals and groups of animals will come alive as students see, and sometimes touch, a variety of animals. Behavior, habitat, classification, adaptations, life cycles, relationship to humans or some other specific topic can be emphasized on request.
Presented on-site at the Zoo or at your school as a Zoo-to-You program

Grade Five

Where's Your Skeleton?           

SOL 5.1, 5.5

Let your students get to know, or know better, how to recognize vertebrate classes, or quickly spot an invertebrate.  They'll fit these groups into the "big picture" of the kingdoms of living things, and learn to keep it simple by classifying step by step (using a key).
Presented on-site at the Zoo or at your school as a Zoo-to-You program  

Fifth grade teachers: consider also fourth-grade programs for review.

Program Days:

Monday-Friday

Program Times:

Begin at 10:00 a.m. on Zoo grounds and off site, and can be scheduled throughout the day.  Multiple presentations of the same program may be scheduled on the same day, but not more than two at a time.  

Registration:

Pre-registration is required. Click here for registration form. For more information, contact the Education Department at judy.totten@norfolk.gov or call (757) 441-2374, ext. 229.

Cost of Program at Zoo:

March through October: $150.00 per program (30 students maximum). 

November through February:  $125.00 per program (30 students maximum). 

Fee includes Zoo admission.

Cost of Zoo-to-You Program Off-Site: 

Travel fee (based on roundtrip mileage from the Zoo) plus $150.00 per program (30 children maximum).

Travel Fees for Zoo-to-You Programs

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