K-2nd 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, size is limited to 30 students per program.  We are able to accommodate up to three programs at the same time on Zoo grounds. 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.

Kindergarten

Is It Alive?    
OL K.1, K.6
What is a living thing?  A few of our animal ambassadors will help your class explore how animals are born, how they grow and what they need to survive. 
Presented on-site at the Zoo or at your school as a Zoo-to-You program

They Have Sense! 
SOL K.2
Let your students use their own powers of observation as they explore how a variety of live animal visitors to your classroom see, hear, smell, taste and feel.
Presented on-site at the Zoo or at your school as a Zoo-to-You program

Home Has What I Need     
SOL K.6         
How do different animals find water, the right food, and the right kind of space and shelter in their native habitats? Your students will meet and observe animals that live wild right here in Tidewater Virginia. You, the teacher, should tell us whether they should also meet animals from the desert or the rainforest on a distant continent or observe creatures from the American grasslands (this choice available seasonally).
Presented at the Zoo only

Grade One

Build a Beast      

SOL 1.1, 1.5  

Animals have similar life needs, but have adaptations that are unique to their species.  Through observations of education animals and journal exercises, students will become familiar with the different physical characteristics animals have that help them survive in their homes.  Your class will also review the difference between wild animals and domestic animals.
Presented on-site at the Zoo or at your school as a Zoo-to-You program

Home Has What I Need
SOL 1.5      
How do different animals find water, the right food, and the right kind of space and shelter in their native habitats? Your students will meet animals that live wild right here in Tidewater Virginia and see others in their natural habitat right by the Zoo. You, the teacher, should tell us whether they should also meet animals from the desert or the rainforest on a distant continent or observe creatures from the American grasslands (this choice available seasonally).
Presented at the Zoo only

Grade Two

Seasonal Changes 

 SOL 2.4, 2.7  

The snow-covered trees may be beautiful or a hot, sunny day may be perfect beach weather, but these extremes present quite a challenge for our animal friends.  A visit from our education animals will help your students explore how wild animals are adapted to survive the changing seasons.
Presented on-site at the Zoo or at your school as a Zoo-to-You program

Part of a Bigger Picture   

SOL 2.5, 2.7, 2.8

Each animal must adapt and survive in the surroundings of its native habitat.

Our animal visitors to your classroom will help your students understand how wild creatures hide, find homes, find food, or adapt to changing weather and seasons. Review why conservation of natural habitat is important to the animals and to us.
Presented on-site at the Zoo or at your school as a Zoo-to-You program

Breathe, Eat, and Plant Yourself at Home  
SOL 2.4, 2.5, 2.8
Animals depend on what plants produce even to breathe! Explore animal diets (even frogs eat plant products to start with!), camouflage, nests and shelter, and habitat conservation with the help of animals in the classroom and in the exhibits.
Presented at the Zoo only

Multi-Grade Program (grades K through 4th)

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

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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