Buffalo Zoo University - School Programs at the Wildest Place in Town

Buffalo Zoo U.

Watch and learn about the education programs available at the Buffalo Zoo.

Become a Docent at the Buffalo Zoo

A Docent is a volunteer teacher and tour guide who enjoys spreading the Buffalo Zoo's message of conservation and education throughout Western New York. Docent training will begin on Saturday, January 12, 2013 and continue Saturday's for 14 weeks from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. through April 2013. Becoming a Buffalo Zoo Docent is a very rewarding journey and commitment; you must be over 21 years of age. Applications and interviews are required before January 1st. 

There is an Docent Orientation session to learn the process of the training, on November 10th, from 10:00a.m.-12:00. Please call the Volunteer Coordinator at 995-6132, to make an appointment now! Help spread the mission of the Education Department to educate, unite and encourage people to become involved in the conservation and preservation of our natural world.

Arctic Adventures!

It is hard to believe, but winter is just around the corner!  As we slowly transition to sweaters and scarves, we also focus our attention to the amazing adaptations of animals in winter.  Students easily connect with polar bears, one of our biggest arctic animal ambassadors.  Would you like your students to develop a deeper understanding of the adaptations of polar bears, as well as the ways that we can protect them?  There are two great ways to do it, without even leaving your classroom!

1.  Free Webcasts:  Polar Bears International, an organization that promotes conservation through research, stewardship, and education, is committed to protecting polar bears.  Every Fall, they conduct LIVE, free broadcasts from the tundra during the annual polar bear migration in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. You're invited to join exclusive webcasts HERE to meet and talk with world-renowned scientists and educators—as arctic winds shake the buggies and polar bears prowl outside.

2.  Outreach Program at Your School:  Did you know that the Buffalo Zoo is an Arctic Ambassador Site for Polar Bears International?  We will come to your school to present an age-appropriate program on polar bears and climate change.  Tiffany Vanderwerf, Curator of Education, shares her personal experience in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, that inspires students to realize that simple changes in their daily lives can help our environment, which in turn helps polar bears.  Students will also have an opportunity to observe polar bear biofacts (i.e skull, fur).  This is a free program, and can be scheduled directly with Tiffany at tvanderwerf@buffalozoo.org.

For additional information on our education programs, feel free to call us at (716) 995-6143.

Buffalo Zoo Receives Award for Interactive Educational Programming

The Buffalo Zoo received a 2011-2012 CILC Pinnacle Award Honorable Mention from the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC) for its distance learning programs.

The award is presented annually to organizations delivering outstanding interactive
videoconferencing programs for grades K-12. Recipients are chosen based on teacher
evaluations submitted through the CILC Web site.

The Buffalo Zoo’s distance learning programs provide students in Western New York and
across the country with an opportunity to explore science by seeing live interactive footage
of exhibits, animals, and staff at the Zoo without leaving their classrooms. For more
information about these programs, call (716) 837-3900 ext 143 or visit
http://buffalozoo.org/distance_learning.html.

The Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC) is a not-for-profit organization
specializing in the access to applications and the utilization of video conferencing for live
interactive content and professional development, as well as Web-based collaborative
learning environments for K-20 education. For more information about the CILC, visit
http://www.cilc.org/.

Become a Zoo Docent

A Docent is a volunteer teacher and tour guide who enjoys spreading the Buffalo Zoo's message of conservation and education throughout Western New York. Docent training will begin on Saturday, January 12, 2013 and continue each Saturday for 13 weeks from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. through April 2013. Becoming a Buffalo Zoo Docent is a very rewarding journey and commitment; you must be over 25 years of age. Applications and interviews are required before January 1st. Please call the Volunteer Coordinator at 995-6132, to make an appointment now! Help spread the mission of the Education Department to educate, unite and encourage people to become involved in the conservation and preservation of our natural world. 

The Buffalo Zoo and Erie 1 BOCES Partner to Offer Unique ZooTech School Programs

ZooTech, school programs co-developed by the Buffalo Zoo and Erie 1 BOCES, are now available to all school districts in the Erie 1 BOCES region.

Officially launched in November 2011, the ZooTech programs are designed to incorporate technology with the Zoo’s everyday “living laboratory” of animal residents. Lessons taught under the ZooTech programs are designed for students of all ages and cover a wide variety of subjects. The ZooTech programs have fully been developed as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs that fulfill education standards in a fun and unique way.

"As part of the program, we will help teachers translate their examples into lessons that will align with NYS Common Core Learning Standards," said Julianna Sciolino, manager of professional development at Erie 1 BOCES. "After instituting their lessons in the classroom, the students will attend class at the Buffalo Zoo to interact with the concepts they have been learning. Finally, the students will utilize technology to create and publish examples of their new knowledge." 

“This is certainly not your traditional fieldtrip,” said Tiffany Vanderwerf, the Buffalo Zoo’s Curator of Education. “By being surrounded by some of the world’s most amazing animal

species, the ZooTech programs allow a variety of subjects to be more deeply explored by using advanced technology. Aside from the STEM-related curriculum connections, a social studies teacher can deepen their students’ understanding of world hemispheres and an art teacher can discuss exhibit design.”

On Friday, May 18, 2012, a Sweet Home Senior High School 9^th grade class, under the direction of chemistry teacher, John Elliot, will participate in a ZooTech program that features the theme “Evolution: Beyond Darwin’s Voyage.” Students will be immersed in an interactive exploration of evolution. By challenging students to act as though they have discovered a new island (“Zoo Island”, this program allows them to experience the breakthrough that Charles Darwin made more than 180 years ago.

As part of the lesson plan, the program implements technology with use of evolution simulations and flip cameras. Students will gain an understanding of common ancestry and create a wildlife documentary that features video they take of the Zoo’s animal residents.

"It is our hope that the Buffalo Zoo trip will be beneficial to students by giving them a chance to use technology (internet research, video shooting/editing) to create a visual examination of evolutionary relationships among live animal specimens,” said John Elliot, chemistry teacher at Sweet Home Senior High School. “This will create an authentic learning experience that will ideally anchor their understanding of evolution and allow them to draw conclusions from events and items they encounter in their day to day lives. They will then share these videos with the rest of the class, allowing them to become educators."

While the students create their documentaries at the Buffalo Zoo, Erie 1 BOCES professional development coordinator, James Dailey, will provide the students with multimedia assistance. On May 22, an Erie 1 BOCES representative will also offer in-class assistance with the importing of the students’ captured video into iMovie.

For more information about the ZooTech programs, please call the Buffalo Zoo at (716) 995-6128 or visit www.buffalozoo.org.

About the Buffalo Zoo

Founded in 1875, the Buffalo Zoo is the third oldest zoo in the United States. Each year, the Buffalo Zoo welcomes more than 400,000 visitors and is the most visited cultural attraction in Western New York.  Located on 23.5 acres of Olmsted's beautiful Delaware Park, the Buffalo Zoo houses approximately 1,200 endangered and domestic animals and offers visitors a variety of events and educational programs year-round. The Buffalo Zoo’s philosophy is to exhibit animals and plants in naturalistic settings that represent their native habitats. The Zoo is dedicated to providing visitors with a better understanding of nature, including how animals relate to each other, their environment and to humankind. For more information about the Buffalo Zoo, including the Zoo’s “Bundle Up For Polar Bears” initiative, which is taking place through March 16, visit www.buffalozoo.org.

About Erie 1 BOCES

Statewide, school districts partner with BOCES in an effort to provide accountability, municipal sharing, efficiency and educational equity. Erie 1 BOCES, one of 37 BOCES in New York State, is a cooperative of 19 school districts surrounding the city of Buffalo. To assist school districts, the organization provides a variety of educational services including professional development. Erie 1 BOCES' coordinators engage teachers in high quality professional development through classroom practices that integrate the NYS learning standards, assessments and technology to support higher student a­chievement. The service area supports: instructional technology, curriculum, assessments, instruction, and NY state education department updates. Learn more at www.e1b.org.

  

About Sweet Home Central High School

Sweet Home Senior High School is part of the Sweet Home Central School District of Amherst and Tonawanda. It is the mission of the school district to empower all students to be cooperative, self-directed and lifelong learners, prepared to responsibly meet the challenges of the future. For more information, please visit www.sweethomeschools.com.