Week+1+-+Interconnectedness

Week 1: Interconnectedness



Day 1: Zoo Introductions & Hot Shops Art Studios

Today, we got to know a little more about the Zoo & it's Education department. We also set up our Observation Journals which students should be using at Summer Exploration as well as at Home!

Students keep their items in Yellow backpacks and they have supplies that should also stay in there, such as a rain poncho, notebook, colored pencils, etc. These are their "tools" for observation. Our first "Mission" was an observation of the Giraffe Watering Hole. Students observed the animals in the area and generated questions, drew pictures of the animals, developed project ideas and also wrote down the behaviors they observed.

In the afternoon, we visited the Hot Shops Art Studios and met Mr. Tim Barry. He is the owner and operator of the Hot Shops. As he welcomed us, we were able to experience many very unique experiences. Below you will find Video Links to some of the AMAZING things we saw today! Enjoy!  Hot Shop Introduction - Bronze Pour media type="youtube" key="A5TTIs8GoUA" height="315" width="560" align="center"

Discovering Art - First Day At Hot Shops media type="youtube" key="dJSRR6gQuv8" height="315" width="560"

Hot Shop Introduction - Wheel of Clay  media type="youtube" key="b_M3OrGyCXY" height="315" width="560" align="center"

Hot Shops - Glass Blowing with Ed media type="youtube" key="uMXuR2-l9Rk" height="315" width="560"  <span style="color: #008080; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">

<span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">Hot Shops - Unveiling of Bronze Casts media type="youtube" key="tnlw70SszDU" height="315" width="560" align="center"

<span style="color: #ff8200; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">Day 2: Grasslands & Animals of the Savannah <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 160%;">Day 2 was such a great day of discovery! In the morning, we split the 6th grade into groups of 20 to discuss what grasslands and savannahs are, and what the differences are between the two! Students also took a "Ratio Tour" with Mrs. Hoff. They discussed ratios they saw in the zoo's biomes.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 160%;">Students then gathered together to get a tour of the Savannah Habitats within the zoo. My groups tour guide, docent, ALICE was amazing! She taught us so much about the habitat and it's animals. She is a wealth of knowledge! Check out the videos and pictures below to catch a glimpse!

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 21px; line-height: 31px;">After Lunch, we traveled to the grassland areas at Hitchcock Nature Center in Iowa. Students and teachers walked the trails to observe how our Native Grasslands are vastly different, and yet similar to those of the Savannah Habitats at the Zoo and around the world. Students then collected plant samples which we will try to identify, press and make observations about in our Journals. Students also had the opportunity to enjoy the scenery by drawing the portion of our Native Grasslands that they found interesting. You will start to see their drawings and ideas begin to be posted on the Wiki page in the coming weeks! Be sure to check back in!





<span style="color: #ff8200; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px; text-align: center;">Why do Zebra's have a mane? <span style="color: #ff8200; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px; text-align: center;">(With Zoo Docent Alice) media type="youtube" key="o0slNxlYsGE" height="314" width="560" align="center"

<span style="color: #ff8200; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px; text-align: center;">

<span style="color: #ff8200; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px; text-align: center;">Day 3: Food Webs vs. Food Chains <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Students had the opportunity to learn about the difference between food webs and food chains. They discussed and created their own practice food chain and food web from our experience the previous day learning about the Savannahs and Grasslands regions.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 27px;">Students also continued to work on how to identify ratios with in the zoo - some students even witnessed a food chain in the aquarium as the Zoo Keepers fed the aquarium animals. Carly Reif witnessed a Cuddle Fish stalking it's prey, a crustacean (shrimp) as the Keepers dropped food into the tank. The Cuddle Fish slowly opened its mouth and reached out with it's long tentacle liketo sneak up on the unsuspecting shrimp. Then suddenly, it whipped its tongue and snatched up the shrimp! Way to use what you've learned Carly!

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 27px;">That afternoon, student were sent out on their first small group "Mission". Their task was to find examples of Food Webs and Chains within one or more habitats in the zoo. They went in groups of 7 to find a place to observe and write down animals' names and whether they were Herbivores, Carnivores or Omnivores. Students then reported back to Mrs. Hoff and Ms. Wellman at specific times with their findings. Then they were allowed to explore the Lied Jungle at the Zoo.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; line-height: 27px;">Mr. Barry from Hot Shops art studios also visited with us that day - talking more about focus drawings, how to use ratios in art and the importance of being a good observer. He was impressed with student efforts to draw their 3 favorite animals - a task which he assigned them on Monday. He also shared a piece of art created from different mixtures of soils. See the photos below!

<span style="color: #ff8200; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 180%;">Day 4: Relationships Between Animals <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 27px;">Thursday was a day for discovery! We reviewed our knowledge of Food Chains and Food Webs in the classroom at the Lied Jungle, and students researched their animals to figure out which animals would be:
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 27px;">Carnivores
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 27px;">Herbivores
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 27px;">Omnivores

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 27px;">They then used that knowledge, to complete their food chains and webs from the previous afternoons Mission. Students then joined Mrs. Hoff for an experiment in measuring and converting measurements they found into ratios. They traveled to the Aviary to measure the fencing that contains the birds within the habitat and made many discoveries about the need for accuracy in measurements.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 27px;">After Lunch, students read "Jaguar", a novel by Roland Smith. Mrs. Hoff and Ms. Wellman, then split them into groups and each group was given a camera with video capabilities. This was their first practice run documenting their "Mission" on film. Students were handed a picture of an animal and asked to search within the Zoo for that animal. If they weren't able to locate and record information on camera about the animal - they were asked to record themselves asking for help from a Zoo Keeper or Staff Member. All students were very successful with the Mission - and learned about their animals in detail. Some animals assigned were no longer at the Zoo, but the students had to find out why. Stay tuned for videos to be posted on "Student Project Pages".

media type="youtube" key="JF--GH9UNDA" height="315" width="560" align="center"

<span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 23px; text-align: center;">Day 5: Archaeologists & Bontanists <span style="color: #ff8200; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px; text-align: left;">Students got to experience what a Palentologist or Archeaologist does for a living when they used the Zoo's "Dig Site" to uncover replicas of fossils that were found in the midwest region. Students had to log their data on their clipboards and take measurements of what they found. They then identified what species of fossilized bones they found by looking at the chart provided for the Dig Site. Students were split into groups, so while one group was busy digging, the other was taking data on animal behavior with Ms. Wellman. We visited the newly born (June 3) baby Sea Lion and its mother. We observed what kinds of behaviors and how often they occurred during our 15 minute visit. Students observed the baby Sea Lion being introduced to the water, and also feeding from its mother. After Lunch, we traveled to Lauritzen Garden's Woodland Trail to make more of our observations with Tim Barry from Hot Shops Art Studios. Mr. Barry talked a lot about how light and shadows work and then we stopped along another trail to try "focus drawings". In these drawings, we only focus on a small portion of a plant or animal. See some examples on this page or on student project pages. <span style="color: #ff8200; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 17px; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: left;"> media type="youtube" key="5_dKINV1a6U" height="315" width="560"