Design A Zoo: Animals, Enclosures, Conservation and More!

Unleash creativity and inspire future zoologists with 'Design a Zoo: Animals, Enclosures, Conservation and More!'—an engaging, hands-on activity that empowers students to design their very own zoo. This comprehensive educational package offers interactive planning sheets, real-world examples, and step-by-step instructions, guiding students to thoughtfully consider animal habitats, innovative enclosure designs, and vital conservation efforts. Perfect for classroom use, this resource makes each project visually appealing and easy to display. This activity fosters teamwork, critical thinking, and a passion for wildlife preservation. Bring your classroom to life with an unforgettable zoo design challenge!

Students love learning about animals and zoos! In this activity, students will learn about the history of modern day zoos, the design and accreditation process of zoos, ten different zoo animals, modern conservation topics, enclosures, enrichment, and more!

First, students will read the provided passage about modern zoos and the accreditation process that is used by many zoos today. They will then answer 17 research questions. Some questions include:

• "Explain a two-paragraph history of zoos and how they promote conservation today."

• "What is enrichment for animals?"

• Look at the provided list of animals and choose ten that you will include at your zoo. Then, answer the following questions about them:

  • Name of animal, scientific name, conservation status

  • Describe the animal's enclosure

  • Describe the animals diet and an example of enrichment

  • Temperature and weather requirements

  • Social groups and behaviors

• "In two paragraphs, thoroughly explain a current animal or conservation topic that your zoo will focus on researching."

Then, they will use the provided guidelines, including an “accreditation criteria’ page, enclosure size sheet, and a rubric to design their zoo. Their zoo must have at least ten kinds of animals (there is a list provided of 46 to choose from) and they must use the provided grid and enclosure size sheet to draw a scale map of  their zoo.

For example: each square on the grid is 1,000ft squared, so if they wanted to included a Reindeer, they would look on the provided enclosure size sheet to see that a reindeer needs 10,000ft squared. So, on their grid, they need to outline an enclosure that includes 10 squares and label it "Reindeer."

They will include guest service buildings, bathrooms, enclosures and anything else they may want to have at their zoo.

Then they will then make a presentation for the class. There is a criteria page included, but it basically includes everything they researched previously plus they will talk about their zoo map and they will include citations.

While the students present, the other students will rate their classmates on whether or not they included the information. Then, they will use their ratings to decide if the student's zoos can be "accredited." (if you don't want students to do this, then you can just do this portion).

This resource would be good in a science, design, social studies, zoology or biology class.

This product includes:

1. Teacher Directions: prep info and materials needed  

2. Teacher Procedure

3. Scale Map of Zoo Example

4. 10-page Student Packet: Reading, 17 research questions, written directions for scale map and presentation, grid sheet for scale map, enclosure space sheet, accreditation criteria

5. Teacher Tips

To do this activity, students will need:

• Pencil

• Copy of "Design a Zoo" packet for each student (INCLUDED)

• Copies of "Accreditation Criteria" for every student to rate the other students

• Ability to research (computer, Chromebook, etc.)

Hope you enjoy! My students loved learning about animals and how zoos work!

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Thank you!