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Distance Learning For School Groups

Suzanne Bolduc ©WCS

Technical Requirements

Bronx Zoo Distance Learning Expeditions are broadcast at a minimum speed of 384 Kbps using a Tandberg Codec 6000 videoconference unit via H.323 standard over Internet Protocol (IP). To receive an IP videoconference, you must have a broadband connection.  For schools without  videoconferencing units, Bronx Zoo Distance Learning Expeditions are broadcast via the computer-based, web platform, SAFARI Montage Live!  Minimum hardware for schools using SAFARI Montage Live! include a computer, web camera, and headphones.  Check with your district or building technology coordinator to see if your school is compatible. 

Cost

Each program is priced at $180 per single class with a maximum of 35 students.

Availability

Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM EST. Due to the popularity of these programs, please reserve three weeks in advance.

Contact

For more information contact:
Erica Sopha
Distance Learning Coordinator
P: (718) 741-1693
F: (718) 364-2225 or (718) 733-4460
E: distancelearning@wcs.org

Related Links

Professional Development 



Take your students on a trip to the Zoo without setting foot outside your own classroom! Using two-way videoconferencing technology, the Bronx Zoo can bring engaging programs for K-12 students right into your own classroom—live! All Distance Learning Expeditions include several live animal "guests"—lemurs, lizards, owls and more. Programs are approximately 50 minutes and include extensive teacher support materials. These time-tested, teacher-endorsed programs are aligned with the National Science Education Standards and have received rave reviews from students and teachers alike.

An extensive teacher guide accompanies every program including:

  • tips on preparing for a videoconference
  • content background
  • National Science Education Standards correlation
  • lesson plans for pre-conference activities
  • lesson plans for post-conference activities
  •  reproducible student materials

2008-2009 Distance Learning Expeditions

Animal Colors

Grades K-3, Approx 45 minutes

This appealing program capitalizes on children's natural curiosity by engaging them in observation and deduction. Using visuals, games, and live animals, students will explore the role that color plays in animal survival. Students will learn that an animal's color may help it to attract a mate, to warn off other animals, and to hide from other animals.


Awesome Adaptations

Grades 5-8, Approx. 50 minutes

If you've been to a zoo lately, you may have seen some odd-looking creatures and wondered why some animal body parts are so unusual. In this program students will uncover the mystery of land animals' feet. Adaptation, a challenging yet essential concept, becomes clear in this program. Understanding how physical adaptations are related to the environment will lead students to additional insights, such as why an animal cannot survive when its habitat is destroyed.

Food Webs

Grades 4-6, Approx. 50 minutes

Each individual species is concerned with obtaining energy - energy to keep going, energy to grow, energy to reproduce, energy for survival. Starting with analyzing their own breakfast, students examine the flow of energy in living systems as represented in food chains and webs. Students discover the role of producers, consumers, herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores, as they build an actual food web.

Leaping Lemurs! Conservation on the Edge

Grades 6-8, Approx. 50 minutes

Take your students to the heart of Madagascar. Visit diverse habitats and explore the relationships between lemurs and their environments. Live cameras will transport your class to the Bronx Zoo's new Madagascar! exhibit, where students will observe lemurs, fossas, and a ring-tailed mongoose, and make decisions on how to best protect them and their native habitats.

Lemur Watch

Grades K-4, Approx. 50 minutes

Bring your class to Madagascar! Live cameras will transport your students to the Bronx Zoo's new Madagascar! exhibit, where they will explore two ecosystems: the dry spiny forest and the Masoala rainforest. Students will investigate the relationships between these environments and the lemurs that inhabit them. Based on their findings, students must decide how to protect these threatened and endangered primates.

Madagascar, Conserving Biodiversity

Grades 9-12, Approx. 50 minutes

How do scientists protect the future of a species? Students will answer this question as they explore the diverse world of lemurs at the Bronx Zoo's new Madagascar! exhibit. Live cameras will transport your class to our lemur exhibits, where students will explore the world of biodiversity. Through observation and classroom activities, students will learn what it takes to ensure a future for lemurs. This program has a strong focus on the role of genetics and geography in wildlife conservation, and includes visiting our fossa and ring-tailed mongoose exhibits.

Moves & Meals

Grades K-3, Approx 50 minutes

There seems to be no end to the ways in which animals move. Some slither, swim, hop, fly, run, crawl, and swing. In this lesson students explore the many different ways animals move about in order to find their food and to avoid becoming someone else's food!

Size & Shape

Grades K-3, Approx 50 minutes

Why do giraffes have such long necks? Students consider this and other questions about how an animal's size and shape are related to its way of life. By observing a variety of animals, students discover some fundamental concepts about how size and shape help an animal survive. Students also draw conclusions about where an animal lives and what it eats.


Videoconference Demonstration

Teachers & Administrators, 15 minutes, Free of Charge

Is your school new to videoconferencing? Connect with the Bronx Zoo to explore its Distance Learning Program. Teachers and administrators will observe a live animal and have the opportunity to ask questions regarding lessons and registration policies and procedures.


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