Bringing the Zoo to School

Field trips are one of the best parts of being in school. So much learning happens outside of the classroom and students remember field trips for quite a long time. Well far too often school budgets don't allow teachers to go on as many field trips as they would like. If this is your situation, then you should check out a wonderful app created by the Smithsonian's National Zoo.

This $1.99 app is an easy way to take your students on a virtual field trip. Some of the features of the app include maps, tours, animals, news, and activities. Students can even access live video feed of some of the zoo animals including, pandas, gorillas, lions, tigers, and gorillas. There are also informational videos provided about these animals.

A fun feature of the app is called Zooify Yourself. You can upload a picture of yourself and add various animals features and noises, to transform yourself into a zoo animal. This could be a fun review activity for students to participate in at the end of the unit.

Students can use the zoo map to explore the different areas of the Smithsonian's National Zoo. They can select a red dot by an animal enclosure and when they do, information about that animal appears. Some animals even have a video and photo that go along with the information. A downfall is that the writing may be too challenging for younger students to read independently.

I would definitely purchase this app for my classroom. It is a great way to bring learning to life and expose students to information about various animals. By using this app, students also learn about maps and how zoos work. There are countless lessons a teacher can create using this app. These lessons can be tied directly to the information being learned in class. Students will love exploring the Smithsonian's National Zoo from the comfort of their classroom.

References:
[Untitled images of Smithsonian's National Zoo app]. Retrieved March 7, 2017, from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smithsonians-national-zoo/id545498325?mt=8

[Untitled image of Smithsonian's National Zoo app logo]. Retrieved March 7, 2017, from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xcosoftware.nationalzoo