Get ready to start your Expedition! What is an Expedition? An Expedition is a guided, themed interactive tour of a specific area of the Zoo. Please note: You will not see the entire Zoo on your Expedition. You are free to stay as long as you like after the Expedition is complete. Where do I go when I get to the Zoo? Your buses will be instructed to pull up and unload at the front gate. Check in with an admissions associate and they will contact your Expedition guide. After payment is settled with the admissions gate, your guide will walk with you to the start of your Expedition or provide a map with the marked location and time of your Expedition. Pre-visit materials provided: 1. Please review the background information in this booklet. It gives you a brief overview of the animals you will be seeing during your program. 2. Please review the Teachers Guide PowerPoint for the Expedition. It is included with the pre-visit packet and provides a visual walk through of the program and the standards and curriculum connections. 3. Please show the Expedition Invitation Video for the Expedition you have chosen to get your group excited about coming to the Zoo. It gives a sneak peak at what students will be doing and gets them thinking about questions we ll be discussing. 4. Please use our Pre- and Post-Visit Lessons provided when you registered. They integrate inquiry science lessons, the Expedition and the relevant CC Domain or Module texts this Expedition supports.
Watery Habitats Around The World Ocean Habitats: The oceans contain the greatest diversity of life on Earth. They span a wide range of temperatures from freezing in the polar regions to warm in the tropics. Many animals at the Seneca Park Zoo such as the California sea lions and African penguins rely on ocean habitats for food. Humans also rely on oceans for food and fishing provides a livelihood for over 200 million people worldwide. Wetland Habitats: Wetland habitats are varied and found all over the world, including Rochester, NY! A wetland is a location where the land is covered by water. It maybe be salt water, fresh water or a combination of salt and fresh water known as brackish water. Wetlands include bogs, swamps, marshes and more! Polar Habitats: Ice and snow provide an important role in the life of polar animals. Polar bears rely on sea ice to seasonally hunt for seals. They use snow to create dens used to raise cubs. Polar regions can be difficult with bitterly cold winds and temperatures deep into the negatives.
African Penguin Range and Habitat: African penguins live on small islands off the southern and southwestern coast of South Africa. Lifespan: They live 10-11 years in nature and up to 18 in zoos. Physical Appearance: Grown young are as big as their parents with a broad gray band across the chest. Adult s have a sharply defined narrow black band. They will get their adult plumage at about 2 years of age. Their feathers are stiff and overlap in layers with up to 70 feathers per square inch! The feather trap air next to the skin for insulation and are very resistant to wind and water. Penguins water proof themselves by spreading oil from a gland at the base of their tail and they have a layer of blubber under the skin to help keep them warm. Diet: African penguins are carnivores and eat crustaceans, squid and fish, especially pilchard and anchovy. At the zoo, they are fed twice a day and get capelin, squid, mackerel, trout, herring and smelt. Social Structure and Communication: When there are chicks, the evening zoo keeper goes to feed the parent penguins an extra feeding in the night so they can regurgitate enough to keep feeding the chicks. Conservation: We are in the top three zoos in the USA for breeding penguins. Our young penguins have been shipped to many different zoos, including: the Minnesota Zoo, New York Aquarium, Toledo Zoo and Saginaw, Michigan zoo. Globally, the African penguin population has crashed by more than 80% in just over 50 years and the species is now listed as Endangered with the population decreasing. They are in danger due to their large concentrations in small areas; they could be wiped out by a catastrophic oil spill. In the past, egg collecting for food and guano harvesting caused population decreases, but these have generally stopped. Predation by sea birds and feral cats is a problem, as is competition for food with sea lions and commercial fishing.
Polar Bear Range and Habitat: Polar bears live in arctic regions of U.S., Canada, Norway, Greenland, and Russia. Lifespan: In nature polar bears live 15-18 years and in zoos 20-24 years. Physical Appearance: They are kept warm by 2-4.5 of blubber and fur that covers everywhere except for their black nose, mouth and foot pads. They are designed for the cold, but can overheat with exertion or a warm Arctic day. Their fur is oily and water repellent. The large paws on a polar bear act as snowshoes and they are bow legged and pigeon-toed to maintain balance. Smell most important sense for detecting prey and they can smell seals up to 20 miles away! Diet: Polar bears are carnivores. Their primary food is ringed seals but also eat other seals, walrus and whale carcasses. At the Zoo they are typically fed twice a day and receive a beef based diet that is vitamin fortified, polar bear chow, mackerel, capelin and vitamins. On Mondays they get a special diet of bones and fat and on Wednesdays they get turkey and chicken. They like treats such as apples, squid, kale, berries and melon. Social Structure and Communication: Polar bears are solitary animals. Adults have no natural predators.
Other Resources: Seneca Park Zoo: http://www.senecaparkzoo.org Information on the animals you will see on your Expedition World Wildlife Fund: http://www.worldwildlife.org/habitats Photos, video and information on many habitats H2O Hero: http://www.h2ohero.org/ Information about watersheds and actions kids can take National Geographic: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/ freshwater/ Information about freshwater resources 50 Simple Things: http://www.50simplekids.com/ Ideas for actions students can take to care for Earth s resources