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Bringing The Zoo To You

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Let us help make your time at home together fun and educational!


Nature Play Calendar

The number of children who experience nature each day has decreased dramatically over the past few decades. That’s why we encourage you step away from TVs, computers, and video games and step outside to make time for nature!  Each month we’ll be publishing a Nature Play Calendar to give you ideas of how to explore the great outdoors as a family.

Playing in nature is scientifically proven to:

  • Develop respect and care for living things
  • Boost academic performance
  • Enhance creativity and problem solving
  • Develop self-control
  • Improve balance and vision
  • Increase enthusiasm for learning
  • Reduce stress
  • Decreasing symptoms of ADHD
  • Develop social skills
  • Increase the level of physical activity

*Click image to enlarge and print


 

At-Home Activities

Ages 2 and Up

Animal Coverings

All animals have different kinds of body covering. Some have fur while others have feathers. Here's a simple activity sheet for our younger learners. They'll need to think about each animal, observe its coverings, and determine which category the animal belongs in; slimy, furry, feathery, or scaly!

Activity Download
Activity Standards
Early Childhood Standards I.B.c.1.a , I.B.c.2.b, IV.C.1.a, IV.C.1.b, IV.C.1.c, V.D.1, VI.A.1.b, VI.B.1.a, VI.B.1.b
K Standards SC.K.L.14.3, SC.K.N.1.2, SC.K.P.8, MAFS.K.G.2.5, MA.K.GR.1.1
1st - 12th Standards N/A

 

Dinosauria Coloring Sheets

Print a coloring sheet and gather your favorite colored pencils, crayons, or markers. It's time to bring your favorite pre-historic creatures to life!

Coloring Sheet Downloads

 

Dinosaur Counting and Matching Exercises

Counting and matching exercises shouldn't be a dino-bore!

Especially if you can do them all with dinosaurs πŸ¦–πŸ¦•

ACTIVITY DOWNLOADS

  

Finger Painting - Otter Sprainting

Let's get sprainting!

"Sprainting" is the Giant otters' version of finger painting.

Giant otter families all use the bathroom in the same location on land. This location is called a latrine, and otter droppings are called spraint. Otters will finger paint with their spraint, mixing it in with the rest of their family group! They do this to spread their scent and mark their territory.

ACTIVITY DOWNLOADS

  

Fun in the Sun

These Early Childhood Activity Pages are full of fun, in the sun! Trace the sun's ray, choose which animals are diurnal (active during the day) vs. nocturnal (active during the night), and help a reptile through a maze to find heat provided by the sun.

Activity Download

Ice and Sun Painting

Check out this Ice and Sun Painting activity. All you need is ice, paint, paint brushes, and a sunny day! Your kids will love to make art masterpieces with ice-cube paints.

Activity Download

 

#JaxZooRocks

Paint your favorite animal on a rock and share it us!

Publicly post a photo of your rock on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter using the hashtags #JaxZooRocks and #BringingTheZooToYou by April 14 to be entered to win 4 General Admission tickets or 4 Guest Passes for when we reopen.

Activity Download

 

Wild Wiggle Jar

Get moving! Get wild!

Mix things up and imitate your favorite animals, with this Wild Wiggle Jar activity.

ACTIVITY DOWNLOAD

Wine Cork Turtles

It's turtle craft time! πŸ’

Using a wine cork, create turtle-y awesome art fit for your fridge, greeting card, or wrapping paper.

ACTIVITY DOWNLOAD

Ages 3 and Up

Dinosaur Cutting Practice

Cutting practice just got a little more interesting!

Go back in time and practice your scissor skills with dinosaurs πŸ¦–πŸ¦•

ACTIVITY DOWNLOADS

  

Dissolving Dino Eggs

Fun for the whole family!

Using ingredients found in your kitchen cabinet, create dissolving dinosaur eggs with hidden surprises inside. It's a fun variation on a baking soda and vinegar reaction, that will truly engage any preschooler! 

Activity Instructions
Activity Standards
Early Childhood Standards IV.C.1.a, IV.C.1.b, IV.C.1.c, VI.A.1.b, VI.A.3.a, VI.A.3.b, VI.A.3.c, VI.A.3.d 
K Standards SC.K,P,9.1, SC.K.N.1.1, SC.K.N.1.2, SC.K.N.1.3, SC.K.N.1.5
1st Standards SC.1.N.1.1, SC.1.N.1.2, SC.N.1.3
2nd Standards SC.2.P.9.1, SC.2.N.1.1
3rd Standards SC.3.N.1.1, SC.3.N.1.3, SC.3.N.1.6
4th - 12th Standards N/A


 

Shadow Drawing

A fun, easy, budget-friendly, outdoor activity!

All you'll need to make a shadow drawing is a toy, drawing utensil, paper, and the sun. Try this activity at different times of day to see how stretched out some of the toy shadows will be on your paper.

 

ACTIVITY DOWNLOAD

Ages 5 and Up

Backyard Nature Bingo

Download the Bingo Card and let your young explorers use their observation skills to check off all the items they can find outside! Enjoy a walk outside... and don't forget to yell "NATURE" when you find all the objects in one row.

Activity Download
Activity Standards
Early Childhood Standards IV.C.1.a, IV.C.1.b, IV.C.1.c, VI.A.1.b, 
K Standards SC.K.N.1.1, SC.K.N.1.2, SC.K.N.1.5,
1st Standards SC.1.L.14.1, SC.1.N.1.1, SC.1.N.1.2, 
2nd Standards SC.2.N.1.1
3rd - 12th Standards N/A
 

Poopy Cookies

In need of a laugh AND something sweet? Check out a member favorite from our Spring 2019 Wild Magazine, Poopy Cookies!

What's Wild Magazine? It's one of the many perks our Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens Members receive with their annual membership.

Activity Download

Ages 7 and Up

A-MAZE-ing Plants

How hard will a plant work to find light? Find out in this investigation!

Plants need food to live and grow. But instead of finding food to eat, plants use water, sunlight, and air to make their own.

Activity Download

Bee Hotels

Some of our local bee species make their homes in small wooden holes instead of hives. Help our local pollinators and create a bee hotel for your backyard!

And don't forget to check out the Bee House in Range of the Jaguar, designed by Lad and Mindy Hawkins, to allure native solitary bees to our Gardens by providing natural nesting cavities.

Activity Download

Bird Seed Cakes

These seed cakes bring all the birds to the yard. 🐦

With this activity, we invite you to make your own Bird Seed Cakes.

Hang them up outside, enjoy bird watching, and take note of which birds come to visit!

Activity Download

Fossil Investigations

Scientists use fossils to piece together stories of how ancient plants and animals lived. With these activities, you will find instructions for your own fossil investigations!

Activity Download
Activity Standards
Early Childhood Standards VI.A.1.b, VI.A.3.a, VI.A.3.b, VI.A.3.c, VI.A.3.d, IV.C.1.a, IV.C.1.b, IV.C.1.c
K Standards SC.K,P,9.1, SC.K.N.1.1, SC.K.N.1.2, SC.K.N.1.3, SC.K.N.1.5
1st Standards SC.1.N.1.1, SC.1.N.1.2, SC.N.1.3
2nd Standards SC.2.P.9.1, SC.2.N.1.1
3rd Standards SC.3.N.1.1, SC.3.N.1.3, SC.3.N.1.6
4th Standards SC.4.P.9.1, SC.4.P.8.1, SC.4.N.1.1, SC.4.N.1.4, SC.4.N.1.6, SC.4.N.2.1
5th Standards SC.5.N.1.1, SC.5.N.1.2, SC.5.N.1.5, SC.5.N.2.1
6th - 12th Standards N/A
 

Name Game

The Name Game activity might be a little challenging... See if you can name an animal for each category, beginning with a different letter. Good luck and have fun!

Activity Download

 

Pet PiΓ±ata

This one may get a little messy, but your pets will love it!

Learn how to make your furry friend their own piñata, full of their favorite treats.

Activity Download

Rooting Roots

Can you plant a bean upside down? Find out with our Rooting Roots investigation!

All you need is a glass jar, dried beans (Lima beans work well), paper towels, and water. After a few days, you'll observe geotropism. That's the growth of plants based off the pull of gravity.

Activity Download

 

Ages 8 and Up

Ant Lab

There are over 10,000 different species of ants in the world! While many people think ants are a nuisance, they actually have an important niche in many ecosystems.

🐜  🐜 🐜 🐜 🐜🐜🐜

In our Ant Lab experiment, you'll investigate the ants in your own backyard to determine what they prefer to eat.

Activity Download

 

Bird Behavior Tracking

Try this activity at different times of day and days of the week to see if there are any differences in local birds' behavior!

BONUS: Use an app like Merlin Bird ID to assist with recording data and bird identification.

Activity Download

Germination Lab

Before any seed can sprout, it must go through a process called germination! Since seeds come in all different shapes and sizes, they germinate differently. The amount of water and sunlight received can also effect the germination process. In this lab activity you'll investigate three different germination techniques and see which one works best!

 
Activity Download

 

Pollinator Monitoring

Which pollinators are visiting the flowering plants in your yard? It's time to find out, with our Pollinator Monitoring Project!

Florida is home to roughly 325 species of native wild bees 🐝 and over 160 species of butterflies πŸ¦‹!

Activity Download

Unusual Animal Mystery

We need your help to classify an unusual animal that's been spotted in the Pleistocene epoch in Dinosauria. We think it keeps slipping through the time machine!

 

Activity Download

 

Wildlife Reading

Wildlife and nature aren't only found outside. They can be found in the pages of your favorite books! Fill in this book log and share what animals and plants you're reading about.

 

Activity Download

 

Ages 10 and Up

Citizen Science Spotlight - WILDCAM

Scientists need your help documenting the incredible recovery of Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique, Africa.

Join them in identifying Gorongosa’s animals in trail camera photos and become part of their conservation team!

 

Activity Download

 

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