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Dive Discover

A Healthy Planet Depends on Healthy Oceans Oceans produce over half of the oxygen that all life on land breathes.

Saltwater covers 70% of the earth’s surface and contains 97% of the earth’s water supply. www.omahazoo.com Dive Discover Deep Sea Diving for Shapes Before venturing out to see the ’s Don’t miss the newly renovated Suzanne & Walter Scott boat! , check out the book Sea Shapes, by Suse MacDonald. This is a sure way to get your little one(s) excited about the aquarium and all that it has to offer.

Once you are at the Zoo, review the shapes from the book and see how many your little diver can Opening on April 5 identify as you walk through is the newly renovated our underwater adventure. Suzanne & Walter Scott Aquarium. Remember, ® while some of Swim over to Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo the characters to scope out the new features. might be different, shapes are all · Reef Hotel – an interactive kid’s play zone around. · Splash Zone – an interactive digital play zone · New Tide Pool Touch Tank! How many senses do you think you will magination, anything use while visiting the new touch tank at th i is possible! the Scott Aquarium today? i W

Check out these aquarium-themed Classes Day Camps Hide & Squirt classes and day camps Ocean Commotion Just Chillin’ Many people believe that reptiles are the Fish Frenzy Sea Turtles kings of camo! However, offered this spring and summer. Bait Mysteries of the Deep (sef-uh-luh-pods) are quite skilled at Writing & Editing camouflaging themselves.

Go to www.omahazoo.com/education or Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo The most commonly known cephalopods are call (402) 738-2092 for more information. Education Department octopus, cuttlefish, and squid. Some of these are able to change the A special thank you to our color and pattern of their local teachers for assisting skin to blend in with their with the development and surroundings. Check writing of these activities: out the cuttlefish at the Scott Aquarium Wendy Badders to see if you Amy Dahmke Heather Dreibus can see some Lindy Dugger magnificent Michelle Quist camouflage skills in action! Design Work Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo Design Department Cuttlefish ARE Feathers Bones Y Penguins have two kinds of feathers. Down Penguins have solid bones, H feathers are thick and soft, like a blanket, whereas birds that fly which helps keep them warm. The outer have . W feathers are oily, helping to keep them How does this help penguins? waterproof while swimming. Penguins Find out by trying this activity at home. activity

Materials Needed Birds? 1 unopened pop bottle Penguins have more feathers on 1 empty pop bottle with the cap on their body than any other bird in Sink filled with water the world, up to 100 feathers per square inch. Directions Use a marker to see if you can fit 1 Fill sink full of water 100 dots inside the 1-inch square. 2 Place both pop bottles in the water 3 Push down on them at the same time

Draw a picture of what your experiment looked like.

Wings & Feet Body

Penguin wings (also A penguin’s body is shaped like known as flippers) a football. This allows them to fly are short and stiff, through the water with ease! acting like paddles propelling them Which pop bottle stayed under water? through the water. ______A penguin’s feet are Which pop bottle floated on the top of the water? webbed and are ______used for steering and even braking! How does this compare to penguin bones? ______Observation Activity Penguins At the Zoo we also watch and learn about our A scientist may spend lots of time studying and learning about penguins. penguins. But, how do we do it when most Many long, cold days have been spent on the frigid ice of Antarctica penguins look like each other? learning about penguins. One thing we have learned is that Notice the bands on each penguin’s wing. male King and Emperor penguins incubate a single egg on their feet, while the female searches for food—she spends nearly 2 months hunting! Why do you think they wear the bands?

The bands act like an ID bracelet and help us tell our penguins apart from one another. Male penguins wear black bands and females wear white bands. activity Each band has 2 to 4 colored beads on it and each bead is assigned a number. For instance, the white Help us learn more 1 Select two penguins at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo bead stands for number 0, the yellow bead stands for about our penguins by to observe for 2-3 minutes each. number 5, and so on. completing this activity. 2 Look at the markings on each of their bodies. activity Penguin ID chart 3 Select the outline that best fits your penguin’s body shape. Create your own 0-White 4 5-Yellow Then, color the markings to represent ID bracelet using the unique features of each bird. 1-Black 6-Green the chart to the 2-Brown Think about what makes your penguin different and right. Use your birth 7-Blue what makes it the same as the other penguins. date to make your 3-Red 8-Purple bracelet. 4-Orange 9-Grey

Abou ore t P M en g u i n s

Visit the educator’s corner at www.omahazoo.com/education to download your own set of penguin cards! Did you know there are over Sea turtles have Plastic, Plastic 400 types of in the world? lived on Earth for Super From little, to big, to really big, sharks come in all shapes and sizes. Sharp teeth, 150 million years! . flat teeth, or even no teeth at all, we think Long before the time of dinosaurs Everywhere Shark! sharks are super!

Visit the Suzanne & Walter Scott Aquarium at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo to observe There are seven types of sea turtles: Flatback, Green, your favorite shark! Or grab a great book about your favorite shark and answer the Hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, Leatherback, Loggerhead, and questions below. Then share with your friends and family! Olive ridley. All 7 sea turtles are endangered (that means there are not many left in the wild). There are many reasons why sea turtles are endangered. A big reason is because of Shark name: pollution, like plastic floating in the ocean. What is one of food that some sea turtles eat? Jellyfish

Many times Can you see sea turtles confuse how a sea turtle plastic bags in the might confuse ocean for jellyfish. a plastic bag Plastic polluting the for a jellyfish? oceans kills about What problems do you 100,000 sea turtles and think this could cause What does my shark look like? other marine animals for sea turtles? each year. Color and Patterns: Size: (circle) under 1 ft. 1-3 ft. 4-10 ft. 11 ft. & up How do plastic bags reach the Ocean? Plastic bags reach the Ocean many different ways. One way is by Where is its mouth located? being blown into rivers, which flow to the Ocean. What do its teeth look like? (Remember, not all sharks have sharp teeth!) Here are some ideas to help What does it eat? The 4 Rs eliminate this problem: How does it find its food? 1 Stop using plastic bags. Refuse Where in the world is your shark found? Reduce 2 Use reusable bags when shopping. What is its habitat like? Recycle 3 Recycle plastic bags. Does your shark have enemies? Reuse 4 Teach your friends about the problems plastic Who might want to harm it? bags cause for sea turtles and other animals. What does it do to protect itself? Other interesting facts about my shark: To help the sea turtles I will

What else can you do with plastic bags? Once you start using some of the ideas listed above, you will probably find that you still have some plastic bags lying around. Here is a creative way to reuse those extra bags! Search Plastic Bag Crochet on the internet. The Shark Reef (located in the Scott Aquarium) ry Doorly Zoo is your chance to ’s Hen ! aha be inside their world. ed Om t s t e a Sharks, stingrays and f n ave some rea re i e h lly he turtles surround you on a - W we ve three sides! s li n om that e u marine animals 6 F How many can you 5 find of each

that lives here?

4 5 4 4 Circle a number for 6 each animal you find 4 to make bubbles. 3 3 5 3 3 5 2 2 3 2 2 4 2 1 4 1 1 1 3 1 5 3 2 Puffer Fish 5 Grouper Fish 2 4 1 Sandtiger Shark 4 3 3 Sea Turtle 1 2 2

1 1 Southern Stingray

What kind of animal do we have the most of? Look low to find the How many of them can you spot? Sharks, What do you notice about they like to hide on Wobbegong Sandbar each animal that makes them the sandy bottom! Shark Shark easy to identify? What’s A Wobbegong? Be a Science Detective! Thousands of animal (different types) live in the ocean. See how many different groups of animals you can find in the Suzanne & Walter Scott Aquarium. Along the way we A Wobbegong (pronounced wob-ee-gong) is a type of shark. will help you learn some new, tricky science words! These highly camouflaged sharks dwell on the bottom of our tanks and are often overlooked by Zoo visitors. Some types of animals in this group include octopus, cuttlefish and squid. There are twelve different kinds of Wobbegong sharks in the world. (sef-uh-luh-pod) Animals in this group have tentacles! We have three here at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo. Cnidarian Group includes jellyfish, sea anemone, and coral. They are characterized by (nahy-dair-ee-uhn) specialized stinging structures in their tentacles. See if you can find all 3 kinds of in our shark ! Echinoderm Some animals in this group are the sea star, sea cucumber, and sea urchin. (ih-kahy-nuh-durm) These animals have a radiating arrangement of parts.

Bird Types of animals in this group include flamingos, owls, and penguins. Birds are characterized by having feathers.

Reptile Snakes, alligators, and lizards are types of animals included in this group. Reptiles are usually recognized by the presence of scales.

Arthropod Species can include spiders, shrimp, and crabs. They have segmented bodies and an exoskeleton, which they shed as they grow. Tasseled Wobbegong Porifera This should be an easy one. There is only one animal (paw-rif-er-uh) in this group, the sponge!

Do you think they look like carpets? These types of sharks are also known as carpet Look out for these guys! Sharks and stingrays are sharks because they have a flat appearance and travel along the sandy bottom of the ocean (kän-drik-the-ez) a part of this group. They are known for having where they can hide. They can be found in the warm, tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean cartilage and a well-developed jaw bone. around and , in the Indian Ocean near , and the South China Sea. Bony Fish These fish have a skeleton made of bones and also have a swim bladder which helps them float. The color of Wobbegong sharks help camouflage them from predators like larger sharks Examples include tuna, red lionfish, and seahorses. and whales. Their teeth are long, thin and fang-like. They have two rows of teeth on the top and three rows on the bottom. Favorite foods are crabs, lobster and octopus! They will also eat sea bass, luderick (a type of fish), smaller sharks and rays. Wobbegongs are nocturnal activity and like to hunt at night. Sometimes they lie perfectly still and wait for prey to swim close to their mouths, then.....chomp! ou fiind Record which animals you find next to the correct name. y a n : a C Cephalopod Cnidarian Here are some cool facts about these sharks. Echinoderm Bird Female Wobbegong sharks carry eggs, but give birth to live young, called pups. Reptile Arthropod The name Wobbegong comes from the Australian Aboriginal Porifera language and is thought to mean “shaggy beard” because they Chondrichthyes have shaggy tassels growing around their mouths. Bony Fish Life Underwater You’ve got

Living life in the ocean isn’t always simple. Many ocean animals have unique ways of moving, eating, and hiding which help them live life a little easier. These are called a Friend in Me adaptations (a special feature that helps an animal or plant live and grow). Meet the upside down jellyfish. Visit the Suzanne & Walter Scott Aquarium to observe each of the following animals. Think of Unique in its appearance, this drifter maintains an upside down these questions or others while you are watching; Where are their eyes? How do they move? posture. This allows algae in its bell-shaped body to grow and How are they different from other animals in the exhibit? create food from sunlight reaching into the ocean.

In its natural habitat, a certain sideways walking creature has found a friend for life in the upside down jellyfish. Match each animal with the correct description. It will often use the jellyfish as a shield to protect itself from predators! The upside down bell shape makes it easy for this Jellyfish small, sometimes red friend, to carry the jellyfish on its back, I have 2 eyes located on the top while it uses its tentacles to fight off unwanted company. a of my body which allow me to look up, but I cannot see below me. Can you guess who this unlikely friend might be?

Starfish b I am 90% water, have no backbone, Let the Sun Shine In no brain, and no heart.

Now that you know the upside down jellyfish uses sunlight to I have a pair of wide set eyes that help the algae on its body grow, Stingray c help me see 360-degrees. a try to grow your own algae with crab these simple steps.

1 Find two, small clear jars. Label one Rain Water and the other Sea I have an “eye spot” at the end Tap Water. Collect a sample of Turtle d of each arm to help me notice each in the corresponding jar. changes in light. 2 Choose a window in your home that gets a lot of sunlight each day and b place the jars in the window. I am a fish. I use my monkey-like tail to octopus e anchor to sea grasses, coral and other Seahorse 3 Make a prediction about what you objects at the bottom of the ocean. think you will see. Will the jar with tap water have a different result from the jar with rain water? Why?

4 Each day, record what you see f I am a reptile and can weigh about 440 in a journal. pounds. I eat marine grass and algae. c Shark lobster 5 After you have noticed change in your jars, check your prediction. Was your prediction correct? Answers on Back Page of Dive & Discover Booklet Answer on Back Page of Dive & Discover Booklet Before you visit the Suzanne & Walter Scott Aquarium, Sea A to Z read The Underwater Alphabet Book, by Jerry Pallotta. When you are at the aquarium see how many animals you can find that were in the book. Try to find at least one animal that begins with each letter of the alphabet. A K U B L V C M W D N X E O Y F P Z G Q H R I S How many letters were J T you not able to find? How many animals were ______you able to find that started with each letter in the alphabet?

______

Answers for Life Underwater Jellyfish - b Starfish - d Stingray - a Sea Turtle - f Seahorse - e Bonnethead Shark - c Japanese Giant M Answer for You’ve Got a Friend in Me eet o Crab - a Spider Crab ne of our new Largest known living arthropod. st additions! Japanese spider crabs can live to be 100 years old. At that age some may have a leg-span of up to 13 feet, a carapace (top of body) of around 15 inches, and weigh over 40 pounds!

0 ft. 6 ft. 13 ft.