T e e n TRIB E Teen Recruits Inspiring By Example 2011 P r o g r a m M a n u a l 3/22/11 1 Children’s Zoo Overview The Children’s Zoo is geared towards children ages seven and younger and their families. The goals are to engage visitors in meaningful play, foster a sense of wonder, create emotional connections to animals, and develop caring attitudes towards nature. The big idea is that children who have positive, hands-on experiences with animals develop an emotional connection to and greater understanding and appreciation of the natural world. The focus is on “what did you do and feel?” rather than on “what did you learn?” Interacting with Zoo staff and volunteers, and of course, animals can make a significant impact on visitors and the Children’s Zoo provides plenty of opportunities for those kinds of encounters. As visitors enter the Children’s Zoo, they walk along a boardwalk that takes them through a penguin exhibit. During the warmer months, little penguins and African penguins hang out here. During the cooler months, king penguins come out to play. From spring to fall, visitors are encouraged to participate in a penguin investigation facilitated by interpreters at a Wild Discover Zone located on the boardwalk. Leaving the penguin area, visitors encounter the Nursery windows through which they can watch the zookeepers feed and socialize with young animals that require special care. At the Zoo, we hope that babies can remain with and be raised by their mothers. Unfortunately, circumstances may arise that require transferring a baby to the nursery for intensive care. A mother may, for whatever reason, be unable to care for her young properly. Babies that are born prematurely, become very sick or are severely injured may be taken to the nursery. Only a very few animals arrive at the Zoo as infants, yet those that do are raised in the nursery. The nursery is also home to animals that are in training to become animal ambassadors. The keepers spend time socializing these animals and preparing them for interacting with visitors. To the right is the Be the Animal playground where children are invited to swing like a gibbon, hide like a turtle, climb like a spider, and more. Fungineers engage with kids and families to enhance meaningful play and make the connections between the types of physical play and animal locomotion and adaptations. With one way in and one way out of the playground area, parents are welcome to sit back and relax on a bench without worrying about losing their children. Small animal exhibits near the playground include tortoises and other animals on a rotating basis. Restrooms are located behind the playground area in the Children’s Zoo gift shop. To the left, visitors enter the Barnyard where they might encounter free ranging chickens and other domestic animals. When staffed, visitors can enter the Petting Barnyard to interact, feed, and groom goats and babydoll sheep. Feed is available for a nominal fee. At the far end of the Barnyard is Blakely’s Barn, which houses domestic livestock, such as Jacob sheep, Dexter cattle, and mini-cows. It is also home to a llama and an alpaca. There will be a regularly scheduled show. 3/22/11 2 Throughout the Children’s Zoo, visitors may encounter Zoo staff and their animal ambassadors up close and personal. On any given day, the keepers might be taking an aardvark for a walk or roaming around with a raptor perched on an arm. Teen TRIBE Program Overview Goals of Program: The goals of this program are to develop personal and professional growth opportunities in teens by promoting leadership skills and a sense of responsibility in program participants. This program will inspire Zoo guests to become more involved in the activities in Children’s Zoo, and will create a year round opportunity for teens that is semi-self-sustaining. Teens in this program will function as young role models to all Zoo guests, and will embody the Zoo’s mission of conservation, environmental education, and public engagement in science. Teen Opportunities: Opportunity Requirements Tier One: Fungineers Entry level, Yr-Round or Seasonal Tier Two A: Contact Yard Entry level, Yr-Round or Seasonal Tier Two B: Discover Zone Entry level, Yr-Round or Seasonal Tier Three: Animal Encounters 1+ Years Exp., Yr-Round or Seasonal Tier Four: Junior Keepers 1+ Years Exp., Yr-Round or Seasonal Tier Five: Leaders 1+ Years Exp., Yr-Round Tier Job Descriptions Tier One: Fungineers (Entry level, year-round or seasonal) As a Fungineer, you will help guests (both kids and adults) interact with the exhibits within the Children’s Zoo. Fungineers must have outgoing personalities and be willing to get goofy with the kids! In this tier, you will literally help kids jump like lemurs, swing like gibbons, and hop like kangaroos, all while teaching the kids why animals move and act the way they do. Fungineers may randomly organize a game of “Siamang Says” or “Bat and Moth”, or they may teach a group of young children fun educational songs about animals. When time and weather permits, Fungineers may help young guests water and take care of the plant exhibits. Before you can advance from being a Fungineer to working in the Contact Yard, you must become skilled Nature Interpreters that know how to have fun! Tier Two: Contact Yard and Discover Zones (Entry level, year-round or seasonal) Contact Yard teens help open and maintain the contact yard each day, and help care for the chickens and turkeys that roam about the Children’s Zoo. As a Contact Yard teen, you are not simply there to help clean up after the goats, but you must also be able to guide young Zoo guests as they encounter animals in the Contact Yard. You will ensure that both our animals and our guests are safe, and help foster a love of animals in our guests. For TRIBE teens, the contact yard is your first taste of working directly with animals. As such, you must become knowledgeable about zoological facts, including understanding the various personalities of our Children’s Zoo animals. Contact Yard teens will be responsible for engaging the public with our animals and exhibits, 3/22/11 3 including helping guests touch and feed the Children’s Zoo animals. Through your experiences in the contact yard, you will become skilled in Visitor Engagement! As a Tier Two teen, you will also assist with managing the Children’s Zoo Discover Zone. Discover Zone Teens manage the Little Penguin Discover Zone, and guide young Zoo guests through short inquiry investigations that teach our guests about animal adaptations, habitats, and behavior. In this role, you are responsible for opening, managing, and closing the Discover Zone cart, as well as answering questions from the public about Children’s Zoo animals and other Zoo exhibits. You will need to use engagement skills to encourage young guests to participate in investigations. Because you will be located at the entrance of the Children’s Zoo, you will be the first and last face of Children’s Zoo, and will need to be acquainted with the entire Zoo layout so that they can help exiting Children’s Zoo guests plan their Zoo experience. We will also count on Discover Zone teens to help us create fun and exciting investigations for our young guests to perform. Before you can advance to an Animal Encounter teen, you must become experienced Environmental Educators! Animal Encounters; 1+ Years Experience, Year-Round or Seasonal Animal Encounter teens will be utilizing a special collection of animals in the Children’s Zoo to inspire our guests. As an Animal Encounter teen, you will get the opportunity to work with a variety of small animals, ranging from snakes to rabbits! You will learn how to handle and care for these animals, and will become knowledgeable about their natural behaviors and habitats. You will share this knowledge with the public in fun and engaging ways, and clearly demonstrate their passion for nature! You must strive to inspire our guests to learn more about the animals that surround them. Before moving onto Junior Keepers, Animal Encounter teens must become experienced Animal Ecologists! Junior Keeper; 1+ Years Experience, Year-Round or Seasonal Junior Keepers assist Children’s Zoo keepers with the care and husbandry of the Children’s Zoo animals. This includes grooming and giving baths to goats and cows, assisting with animal feeding and food preparation, helping lead animal ambassadors around the Zoo grounds, and helping with public shows in the Children’s Zoo. This coveted position requires lots of hard work and dedication, and only the most driven teens will be selected to advance to this position. The health and happiness of the Children’s Zoo animals will be top priority for our Junior Keeper teens! As a Junior Keeper, you will also get the opportunity to supervise and train other teens that are assisting you with your daily chores. Before becoming Leader teens, Junior Keepers must become experienced Animal Care Givers who can collaborate with their fellow TRIBE members to make the Children’s Zoo an awesome experience for our guests! Leader Teens; 1+ Years Experience, Year-Round Leader Teens are the top tier of the TRIBE, and serve as supervisors to all the other teens. Leader Teens are responsible for making sure that other teens have what they need to perform their duties, and understand the requirements of their jobs. As a Leader Teen, you will need to be able to explain the duties of all other TRIBE jobs, and be able to assist other teens in these roles when things get busy.