With warmer weather and baby animals peeking out, summer is the perfect time to visit your local zoo! There are so many ways children can benefit and learn. For young children, a trip to the zoo is about colors, noises, and learning to identify animals. School-aged kids are at the best age to learn about the eating habits, behaviors, and habitats of the various animals of the world.
Why not take that learning experience to a creative level by incorporating activity books into your trip? Here are some tips to make the zoo more than just an excuse to get out of the house!
1. Create a scavenger hunt.
Using your local zoo’s online map, put together a mini-hunt for things that you need to find, see, or do while at the zoo. Collect leaves, seek out key words, or pick up trash to earn points towards rewards like ice cream or the adorable pencil toppers found in our My First Learn to Draw: Animals book!
2. Type up clues or riddles to take you to the next exhibit.
End the “What do you want to see next?” debate by planning out your day and making your kids figure out what to see next through clues and riddles. Fun rhymes such as “I live in trees down south of the equator–I’m not a bear and I’m not an alligator!” will have your kids dashing from animal to animal.
3. Get creative.
Collect stamps, doodle an animal, or draw a picture of all the different habitats you see while on your visit. Use a fun activity book like Never-Ending Activity Book: A Leap of Leopards to add to the excitement.
4. See a free show or demonstration.
Do some research ahead of time and see what options are available at your zoo. Encourage your child to ask questions to the zookeepers and get involved with any interactive activities offered, such as a petting or feeding area.
5. Incorporate a geography lesson.
Bring along a map of the world from Smithsonian Exploration Station: World Atlas and have your child mark off each country as they find an animal from it. This is a great way to sneak in a geography lesson in a fun way!
6. Introduce children to habitats around the world.
While exploring the different animal habitats at the zoo, have your child place the animal stickers into their corresponding habitat in Discovery Real Life Sticker Book: Wild Animals. Kids will love learning about animals around the world in this hands-on sticker book.
After your trip to the zoo, keep the learning going with these fun and educational books!
What is your favorite activity to do at the zoo? Leave us a comment!
© 2019 Discovery Communications, LLC. Discovery™ and the Discovery™ logo are trademarks of Discovery Communications, LLC, used under license. All rights reserved. discoverykids.com
The Smithsonian name and logo are registered trademarks of the Smithsonian Institution. ©2019 Smithsonian.