Lion Country Safari
Enrichment Workshop
At Lion Country Safari we are full supporters of inclusive education! Our Enrichment program can be adapted (or modified) to meet the needs of special learners. Just give us a call in advance and let us know.
(Designed for Grades 1-5)
Purpose:
To help students to understand how environmental enrichment benefits animals, including humans; to distinguish various types of enrichments; and to understand how different animals respond to stimulation differently.
Program length:
30-45 minutes
Class Size Limit:
50 students
Background:
Environmental enrichment in zoos provides stimulating environments for animals, helping them to display species-typical behavior, to allow them to exercise some control over their environment, and to enhance their well-being. Some of the ways that zoos provide enrichment for animals are: exhibit design; training (operant conditioning); sensory (relating to the 5 senses), including food; and introducing new objects into their environment, to challenge them physically and/or mentally.
This program will focus on enrichment for animals at Lion Country Safari, including a hands-on activity of creating enrichments for some of our animals.
This program meets the following Next Generation Sunshine State Standards and is STEAM compliant:
SC.K.L.14.1: Recognize the five senses and related body parts.
SC.1.L.14.1: Make observations of living things and their environment using the five senses.
SC.1.L.17.1: Through observation, recognize that all plants and animals, including humans, need the basic necessities of air, water, food, and space.
SC.2.L.17.1: Compare and contrast the basic needs that all living things, including humans, have for survival.
SC.4.L.16.3: Recognize that animal behaviors may be shaped by heredity and learning.
SC.4.L.17.4: Recognize ways plants and animals, including humans, can impact the environment.
SC.5.L.15.1: Describe how, when the environment changes, differences between individuals allow some plants and animals to survive and reproduce while others die or move to new locations.
MAFS.K12.MP.5.1: Use appropriate tools strategically.
VA.K12.S.1: The arts are inherently experiential and actively engage learners in the process of creating, interpreting, and responding to art.
Pre-Visit Activity:
Enrichment Activity 1
This activity is designed to introduce students to some enrichments that they have in their lives, and to consider how the lives of animals at Lion Country Safari may be enriched. Note: For older students, you may wish to ask them to list items rather than drawing them.
Post-Visit Activity:
Enrichment Activity 2
Print a copy of this chart for each student (or group of students, if you would prefer that they work on this as a group activity) and ask the students to complete it on their visit. When you get back to class, review their charts.
