The following was written by Beth Rosenthal, Principal, and Amarilis Severino, Administrative Operations Assistant, Esther Ashkenas Central Park Early Learning Center
The zoo trip brought the learning experience to life.
Students and staff from AHRC NYC’s Esther Ashkenas Early Learning Center had a fun day of learning at the Central Park Zoo. We started our day by observing the sea lions as they swam and played in their habitat, followed by a visit to the penguins’ exhibit, where the students learned about the different types of penguins and their living environments. Next, we took a stroll through the rainforest where we saw monkeys swinging from branch to branch and colorful birds flying around. Our favorite part of the rainforest was seeing the ants and the magnifying lenses. We all sang along “The Ants Go Marching One by One”.
The zoo experience was captured in the phrase “joyful animal adventure.” It was an amazing experience to teach students about zoo animals and then see their excitement when the learning experience came to life. As they engaged with the opportunity to observe different exhibits, some students who fear novel environments took some time to acclimate at the zoo, giving them the chance to overcome their concerns, learn to trust new environments, and explore at their own pace.
Students and staff from AHRC NYC’s Esther Ashkenas Early Learning Center had a fun day of learning at the Central Park Zoo.
Our visit to the zoo was a multi-sensory experience where all of the animals from our art projects and picture books came to life. We learned all about how animals smell, the sounds they make, the way they look, and how they feel. We had so much fun learning and exploring at the zoo.
The children learned about animals’ sounds, smells, and behaviors at the zoo.
Some of the children’s comments about the visit to the Zoo included:
Leilani– “I see an elephant and a monkey.”
Torren– “I saw a crocodile, and a sloth.”
Nigel— “I found a snake!”
Joseph– “Penguins swimming. Three sea lions jumping.”
Greyson– “Sea Lions!”
Leo—“Go to the zoo. I see penguins and sea lions.”
It was an educational day for everyone, staff members included! One teacher said, “The trip to the Central Park Zoo was such a fun experience for my students, from the sea lions to the penguins to the bears. I’ll never forget how all their faces lit up today seeing their favorite animals in real life.”
