STEM Programs – Minnesota Zoo

Through the Minnesota Zoos Math and Science (ZOOMS) Program, students and teachers discover just what it takes to engineer a modern zoo. Funded by 3M, ZOOMS provides both teachers and students the opportunity to apply important science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts to real world situations using the Minnesota Zoo as a context. Through topics such as Engineering FORAnimals (exhibit design),Engineering FROM Animals(biomimicry), andEngineering BYAnimals (animals as engineers), teachers and students are challenged to consider and tackle the complexities in both the natural world and constructed environments. The ZOOMS program supports teachers with integrating standards-based ZOOMS resources, design challenges, and field trips into their curriculum to better equip students with the STEM skills to engineer and problem solve just like zookeepers, exhibit designers and conservationists at the Minnesota Zoo! Start seeing the zoo in a whole new way!

STEM at the Zoo: ZOOMS Workshop for Informal Educators

Dates: April 24-26, 2017 Time: 8 am-4 pm

Join us this spring for a three- day workshop held at the Minnesota Zoo. This professional development opportunity is offered to informal educators from zoos and aquariums that are looking to expand their institutions STEM programming and implement the ZOOMS model, a zoo-based integrated STEM program. We will explore the role of zoos and aquariums in providing high-quality STEM education, give examples of the programming we offer through ZOOMS, and provide tools and resources that you can take back to your home institution.

Check out more information.

Register Online

Cancellation Policy 75% refund through March 13th 50% refund March 14th-April 10th No refund after April 11th

How is STEM applied at the Minnesota Zoo? Get inspired through the exploration of exhibit design, biomimicry, and animal engineers to further equip your students with STEM skills used by real zoo professionals.

Professional Development Opportunities

For a more complete list of teacher professional development offerings or to register to attend a workshop, visit here.

The ZOOMS design challenge offers students a chance to develop a solution to a real problem faced by Zoo Keepers and staff at the Minnesota Zoo.From designing an enrichment, to building a model of a renovated animal exhibit, the problem will challenge students to use their science and math knowledge, creativity, problem solving, and research skills during the engineering design process in order to best solve the problem and present a solution. Selected students are invited to showcase their design challenge solution in the ZOOMS Design Exhibition in March at the Minnesota Zoo for a chance to win a backstage pass experience with our animals!

See the ZOOMS Design Challenge in Action!

Courtesy of South Washington County Schools

2016-2017 ZOOMS Enrichment and Exhibit Design Challenges

Need a reminder for upcoming ZOOMS opportunities? FollowMNZoo Teach & Learn Loop Facebookpage or sign up at mnzoo.org/teachandlearnto receive the MnZoo Teach & Learn Times E-newsletter.

Immerse students in the world of engineering at the zoo in this customized full or multi-day residency. Guided by a zoo naturalist, students will be led through hands on inquiry-based activities, an exploration of exhibit and enrichment design, behind the scenes experiences, encounters with zoo professionals in STEM and more. Students will leave with a deeper understanding of how science, technology, engineering, and math is used and applied at the zoo.

Fee: $25 per student per day; $250 per day minimum plus applicable admission fees.

These 45-minute interactive classes are fun and engaging and provide a great opportunity to reinforce standard-based concepts being explored in your curriculum. Topics range from tropical rainforests to animal adaptations to ocean conservation.

Learn more about Zoo Classes.

EngineeringbyAnimals: Inventive Nature Humans arefarfrom the only living creatures on earth that affect their environments in fascinating ways. EngineeringbyAnimals looks at examples of wildlife that show animals goingbeyondtheir built-in physical adaptations, using and evenalteringtheir habitats to increase the chances of their own survival. During this program you will also have a chance to test your own animal ingenuity during its Survival Solutions activity!

EngineeringforAnimals: Exhibit Design & Beyond Zoos have come a long way in the last 75 years: blank concrete cells with steel bars have given way to lush, naturally-inspired enclosures with live plants and jungle-gyms that put our own playgrounds to shame. During this program youll visit a variety of the Minnesota Zoos cutting-edge animal enclosureslive, and learn about the smart engineering that goes into designing a modern zoo exhibit. Youll also test your own ingenuity by whipping up exhibit designs for animals that dont even exist yet!

To register for a program or to find a more complete list of Interactive Video Conferencing programs, visit here.

Its true! People use math every day, and the keepers and scientists at the zoo are no exception! The Minnesota Zoo Math Days have been designed to inspire students grades 4th-12th to learn more about math applications in the workplace. Through hands on activity stations, students will answer grade appropriate math problems related to a wide variety of animal issues such as animal weights, diets and conservation.

Math Day 2016 will be open for registration August 2016.

For more information on Math Day, visit here.

STEM Quest Curriculum Guide: Analyzing Human Impact in Malaysia

To find a complete list of teacher resources, visit here.

Minnesota Zoo is proud to partner with !

SciGirls, an award winning PBS KIDS series, website and national outreach initiative, is changing how millions of tween girls think about science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM! In each episode, animated characters Izzie and her best friend Jake find themselves in jams only science can fix. To set things right, Izzie calls on bright, curious real-life SciGirls, who put STEM to work and save the day. Izzie also invites viewers to hang out on the website pbskids.org/scigirls a totally safe, social networking environment where girls can play games, connect, create personal profiles and avatars, share projects and watch every episode.

As a partner to SciGirls, the ZOOMS program integrates standards-based activities, hands on inquiry, and exploration in zoo classes, camps, and curriculum activities in order to inspire girls to get excited about STEM. To learn more, visit teacher resources or http://mnzoo.org/education/camps/.

SciGirls is produced for PBS by tpt National Productions and is made possible by the National Science Foundation. Additional support by LOreal USAs For Girls in Science program, Northrup Grumman Foundation, and PPG Industries Foundation. SciGirls / 2014 Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. pbskids.org/scigirls ZOOMS is sponsored by

For further questions regarding STEM programming at the Minnesota Zoo, please contact STEM@mnzoo.org.

Link:
STEM Programs - Minnesota Zoo