Classrooms Extend To Zoo

This year, both sections of the Environmental Science and Natural History class took a trip to the Philadelphia Zoo. We had the entire day to walk around observe a ton of animals we would otherwise never see on an ordinary day. We were assigned two journal entries and along with a few other assignments to act as our final exam. The journal entries were to reflect on two different animals and how they would be living in the wild to further assess the zoo as a permanent habitat for those animals. Completing more than half of a final exam on a field trip made for the best end of senior year assignment I’ve received. The trip also provided time for some class bonding while we explored the Zoo.


Ciara's view of one of the Zoo's lions.

A personal favorite from the Zoo were the white-handed gibbons that were very lively and acted very similarly to the way humans do. I cannot emphasize how great it was to see these types of animals that I would not have been able to see without significant travel. In this class we’ve learned about the environment, animals and human impact on both. Getting to leave the classroom to learn even more was an extraordinary experience and I would take this class again just to go on the Philadelphia Zoo trip again if I could.

~ Ciara Q ‘15