The Wildlife Conservation Society
visits PS 8
By Randi Pellett
Recently, Ms. Davis's Kindergarten finished their study of penguins. The parents of the children in the class raised money and brought an in-school Wildlife Conservation Society field trip to K-201. Students arrived in the room to find "Admiral Drake" in his heavy winter coat, and a 6-foot-tall penguin waiting to greet them.
After learning a penguin song and impressing the WCS members with their abundant knowledge of penguins, the children learned about how penguins camouflage themselves with their black and white feathers. They handled real penguin feathers and touched a genuine penguin egg. Next was the challenge of building a penguin nest using tongs to simulate a penguin's beak to recreate the experience of a penguin's nest building in the wild. Ms. Davis raved about the experience: "The program from Central Park Zoo was fantastic. It was informative and very interactive. The kids loved it. I was very pleased at how well prepared they were and how engaged the children were. It was great!" What an incredible hands-on activity to culminate their classroom study and an experience these children will never forget.
Posted on: April 22, 2008
