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Coming Soon! Watch WSTM Channel 3 on Saturday Mornings at 8:45 a.m. for a fun new segment on "What is New at the Zoo! Then look here for fun zoo activities you can do at home! Here is a sample of zoo activities you can do. |
Sample 1 |
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The tiger is one of the animals at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo that stays
warm while playing in the snow. The five Amur tigers grow thick, shaggy
coats which keeps them warm during the Syracuse winters. Extra fur
on their paws also provides insulation against the cold snow. Like
the tigers, we also need protection in the winter to keep us warm.
Next time you play in the snow, think about what you wear outside.
You adapt to the winter weather by wearing a coat, snow pants, boots,
hats, scarves and mittens. To learn more about animals adapting to
the winter and to see Amur tiger's fur coats, visit the Rosamond Gifford
Zoo's Wildlife Trial. |
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Fun Activity: Build a snowman. Pretend your snowman is freezing and he needs to stay warm like the zoos Amur tigers. Unlike the Amur tigers, your snowman cannot grow a fur coat. What are you going to dress him with? His snow head and neck need a hat and scarf. Don't forget his stick fingers need mittens! Click on the Snowman to open a PDF to print. |
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 How
do you know if an elephant is cold? Zookeepers at the Rosamond Gifford
Zoo are very attentive to our six Asian elephants during the winter
months. They can tell if the elephants are cold by checking their
ears. When you are outside playing in the winter, how can you tell
if you're cold? If you're not wearing gloves, your fingers will get
cold or if you're not wearing a hat, you're ears might get cold just
like the elephants. Though our elephants love to play in the snow,
the zookeepers only let them play outside for short amounts of time
when the temperature is below 20 degrees. To learn more about the
zoo's Asian elephants and for some outdoor winter fun, visit the Rosamond
Gifford Zoo's Wildlife Trial. |
| Fun Activity: When you're playing outside check every 10 min to see if your ears are cold. Even with a hat on, you can feel the cool wind through your hat. If you were an elephant, how long could you stay outside? Remember zookeepers take the elephants inside the barn to warm up when their ears get cold. How do you warm your ears up when they get cold? |
| Sample 3 | |
 The
19 Humboldt penguins at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo have two layers to
keep them warm during the winter. The first, inner layer is a fat
layer, called blubber. It's several centimeters thick and helps penguins
stay warm in extreme conditions. The second layer is their stiff and
overlapping feathers. Their feathers insulate their bodies, protecting
them in winds of up to 60 miles per hour and serving as a waterproofing
layer for winter swimming. If you want to swim in the winter, you
need to wear a wetsuit, which helps insulate and waterproof your body,
just like the penguins feathers. At the zoo, the Humboldt penguin
exhibit also has heated rocks, sufficient nesting burrows and an indoor
holding for when it drops below 20 degrees. To see the zoo's penguins
in their outdoor exhibit or indoor building, visit the Rosamond Gifford
Zoo's Wildlife Trial. |
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Fun Activity: Humboldt penguins have a lot of feathers on their bodies. Can you cut out a penguin and cover it with feathers? If your creation is like the zoo's Humboldt penguins, you should not be able to see through the feathers. Click on the Penguin on the left to open a PDF to print. |
Sample 4 |
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 Santa's
sleigh is pulled by eight reindeer and Rudolph, the most famous reindeer
of all. Unlike Santa's reindeer, the reindeer at the Rosamond Gifford
Zoo are staying on the ground this holiday season, so you can come
visit them. Look carefully for the reindeer because they are often
confused with caribou, a similar animal at the zoo. Caribou are larger
and have a massive antler, while reindeer are shorter and have a thicker
fur coat. What type of jacket you wear in the winter? Probably a thick,
heavy one to keep you warm. To learn more about the zoo's holiday
animals and for some outdoor winter fun, visit the Rosamond Gifford
Zoo's Wildlife Trial. |
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Fun Activity: Color in
a picture of Santa's eight reindeer. Pretend four are caribou. Draw
antlers on all the caribou and reindeer. Remember caribou have a larger,
more massive antler than reindeer.
Click on the Reindeer on the left to open a PDF to print. |
| Sample 5 |
 The
Rosamond Gifford Zoo's flamingos are chosen for their hardiness during
the winter and will most likely choose to remain in the main pond,
near the bubbles, until the temperatures drop into the single digits.
A winter shelter at the zoo is the perfect get-a-way for the Chilean
flamingos during the CNY winters. In the winter, what can you use
to make an outdoor home? You could build an igloo out of snow and
use it to warm up whenever you're cold. The Dutch door on the flamingo's
wooden home allows the flamingos to enter and warm up whenever they
wish. Come see the zoo's Chilean flamingos and the other winter animals
on the Rosamond Gifford Zoo's Wildlife Trial. |
| Fun Activity: Can you act like a flamingo? Try this. Stand on one leg, flap your arms and bob your head at the same time. Flamingos like to flock together, get your friends to try being flamingos too! See who can stand on one leg the longest! |
Sample 6 |
 Over
70 percent of the animals at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo are keeping
warm in indoor exhibits year-round. The collared lizards stay warm
in their dessert exhibit. They have unique traits, which make them
one of our most interesting reptiles. Lizards arch their backs, suck-in
their sides and bob their heads for various displays, making them
appear to be doing push-ups. Try acting like the collared lizard by
lying on your stomach. Use your arms to press up and arch your back.
To see the zoo's collard lizard or the other indoor animals, visit
the Rosamond Gifford Zoo's Antiquities exhibit. |
| Fun Activity: Try acting like the collared lizard by lying on your belly. Use your arms to press up and arch your back. |
Sample 7 |
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 Escape
from the colder CNY weather to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo's tropical
paradise and see the six bright red scarlet ibis's. The Diversity
of Birds Aviary is home to 25 different species of brightly colored
birds and the temperatures are kept in the mid-70's year-round. The
brilliant red color of the scarlet ibis comes from the crustaceans
it feeds on. The scarlet ibis is easy to spot in the Diversity of
Birds Aviary because they are accustomed to people and walk on the
same path you would. Pretend you are a bird. What color or mix of
colors would you be? To learn more about the scarlet ibis's or other
brightly colored indoor birds, visit the Rosamond Gifford Zoo's Diversity
of Birds Aviary. |
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Fun Activity: Color this picture of a bird. What color bird would you be? Are you a bright colored bird like the scarlet ibis? Click on the bird on the left to open a PDF to print. |
Sample 8 |
 Come
inside this winter to see the three fennec fox's in the Rosamond Gifford
Zoo's Adaptation Area. In their native desert habitats, the fennec
fox adapts from the drastic nighttime cold to the blazing daytime
sun each day. These foxes have thick, long fur to help insulate them
during the chilly night. They also have hairs on the soles of their
feet, which helps them run in loose sand and protects their feet from
the hot floor. Next time you go outside, pretend you're a fox and
run across the snow with your boots on. Your boots, like the fox's
hair will help protect you from the cold snow. To learn more about
the zoo's dessert animals or the other indoor animals, visit the Rosamond
Gifford Zoo's Adaptation Area. |
 Fun
Activity: The fennec fox has hair on its feet to protect
it from the hot sand. When you go outside you were sneakers to protect
your feet from the cold sidewalk or boots to keep you warm when walking
in the snow. Pretend you're a fennec fox and run across the snow with
your boots. |
| Sample 9 |
 There's
a lot of swinging going on in the Rainforest at the Rosamond Gifford
Zoo. The three black and white ruffled lemurs are most active in the
morning and early evening. They move around by walking or running
on larger branches using their hands and feet to grip. The lemur's
strong legs also allow them to jump from branch to branch and from
tree to tree. Try acting like a ruffed lemur by measuring how far
you can jump. If it's snowing out, you can easily measure the
distance between your footprints. To learn more about the ruffed lemur
or the other indoor swinging animals, visit the Rosamond Gifford Zoo's
Rainforest. |
| Fun Activity: Ruffed lemurs love to jump from branch to branch. Find a friend and see how far you can jump. Take turns jumping and measuring how far each other went. If it's snowing out, you can easily measure the distance of your jump by measuring your footprints. |