The Zoo!

Opal 1 has been researching animals that live in the arboretum. As a part of this research we've gone to the world forestry center, read lots of books, acted out and imagined what it would be like to be our animal, and even done some research at home with our families. On Friday we celebrated all the research we've been doing and continued that research even further by taking a field trip to the Oregon Zoo! Because we are researching animals that live in the Pacific Northwest, our trip to the zoo consisted of us really slowing down and taking time to research the Northwest section of the Oregon Zoo. It seemed like we picked the perfect day to go! We saw so many different animals, some that we'd been studying and some that we hadn't.

 We found it surprising to see how active the animals were. We really got the chance to see some of the things that we’d imagined these animals doing in the wild. We saw a black bear cub climbing a tree, rolling down a hill and running across the meadow. Rory described it best when she said, "My favorite part was when the bear got a bee up his nose and ran all over the place!" It looked like the kind of play we see every day at our own outdoor break. And just for a moment we had an opportunity to imagine what it would be like to be something else, to really put ourselves into another perspective.

Many of the children were so inspired by seeing the animals up close, that this experience peaked their interest and left them wanting to know more. At the end of the day Victoria showed us a list she had written in her journal of all the new animals she wanted to research and learn more about! The energy was exciting and the possibilities for new discoveries were endless.