2nd and 3rd grade learn about animals at Lowry Park Zoo
2nd and 3rd grade went on a field trip to Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa this past week. 2nd grade focused on the adaptations of animals and how those adaptations help each animal to meet their needs. 3rd grade focused on animal classification and the features scientists use to group them.
More About the Lowry Park Zoo: Five-time winner of the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence (2010-2015), Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo is one of the most popular zoos in the southeastern U.S., with over 800,000 visitors annually. The Zoo’s collection now includes more than 1,200 animals. The Zoo participates in nearly 100 of AZA’s networks for managing endangered and threatened species, and has won numerous awards for its animal conservation and management programs. The State of Florida formally recognized the Zoo in 2004 as a center for biodiversity and conservation. It exhibits the most comprehensive collection of endangered Florida wildlife anywhere. One of its most important conservation programs is the David A. Straz, Jr. Manatee Hospital, the only permitted nonprofit critical care facility of its kind in Florida. Like a window on a manatee “emergency room,” Zoo guests have the unique experience of watching conservation at work as the Zoo’s veterinary and animal care staff treat sick, injured and orphaned manatees. Underwater viewing windows in the Manatee & Aquatics Center let guests come nose-to-nose with manatees that the Zoo staff return to the wild when they have fully recovered. The Zoo emphasizes endangered, threatened and vulnerable species from climates similar to that of the Tampa Bay region, with park areas devoted to Asia, Africa, Australia and Florida. Additional areas exhibit primates and birds. Exhibits balance support for the maximum well-being of the animals with the importance of the guest experience in relation to our mission. Keeper talks, animal encounters, behind-the-scene tours, and other special experiences expand the Zoo’s opportunities to promote a connection to the living earth.
