STEM TREK · Mynah birds weigh 100 grams, how many grams do all the Bali Mynah birds at the Minnesota Zoo weigh all together? STEM TREK 4–5th grades 8. ANIMAL EXHIBITS ... collecting

TREKSTEM

EXPLORING THE TROPICS TRAIL

STEM TREK 4–5th grades 2

USE THIS STEM TREK TO HELP YOU LEARN HOW HUMANS AT THE ZOO CAN PLAY A POSITIVE ROLE IN AN ECOSYSTEM, INCLUDING WORKING AT THE MINNESOTA ZOO.

MINNESOTA ZOOWelcome to the

Tropics Trail STEM Trek!

We are meeting together at the Minnesota Zoo for ____________________________.(lunch or program)

Meet at _____________________at ____________.(location) (time)

The bus will be leaving at ____________.(time)

Meet at _____________________ before we depart.(location)

Other reminders:


RING TAILED LEMURRED RUFFED LEMURRADIATED TORTOISEDWARF CROCODILEFRUIT BATSCOLOBUS MONKEYROCK HYRAXDEBRAZZA’S MONKEYRED RIVER HOGKOMODO DRAGONBALI MYNAHGIBBONASIAN FISHASIAN SMALL CLAWED OTTERRHINO HORNBILLFLAMINGOTREE KANGAROOTAPIRBINTURONGASIAN TORTOISETROPICAL REEF (FISH AND SHARKS)RED PANDAWARTY PIGLINNE’S TWO TOED SLOTHCHINCHILLABURMESE PYTHON50 SPECIES OF BIRDSTAMANDUAGOLDEN LION TAMARINCOTTON TOP TAMARIN

TROPICS TRAILANIMALS OF THE


OBJECTIVEFIELD TRIP

FIELD TRIP OBJECTIVE:Humans live within and are part of ecosystems and have engineered and developed technology that can solve problems in habitats as well as create them, both in a zoo and out in the wild.

PRE-VISIT QUESTIONS:Write questions below that you hope to find the answer to when you visit the zoo.

WHAT ______________________________________________?

WHY________________________________________________? HOW ________________________________________________?

WHERE ______________________________________________?

What can you do if you can’t find the answer to these questions on your own during the field trip? List some ideas of where you can investigate further.


ANIMAL EXHIBITSDESIGNING

MEETING ANIMAL NEEDSZoo planners designed the tropics trail with light panels that increase light intensity during winter to mimic the 11-13 hours of sunlight found in the Tropics. This allowed Lemur zookeepers to add plants native to the Lemur’s home of Madagascar such as the Dragon and Umbrella Tree. These plants were chosen because they are durable, easy to clean.

ACTIVITY:Zoo keepers need your help to determine if the location of the Madagascar plants in the exhibit were a good idea. They want to avoid high activity areas so the plants don’t get ruined by Lemur activity. Read the ethogram, a chart that shares the behavior and location of the lemurs every 5 minutes for an hour. Then, choose one lemur to watch for the remaining 5 minutes to help finish the data in order to suggest where to put the plants.

X = Location of the lemurs

Which location should the zookeepers have the plants? Why?

Which location would be a bad decision to place the plants? Why?

How does knowing where the lemurs hang out and go to the bathroom help determine where to place the plants?



DESIGN TO ENCOURAGE NATURAL BEHAVIORSExhibit designers make considerations during the design process to encourage natural activities . For example, the Fruit Bat exhibit has branches to hang out, places to put fruit so the bats can reach, and a darkened area for them to hide. All are important so encourage the bats to use their instincts and natural behaviors just like they would in the wild.

ACTIVITY:Get in the mind of a zoo exhibit designer. Take a look around the Dwarf Crocodile exhibit. Look over the questions the designer had to consider when planning. Explain what the exhibit designer included in the exhibit to help address their questions.



COMFORTING ANIMALSThe Rock Hyrax is a shy animal. Zoo exhibit designers have created three different hiding boxes on the exhibit for defense and protection, and staying warm. The Rock Hyrax like to sunbathe, however, on rainy days they often stay hidden because they are too cold to come out.

ACTIVITY:Draw the exhibit. Mark an X for each place you think the Rock Hyrax hiding boxes should be so visitors can still see them on a rainy day.

Why did you choose those three locations? What could you add to the exhibit so the Rock Hyrax comes out of their hiding boxes to be seen better?

MATH PIT STOPLocate the Bali Mynah birds on your way to the Komodo Dragon. If typical Bali Mynah birds weigh 100 grams, how many grams do all the Bali Mynah birds at the Minnesota Zoo weigh all together?



COMFORTING ANIMALSIn the wild, the Komodo Dragon experiences temperatures from 126 during the day to 75 at night. Because the Komodo Dragon is cold blooded, exhibit designers included seven in floor temperature zones to help the Komodo Dragon control its body temperature!

ACTIVITY:Four of the seven temperatures of the heated floor zones are below. Read the thermometers below to find out what each zone temperature is.

Which zone do you think the Komodo dragon would go to warm up fast if he was way too cold? Where in the exhibit do you think that is? Why?


ANIMAL MONITORING AND ENRICHMENTIn the wild, gibbons spend a lot of time foraging for food. Keepers provide dietary enrichment by adding food items to the gibbons main diet with special treats like “monkey brownies or “gibbon cupcakes.” Sometimes oatmeal paste is smeared on branches in their exhibit. Gibbons tend to respond with more excitement when their treats are hidden. Food may also be hidden in paper bags or have special puzzle feeders to encourage foraging behaviors.

ACTIVITY:To help the zoo keepers figure out the best place in the exhibit to put a dietary enrichment for the Gibbons, collect data each minute about the Gibbon’s behavior and location for 5 minutes. Use the behavior key below.

Behavior Key:

B: BathingC: Calling/HowlingD: DominanceE: EatingG: GroomingR: Resting S: SwingingS: SocializingZ: Sleeping

Using your data, where would you suggest to put the dietary enrichment? Why?

ANIMALSCARING FOR


ANIMALSCARING FOR

ANIMAL MONITORING AND ENRICHMENTOtters at the zoo eat a lot of fish such as Herring, Mackerel, and Capelin. Zoo staff have trained otters to line up to eat in a particular order, but they needed a more accurate way to tell if the otters were eating from the right dish. Microchips were implanted into their noses to help them collect data for an Otter Health Study!

ACTIVITY:The zoo keeper otter diet notes are hard to understand and disorganized. Help her organize her feeding notes better by writing more detailed step by step instructions on how to care for the otters!

Daily Feeding Instructions for the Asian Small Clawed Otter: 1. 2.

3. 4. 5. 6.


CONSERVATIONENDANGERED ANIMAL

SPECIES SURVIVAL PLANS (SSP’S)In captivity the Malayan tapir is managed for breeding purposes by a Species Survival Plan (SSP), which helps to breed captive zoo animals in order to support the population. The Minnesota Zoo currently participates in 23 SSP programs, including the Malayan tapir SSP. Since 2001, Minnesota Zoo has birthed 5 Malayan tapirs that have gone into the SSP pool, and hope to breed more soon.

ACTIVITY:The three animals at this stop are considered to be ‘Hot Spot’ Animals, meaning they are all endangered in the wild. Look at the graph below to learn more about what is happening with Hot Spot animals.

What information is this graph sharing with you? What type of animal improved over time? What type of animal should we be more concerned with? Read the Hot Spot (on the exhibit sign) from one of the animal’s above. Why is it a Hot Spot animal? What do humans have to do with it?



EDUCATING THE PUBLICThe Minnesota Zoo helps to educate people about the threat animals are facing in the wild in order to get people involved. The dive show and shark feeding at the Tropical Reef is a great way to hear about the fish and how the Zoo takes care of them when there are so many fish to feed!

ACTIVITY:In order for you to see the dive show, Minnesota Zoo staff works hard to monitor the water quality to make sure you can learn and the fish while the fish stay comfortable. There is a lot of water to monitor. Answer the questions below to find out just how big this tank is!

A normal bath tub holds 70 gallons. This tank can hold 1,178 bathtubs! How many gallons can this tank hold?

If there are 400 fish in this tank, how many gallons of water space does each fish get? To make the tank like salt water ocean, they had to add 350 boxes of ‘Instant Ocean’ into the water. Each box had 3 bags. How many bags did they need to empty? Find out when the next Dive Show is. How much time (in minutes) do you have until it starts? (If it is over, how much time has passed?)



COLLECTING RESEARCHThere is reason to believe that red pandas are an endangered species caused by habitat destruction, hunting for their fur, and the pet trade. Their true status is difficult to determine because they are active mainly at night, spend most of their time in trees, and often live alone. Living at high altitudes in places that can only be reached by foot within countries that are usually off-limits to visitors makes researching and collecting accurate population numbers of Red Pandas difficult in the wild.

ACTIVITY:Reliable population numbers are hard to find, partly because other animals have been mistaken for the red panda. Below is a picture of a Civet, an animal that closely resembles the Red Panda at night. Help identify the similarities and differences between these two animals by filling out the Venn Diagram so its easier to know when a Red Panda is spotted in the wild.


MATH PIT STOPStand in front of the Burmese Python exhibit. Look on the ground. How many feet long can Burmese Python’s get? What fraction of the python’s length does your body height represent?

SUPPORTANIMAL HUSBANDRYMinnesota Zoo is proud to have helped write the Animal Husbandry Manual for Sloths, a how to guide on taking care of sloths in captivity. This is important to the animal’s survival in a zoo and the reason we have a winter sloth exhibit! Sloths require outside heat to maintain their 75-91 degree body temp. Their normal corner of the Tropics does not remain warm enough for them to be in that exhibit in the winter.

ACTIVITY:The Minnesota Zoo needs the keep the Sloth indoors. Some zoos have perfect temperatures for Sloths be outside during the day. Design and draw an outdoor sloth exhibit using facts from the Sloth Care Manual.

CAPTIVE SPECIES

Outdoor Housing Requirements: • Wooden pole climbing structure

with rope • Raised feed and water stations • Grass, shrubs, bamboo, trees, large

log features • Shallow pool • Artificial rockwork mounds• Mesh roof no less than 5 meters

tall • “Walkthrough” public viewing

area barrier with 1 meter high glass, the rest is open


SUPPORTANIMAL HUSBANDRYKnowledge of bird nests is very important to supporting birds during the breeding stages. Zookeepers often provide materials that birds can pick up and add to their nest during this critical stage. The Aviary is home to over 150 birds. With so many, there are a variety of nests available that birds can customize and call them home.

ACTIVITY:Scan the Aviary and find three different types of nests. Draw each nest that you see. Then, using the nesting key, identify what type of nest you observed.

CAPTIVE SPECIES

Draw the nest around each bird for three types of nests you see.

Why is it important to birds to make their own nests?

Nest #1 Type: Nest #2 Type: Nest #3 Type:


SUPPORTANIMAL HEALTH AND WELFAREPrimates are really good at finding pills and spitting them out, or hiding them in their cheek pouches and spitting them out later. This makes them an even greater challenge to medicate! Sometimes zookeepers take advantage of competition between animals to get a monkey to scoop up the medicated treat before his roommate gets a chance. Other times training is used to ensure medications are administered successfully. Animals, like primates, can be trained to take liquids through a syringe, and medication can be formulated into a flavored liquid.

ACTIVITY:Often the Tamarins notice the syringe and go the other way making it harder to give medicine. Zookeepers need your help to engineer a disguise for the syringe so the Tamarins feel comfortable approaching the zookeeper because the syringe is disguised.

CAPTIVE SPECIES

Things to Consider Before Designing:• What are some common things

found in a Tamarin Habitat/Exhibit? • Do Tamarin’s live by themselves?• Favorite foods are fruit, insects,

nectar, and small lizards.• Tamarins often live in groups of 3-9.

Syringe Disguise Prototype Design


IN ACTIONHUMANS PLAY MANY IMPORTANT ROLESMinnesota Zoo is a great place for the human and animal populations to be connected. In your own words, give examples you learned about that show how humans at the Minnesota Zoo demonstrate their positive role in their ecosystem using each of the topics below.

CONSERVATION


DATA AND OBSERVATION NOTES


DATA AND OBSERVATION NOTES


Tropics Trail Map

UPPERSOUTH

ENTRANCE

EASTENTRANCE(SEASONAL)

UPPERPLAZA

TROPICALREEF

SNOWMONKEY

GRAY WOLF

WINGS FINANCALWORLD OF BIRD SHOW

TAPIR

GIBBON

TAMARIN

PUMA

WOLVERINE

BEAVER

TIGERPARKING

LOT

MEDTRONICMINNESOTA

TRAIL

TARGET®

LEARNINGCENTER TROPICS

TRAIL

UPPER PLAZA INSET

BLACKBEAR

NURSING AREA

RAMP TOLOWER LEVEL

(SEASONAL)

Documents

STEM TREK · Mynah birds weigh 100 grams, how many grams do all the Bali Mynah birds at the Minnesota Zoo weigh all together? STEM TREK 4–5th grades 8. ANIMAL EXHIBITS ... collecting