Freebie Friday - Virtual Field Trips - Zoos
We love going to the zoo and getting to know all about the wonderful creatures in the world. While there are hundreds of zoos in the world, here are a few we found that might be fun to visit online.
San Diego Zoo Live Cams - Check in on some interesting creatures like apes and baboons, penguins, bears, giraffe, butterfly big cats and birds with these zoo cams. Before you leave the site, use the upper menu under Animals & Plants to learn about other animals at the zoo. Plus, be sure to visit the San Diego Zoo Kids website for loads more fun activities and teaching resources.
Smithsonian's National Zoo Animal Cams - At this link you will find five animal webcams featuring the cheetah cub, naked mole-rat, lion, giant panda and elephant. There is also a downloadable activity packet to use with your K-5 student while viewing the webcams.
Houston Zoo Webcams - Seven cams with live feeds from 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. CST include gorilla habitat, leafcutter ants, rhino yard and more.
Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Animals - Learn about the animals at this zoo through images and text. Visit their Facebook page to see videos of the zoo.
Zoo Atlanta Animals - Through images, text and videos, discover the animals that live in this zoo. Then visit the panda habitat through the Panda Cam.
The Virginia Zoo - Visit the exhibits and gardens of this zoo through the images and information available on this page of their website.
Reid Park Zoo Cams - This zoo in Arizona provides live cams for their elephants, giraffe, grizzly bears, lemurs and lions. Plus there are free downloadable Teacher Resources: Activity Packs that could be modified for use at home.
Columbus Zoo Live - These 3 webcams highlight the Discovery Reef, a nearly 100,000-gallon aquarium and the endangered bonobos. Discover more animals at the zoo by selecting the Animal Guide in the drop down menu under the "Animals" link in the upper menu.
Australia Zoo Animals - Home of the Crocodile Hunter and Irwin family, learn about the animals in this zoo through images and text.
Adelaide Zoo and Monarto Safari Park - Zoos to You - Live stream cameras from these 2 zoos feature the Giant Panda, Southern White Rhino and chimpanzee habitats. Additionally, there are other videos, activity pages and more.
Facebook Zoo Videos
If you are on Facebook, the following zoo pages also have video presentations that are updated regularly:
Riverbanks Zoo & Gardens (Columbia, SC)
Brookfield Zoo (Brookfield, IL)
Denver Zoo (Denver, CO)
Columbus Zoo (Columbus, Ohio)
Detroit Zoo (Royal Oak, Michigan)
The Virginia Zoo (Norfolk, VA)
Cape May County Park and Zoo (Cape May Court House, NJ - videos can also be found here)
Australia Zoo (Home of the Crocodile Hunter, Beerwah, Queensland, AU)
Monarto Safari Park (Monarto, South Australia)
Adelaide Zoo (Adelaide, South Australia)
Chester Zoo (Chester, UK)
Additional Animal Websites
Here are two more sites that are not technically zoos, but we thought you might also enjoy:
Animal Diversity Web - This is a fabulous resource from the University of Michigan's Museum of Zoology that provides images and information about thousands of animals.
Explore LIVECAMS - This is one of my personal favorite websites as there are hundreds of live feed videos of all types of animals.