Canon-McMillan High School’s
Environmental Science and Zoology Teacher
Creates Zoo in the Classroom Experience
I
t all started at the age of 7. Mrs. Chelsea Geist’s love of animals,
that is. Her dad got her a turtle at the age of 7 and from there
her love of animals “just exploded”. It’s clear from her role
as Canon-McMillan High School’s Environmental Science and
Zoology teacher that her love of animals only grew and shaped
her from there. She went on to graduate from Cal U with a degree
in Environmental Science and a minor in Biology and she even
continued from there and gained a Masters in Biology from
Waynesburg University. The Canon-McMillan School District has
been lucky to have her as a teacher for the past 12 years.
This was the first year for the new program, Zoo in the
Classroom, though she started planning the idea about five years
ago. Juniors and seniors that are either in her environmental club,
or one of the three classes that she teaches are able to participate
in this program. The program involves students picking an animal
from a list of about 43 animals that is available to them. These
animals are also scattered about her classroom for the entire
year and many students don’t even notice them until she points
them out first. The students pick the animals and then study and
research as much as they can for about 3 weeks. Second graders
from all of the elementary schools then travel to Mrs. Geist’s
classroom on different days (this year it happened on Wednesdays,
Thursdays and Fridays throughout the month of October) and
the high school students teach the second graders about their
animals. The second graders rotate through different stations and
the high school students lead each second grader to the next
station.
“Second grade is the perfect age because children are most
influential from ages 6 – 14. It’s a really great program because it’s
teaching both sets of students. The second graders learn about
the animals from the high school students and the high school
students not only learn more about the animals but also about
parenting and teaching. They are responsible for their second
graders and I trust them 110%.” says Mrs. Geist. When asked how
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she came up with this idea she says that she knows high school
students can become sluggish and bored with their studies at
times. This program is a new and exciting way for them to get
motivated about learning and animals. Some of the High School
students that participated in this program agreed. Alicia Zottola,
who hopes to pursue a career in secondary education, says that
she will always remember the reactions from the students during
this program,
“When a child would come to my station, eyes wide, mouth
gaping and fingers itching with excitement to touch and hold my
animal is something that will continue to make me smile. It was
my favorite part of the whole project – when a kid’s delight at
seeing an animal mirrored my own reaction.” Adam Cathel, who
is considering a career in Environmental Science, Engineering or
Zoology agreed,
“Seeing some of the kids’ faces light up when they saw an
animal they liked or when they held it was really fun because they
had so much energy and were fun to talk with about the animals.”
As mentioned she first started piloting the program about five
years ago and it began at Muse Elementary. She had to organize
everything from buses and transportation to the packets that she
gave the second grade teachers in preparation for this program.
She also needed it to go through everyone’s approvals as well.
Though there are still a few kinks to work out, the program seemed
to have run smoothly for its first year. When asked if she hopes to
continue the program, Mrs. Geist said she hopes it gets bigger and
better every year.
“I definitely hope to continue the program each year and just
keep making it bigger. Bigger animals, bigger location, maybe
even more elementary classes if possible.” The Canon-McMillan
School District is so proud of Mrs. Geist for coming up with this
new and exciting program and looks forward to seeing what the
future holds for the Zoo in the Classroom program at CMSD.