METAZOO DISCOVERY CENTER
A Perfect Camp Day
See what MetaZoo camps are all about!
Camp days are always busy days
here at the Louisville Zoo. If your
children have not attended a Zoo
camp before, or they share just precious bits and pieces of their experience, we’d like to give you a glimpse
into these fun and yes, educational
experiences. Read on to experience a
day at Zoo camp.
The pre-k campers are on their
first Zoo walk of the day pointing
out the bright red cardinals chirping from gold-colored poplar trees
nearby as the Zoo wakes up on a
crisp October day. The campers have
already enjoyed a full day of exploration the previous day, including visits
to animal exhibits, fun hands-on
classroom activities, and close-up
animal encounters with creatures
of all kinds. So, of course, they are
all little experts by now with their
detective instincts primed for more
discoveries.
Campers are on their way to the
Amur tiger training led by a team
of Zoo educators from the Metazoo
Discovery Center. “What do we
do?” their guide asks as a prompt
for them to stay together. The
campers sing-song in unison, “We
stick like glue!” Campers scurry to
find their places front and center
of the tiger exhibit. Nothing keeps
the attention of a group of four and
five-year-olds quite like a 250 pound
tiger. Their little faces are frozen in
expressions of awe, mouths and eyes
open wide, not a peep to be heard
as they sit transfixed throughout
the training demonstration with the
massive cat — much, much bigger this close. Most of the campers
have never looked into the eyes of
a tiger. They are hypnotized. Then,
the enormous tiger roars and shows
his teeth, startling the campers out
of their trance and inspiring them to
mimic the behavior by roaring too
and flashing toothy smiles. At their
lunch stop under a 100-year-old
oak tree, they talk about the tiger’s
huge eyes, his stinky smell, what
endangered means, and why tigers
have such big teeth. They learn a
new scientific term for meat eaters, “carnivores,”and if their cats at
home are carnivores too.
The campers bustle off to the next
adventure including a favorite train
ride, stopping at the classroom every
so often to discuss what they have
seen. They chatter away about their
favorite animal and experience. All
liked the way the sea lion lifted his
flipper and waved during the seal
and sea lion demonstration. Some
really liked watching the elephant
raise its big trunk for keepers during
elephant training. They all loved asking real Zoo keepers questions and
learning why Punch the elephant
throws dirt on her back and how
Riva the sea lion was rescued. For
these insatiably curious kids, it’s why,
why and why, all day long. They
especially liked the animals they got
to touch in the Metazoo Discovery
Center. Who knew that chinchillas got clean with a dust bath after
20 • Louisville Zoo Trunkline • Fall 2016
being touched or hedgehogs have
about 5000 spines? With such an
exciting place to explore, their Zoo
day is over before the campers realize it. They go home with a mind full
of new knowledge and memorable
encounters, some breathless as they
provide a play-by-play for parents
and others quietly relishing their
memories and parsing out those little
tidbits. It’s been a big adventurefilled day after all, one worthy of a
long nap with fanciful new dreams.
You child can be part of this
amazing experience too. The fall and
winter camps are now available with
discounts provided for Louisville Zoo
Members. These camp programs fill
up fast, so learn more and register
today at louisvillezoo.org/education/
camps-classes.