Twenty–three Whitesboro 7th and 8th grade students recently visited the Oklahoma City Zoo. Students spent the afternoon exploring the indoor and outdoor animal exhibits offered by the Oklahoma City Zoo. They discovered different habitats such as Sanctuary Asia which encompasses the elephant pavilion and habitat. The 14.5 acres is home to the newborn elephant, Kairavi.
They visited the Great EscApe, a habitat designed specifically for the Zoo’s apes. Students ventured through the Noble Aquatic Center, home to Red pandas, meerkats, anteaters as well as sea lions, piranhas, clownfish and many more.
The Zoo’s Herpetarium and Island Life exhibits featured Galapagos tortoises, lizards, snakes, and frogs. During their visit, students fed birds and other animals that call the Oklahoma City Zoo home.
“Our GEAR UP students enjoyed their time at the Oklahoma City Zoo,” said GEAR UP Education Coordinator LaDonna Baldwin. “They especially enjoyed being able to feed some of the animals and seeing others that are not native to our part of the world.”
The field trip was sponsored by Eastern Oklahoma State College GEAR UP. Participating schools take two field trips each academic year—one to tour a college or university and one that is cultural/educational in nature. In 2017, Eastern recently received a $17 million federal GEAR UP grant and will serve over 3,000 students in 39 area schools for seven years.
