HOMESCHOOL RESOURCES
Self-guided field trips are available to any group visiting for an educational purpose.
Scroll down for homeschool resources and registration for Homeschool Days.
YEAR-ROUND FIELD TRIPS
Scheduling Your Field Trip
Woodland Park Zoo would like to welcome Homeschool Groups year-round to use our facility as a learning destination. By registering three weeks in advance, homeschool groups can qualify for the reduced admission education rate.
Please see our Field Trips page for a step-by-step guide for booking and preparing for your visit.
HOMESCHOOL DAYS
Homeschool Days 2024-2025
Friday, October 4, 2024 and Friday, October 18, 2024
Homeschool Days are designed to ensure homeschooling families like yours have equitable access to the resources available to traditional schools, but without a specific theme that may not fit into your curriculum. Though the zoo will be open to the public, we are closing school field trip registrations so you will have an easier time navigating the animal spaces, making this a more personal experience.
Cost
You’ll pay the education admission rate, without needing to worry about the qualifying chaperone-to-student ratio—and scholarships are available if needed. You will also have the opportunity to participate in an UpCLOSE animal program or a Hands-On program which usually only travel to school sites. Tickets must be purchased in advance to recieve the education rate.
Please contact schools@zoo.org, with any questions or requests.
Registration Process
Step One
Pick a date to visit
- Friday, October 4, 2024
- Friday, October 18, 2024
Included with your zoo ticket
- Access to the zoo from open to close
- A visit date free from school field trips
- Docent Carts available throughout the zoo
Step Two
Optional Paid Experience
Cost is $5.00 - $7.50 per person. Experience information can be found below.
UpCLOSE Creature Feature
October 4 & 18, 2024 at 10:15 a.m.
UpCLOSE Forests Near & Far
October 4 & 18, 2024 at 11:15 a.m.
Biodiversity and Conservation Decision-Making Hands-on Activity
October 4 & 18, 2024 at 10:30 a.m.
Animal Adaptations Hands-on Activity
October 4 & 18, 2024 at 11:30 a.m.
Step Three
Register Online
Cost: Discounted Education Rate Zoo Admission Ticket
$13.00 per person (Children ages 2 and below receive free admission)
Students must be chaperoned at all times. Chaperones must also purchase a ticket.
REGISTER
Explore other opportunities & plan your day:
Discovery Den
Today at the Zoo
Map
Accessibility Information
NOTES:
Fridays are Sensory Friendly Fridays in Zoomazium. Find out more about that here!
Contact Us
For additional questions or assistance, please contact the registration office at schools@zoo.org.
Experiences
Optional Paid Homeschool Day Experiences
$5.00 or $7.50 per person (caregivers must accompany students ages 13 years and below to their program with a ticket)
Creature Feature
October 4 cancelled & October 18, 2024 at 10:15 a.m.
Stories about animals speak to the minds and hearts of young children in a way nothing else can. Students ages 2 through 6 and their caregivers will learn simple science facts and build empathy toward animals through early childhood best practices such as movement, pretend play, and storytelling. Children will also get to meet (but not touch) a real Ambassador Animal who was a character in the puppet story!
The story of the day will be chosen based on which Ambassador Animal is ready to meet guests that day. Neither the story or the ambassador animal will be known until right before the program.
Some of our story themes include what foods different animals eat, which animals hatch from eggs and which don’t, and how animals’ move their bodies, etc.
Forests Near & Far
October 4 & October 18, 2024 at 11:15 a.m.
Our beautiful Pacific Northwest is characterized by forests—grand expanses of evergreens watered by our famous gentle rains and supporting a fascinating array of wildlife. But the world has lots of forests, both similar to and different from our own in many ways. Be ready to get up and move, because you might be asked to come up and be transformed into a part of the forest! At the end, everyone will get to meet an animal who hails from one of the world’s varied forest habitats.
Topics covered include:
- The layered structure common to all forests
- Major differences between Pacific Northwest forests and tropical rainforests
- How plants and animals work together to form a thriving ecosystem
Population Estimates Hands-on Activity
October 4 & October 18, 2024 at 10:30 a.m.
Come participate in a hands-on activity that explores how a zoo biologist studies wild populations, how they might estimates numbers of individuals in a wild population of a species and why that’s one very important aspect in a recovery plan. In this activity you will get the chance to learn about techniques scientist use to learn about populations, engage in a simulation of a field study using mark/recapture techniques, practice the math behind the science, and connect with the world of conservation biology. For ages 11 - 18 years old, though designed specifically with high school curriculum in mind.
*Note: This hands-on activity can be completed individually, or you are welcome to participate with others in small groups of 2 to 4.
Topics covered include:
- What is a population
- Why the number of individuals may be important to know
- Ways to count or estimate numbers of individuals in a population
- Practice the math behind the science of estimation
- How understanding numbers of individuals helps conservation scientists make decisions
Animal Adaptations Hands-on Activity
October 4 & October 18, 2024 at 11:30 a.m.
Come participate in a hands-on activity that explores animal adaptations! Animals have unique adaptations that help them fit into their environments and help them survive and thrive. In this activity you will learn a little bit about what an adaptation is scientifically, consider the role of adaptations in helping an animal survive in its environment and explore how to graph results from a simulation. For ages 11 - 18 years old, though designed specifically with middle school curriculum in mind.
*Note: This hands-on activity can be completed individually, or you are welcome to participate with others in small groups of 2 to 4
Topics covered include:
- What is an adaptation
- How plant/animal adaptations help them survive in their specific habitats
- The role habitats play in plant/animal adaptation
- What a simulation is and how to make conclusions from graphs
- How understanding adaptations help scientists conserve species
Classroom Resources
Discovery Den
Connect your class to the Zoo before, during, and after your field trip using Discovery Den. A free, continually-updating resource library by educators, for educators.
On Discovery Den, you'll find resources such as:
- Standards-aligned lesson plans
- Authentic data sets
- Printable activity sheets
- Behind-the-scenes videos
- Curriculum connections to field trips... and more!
Access Discovery Den
cancelation POLICy
Modification or Cancelation of Homeschool Day Registrations
- For a full refund, cancelations must be made no later than the day before the event.
- Registration modifications can be made as long as capacity is available in the program requested. Modifications must be made prior to the day of the event.
- Please email schools@zoo.org, to make any cancelation or modification requests.