Zoomobile Program Topics
First Grade
Classroom Programs (45 minutes)
Programs for one classroom (up to 25 students) per program
Special topics also available with at least two-months notice. Let us know what you would like
us to teach and we’ll see if we have the resources to teach it.
Scales, Feathers and Fur - Learn about animal's four basic needs and the differences between
mammals, birds and reptiles.
Key Concepts
 Animals are grouped based on similarities
 All animals need food, water, protection and air to survive
 Reptiles have dry scales, get warmth from outside their bodies and lay eggs.
 Birds have feathers, get warmth from inside their bodies and lay eggs.
 Mammals have hair, get warmth from inside their bodies and have live babies.
Keywords: reptile, bird, mammal, endothermic, ectothermic
Core: GLE 0107.1.1(Adaptations); 0107.2.1(Living Things); 0107.3.1(Needs to survive)
Crawl, Slither and Fly - Discover how animals get around and why they move the way they do
by watching live animals move. Note: this program requires an open floor space of 12 feet by 12
feet and the animals move around on a 6 ft x 6 ft. tarp.
Key Concepts
 Animals must move to find food, water, shelter and air.
 Animals move in different ways because they live in different habitats, eat different foods
and get eaten by different animals.
 Animals have special adaptations for movement to help them survive in their unique
circumstances.
Keywords: adaptations, habitats, predator, prey, movement.
Core: GLE 0107.1.1(Adaptations); 0107.3.1(Needs to survive)
Talk Like an Animal (K-3rd) – (Coming Soon)
Animal Homes and Habitats - Find out about animal habitats. Why some animals use homes
in their habitats and how they make them.
Key Concepts
 Animals use homes for protection from weather, protection from enemies, to raise their
young, and to store food.
 Animals make their homes in different places and use a variety of materials.
 Not all animals have homes, but all animals can protect themselves, get food, and raise
their young.
Keywords: homes, predator, prey, nest, protection.
Core: GLE 0107.1.1(Adaptations); 0107.3.1(Needs to survive); 0107.5.1(Habitats)
Wild Colors and Patterns - Explore colors and patterns of animals and how these adaptations
help them survive.
Key Concepts
 Animals use colors and patterns to help them survive.
 Some animals use colors and patterns for camouflage to help them hide in their habitat.
 Camouflage protects animals from being eaten, but also helps animals catch food.
 Some use colors and patterns to identify themselves, attract a mate, or defend a territory.
 Some use colors and patterns to warn other animals that they are dangerous.
 Some use colors and patterns to trick animals into thinking that they are dangerous even
though they are not.
Keywords: adaptations, camouflage, predator, prey, habitat
Core: GLE 0107.1.1(Adaptations); 0107.2.1(Living Things); 0107.3.1(Needs to survive)
Animal Senses - Learn about incredible animal senses and compare them to our own.
Key Concepts
 People have 5 senses. Animals have similar senses, but they may use them differently.
 Animals use their senses to find food, protect themselves and to find their way around.
 Some animals need very keen senses to get what they need.
Keywords: see, smell, hear, taste, touch, predator, prey
Core: GLE 0107.1.1(Adaptations); 0107.3.1(Needs to survive)
Owls: Hunters of the Night - Discover nighttime’s most amazing hunters. Learn how owls find
their way and their food in the dark with up-close observation of live owls and by touching owl
biofacts. Note: the live birds are not touchable, but the bird biofacts are. Limited Availability
Key Concepts
 Owls are birds (have feathers, endothermic, lay eggs).
 Owls are nocturnal.
 Owls have special abilities for hunting at night.
 Owls live in a variety of habitats.
Keywords: bird, nocturnal, habitat, predator, prey.
Core: GLE 0107.1.1(Adaptations); 0107.3.1(Needs to survive); 0107.5.1 (Habitats)
Life Cycles - Find out how and why animals reproduce, how they grow and change and why
death is necessary for survival.
Key Concepts
 A life cycle includes birth, growth, reproduction and death.
 Life starts with an egg or birth.
 Animals change as they age and grow in order to become adults.
 Metamorphosis is how most insect larvae change into adults.
 Adults reproduce so that the species will continue.
 Death is necessary to avoid overpopulation.
 Decomposition provides nutrients for new life, completing the cycle.
Keywords: life cycle, egg, larva, pupa, nymph, adult, reproduction, complete metamorphosis,
incomplete metamorphosis, population, decomposition, food chain, competition.
Core: GLE 0107.1.1(Adaptations); 0107.2.1(Living Things); 0107.3.1(Needs to survive)
Desert Survivors: Find out how animals survive in the harsh dry environment that makes up
Deserts.
Key Concepts
 Little rain is the defining feature that makes a desert a desert not temperature
 Animals have special adaptations to survive in the harsh environment
 How do animals get food, water, and shelter
Keywords: Adaptations, habitat, desert, Nocturnal, predator/prey, Carnivore
Core: GLE 0107.1.1(Adaptations); 0107.3.1(Needs to survive); 0107.5.1(Habitats)
Rainforest Adventurers: Find out the different layers of the rainforest and how animals survive
in this heavily saturate densely populated and severely threated Habitat.
Key Concepts
 A rainforest gets at least 100 inches of rain a year.
 Rainforests house some of the densest number of animals and plants in the world
 There is three layers of a rainforest: ground, understory, canopy, and emergent layer
 How do animals adapt to survive in this crowded habitat
 Rainforest are being cut down or farmed at an unstable rate.
Keywords: Adaptation, habitat, predator/prey, canopy, Emergent, Global Climate Change,
conservation, population, competition.
Core: GLE 0107.1.1(Adaptations); 0107.3.1(Needs to survive); 0107.5.1(Habitats)
It Got Cold! : Find out what crazy stuff animals do to escape the winter cold.
 Animals hibernate, migrate, horde food, grow fur and so many more things to survive the
winter.
 See some of the amazing adaptations animals have developed to get by during the cold
months.
Keywords: Hibernate, Migration, adaptations, endothermic, ectothermic
Core: GLE 0107.1.1(Adaptations); 0107.3.1(Needs to survive); 0107.5.1(Habitats)