Chicago Zoological Society has developed curricula for a wide range of age levels and subjects. Spent some time reviewing our curricula offerings, and find those that are the best fit for you and your class. They all use the animals and resources at Brookfield Zoo to generate an excitement about learning and to inspire an appreciation for the natural world.
Videos
All videos are $10.00
Chicago Wilderness (a perfect companion for the Connections “Local Habitats” talk). In this 15-minute video, you will discover habitats that are more rare than tropical rain forest – right here in the Chicago area!
Return to the Wild (great to pair with the “Species Survival Plan” Connections talk). In this 40-minute video, follow golden lion tamarins Flash and Celia, along with their offspring Melvin, Marty, and Maude, as they family travels from Brookfield Zoo to their native home in Brazil.
The Training Game (perfect for students who have had the Connections Training and Enrichment talk) In this short disk, you will join Chicago Zoological Society staff as they work to provide animals with opportunities to express natural behaviors.
Curriculum Units
All curriculum units contain activities that may be used before and after a zoo visit or as stand alone activities to accompany classroom work. All curriculum units are aligned with Illinois Learning Standards.
TO ORDER A CURRICULUM UNIT, PLEASE CALL (708) 688-8367.
Africa—$50.00
Grades 4-6
This curriculum guide accompanies the Connections
class Africa: The Land, The People, The Animals or
it can provide stand-alone activities for your classes.
The perfect curriculum guide to accompany the
Connections Africa class. Investigate three human
cultures surviving in three diverse ecosystems: the
rain forest, the savannah, and the desert. Includes
photos, CD-ROM, and transparencies.
Animal Families—$35.00
Grades K-1
This curriculum guide accompanies the Connections
classes Critter Coverings I and Critter Coverings II or
it can provide stand-alone activities for your classes.
Learn about how to recognize and categorize animal
groups. Includes six study prints of animal families
and video or DVD.
Behavior Matters—$50.00
Grades 7-12
This is a curriculum unit ONLY. No accompanying class.
Introduce your students to the science and methods
of studying animal behavior while emphasizing research
and conservation.
Changing Seasons—$35.00
Grades K-1
This curriculum guide may accompany the Connections
class Seasonal Wildlife Festival or can provide stand-
alone activities for your class.
Use this unit to help your students describe and
sequence the four seasons of the year, and identify
seasonal changes in plants and animals.
Creature Features—$35.00
Grades 2-3
This curriculum guide may accompany the Connections
class Animal Bites or can provide stand-alone activities
for your class.
Learn about different animal features and
the differences between herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.
Includes a CD-ROM.
Desert Communities—$35.00
Grades 3-4
This curriculum guide may accompany the Connections
class Desert Communities or can provide stand-alone
activities for your class.
Learn what’s so hot about deserts, including how animals use water and beat the heat. Includes slides.
Ecosystems on the Edge—$50.00
Grades 6-8
This is a curriculum unit ONLY. No accompanying class.
Find out why ecosystem edges—the places where two habitats meet—
often teem with a diversity of wildlife. Includes resource photos and a DVD.
Endangered! Primate Populations: ESS—$50.00
Grades 6-12
This curriculum guide may accompany the Connections
class Endangered! Primate Populations: ESS or can
provide stand-alone activities for your class.
Students learn how to make detailed behavioral observations—just like researchers studying wild primates. Includes Return to the Wild video. ESS version meets
the needs of teachers of inclusion classroom students with visual, auditory, or physical disabilities. ESS version also includes a CD-ROM with Word documents. Closed captioning or descriptive audio accommodations may be requested.
Endangered! Primate Populations—$45.00
Grades 6-12
This curriculum guide may accompany the Connections
class Endangered! Primate Populations: ESS or can
provide stand-alone activities for your class.
Primates are among the most beloved and endangered animals on Earth. To help them, scientists need to learn about them. Students learn how to make detailed observations—just like researchers studying wild primates. When else do students get to monkey around on school time? Includes Return to the Wild video.
Magnificent Mammals—$35.00
Grades 4-6
This is a curriculum unit ONLY. No accompanying class.
Get your students to look beyond the obvious to see
how a mammal’s body shape and behavior relate to its habitat and lifestyle.
Monkeys in the Middle—$35.00 Spanish
Grades 3-5
This is a Spanish curriculum unit ONLY. No accompanying class.
This Spanish curriculum is key to introducing rainforest concepts to children who may take such a lush, environmentally important ecosystem for granted. With greater understanding of life in rain forests, the students will be more likely to make life decisions that help save forested areas and to influence others to do the same. Includes a poster and CD.
Nature’s Filter—$50.00
Grades 9-12
This is a curriculum unit ONLY. No accompanying class.
Provide your students with the opportunity to run computer simulations of aquatic ecosystems while exploring alternative methods of water-quality maintenance.
Return of the Wolves: ESS—$50.00
Grades 6-8
This curriculum guide may accompany the Connections
class Return of the Wolves or can provide stand-alone
activities for your class. If you are coming to Brookfield Zoo,
for students who are visually impaired, our Wolf Woods Braille
Guide Book is available to borrow on the day of your visit or to
purchase for $30.00. This booklet, printed entirely in Braille, will
guide your students through the Wolf Woods exhibit, from start to
finish. Instructions for maneuvering around the exhibit
and text from all the signs in the exhibit are included.
Learn about Mexican gray wolves and discover what is
being done to help protect them in the wild. This unit meets the needs of teachers of inclusion classroom students with visual, auditory, or physical disabilities. Includes a CD-ROM with Word documents.
Secret Life of Dolphins—$50.00
Grades 7-12
This is a curriculum unit ONLY. No accompanying class.
This robust database with activities offers a comprehensive look at dolphin populations at Brookfield Zoo and in the wild. Includes two books and a CD-ROM.
Species Survival Plans (SSP)—$35.00
Grades 6-8
This curriculum guide may accompany the Connections
SSP talk or can provide stand-alone activities for your class.
Learn which endangered animals zoos help protect
and how they do it. Includes posters and a book.
To Save a Species (TSS): Designing an Exhibit—$50.00
Grades 4-6
This curriculum is a good companion for the Connections
Behind the Design of Zoo Exhibits talk.
Students research and design an animal exhibit for Humboldt penguins using real-world animal facts and information. Includes a CD-ROM.
To Save a Species: Managing a Captive Population—$50.00
Grades 7-12
This curriculum guide may accompany the Connections
Species Survival Plans talk or can provide stand-alone
activities for your class.
Students take on the responsibilities of a Species
Survival Plan coordinator for Humboldt penguins
and use authentic data to understand how scientists
address animal conservation issues. Includes a
CD-ROM and poster.
Treasures of the Tropics—$35.00
Grades 3-4
This curriculum is a good companion for the Connections
Frogs talk.
Transport your class to one of the most beautiful and
misunderstood places on Earth: the tropical rain forest.
Winter Explorers—$35.00
Grades 2-3
This curriculum guide may accompany the Connections
class Seasonal Wildlife Festivals or can provide stand-alone activities for your class.
This curriculum unit emphasizes the problems animals face in winter and how animals cope with them.
Wonders of Our Wetlands/ESS—$50.00
Grades 4-6
This curriculum guide may accompany the Connections
class Wonders of Our Wetlands/ESS or can provide stand-alone activities for your class.
Get your students knee-deep in all the cool things wetlands do, such as control floods, shelter wildlife, purify water, provide recreation, and support human cultures. Includes slides and two study prints. ESS version meets the needs of teachers of inclusion classroom students with visual, auditory, or physical disabilities. ESS version also includes a CD-ROM with Word documents.
Wonders of Our Wetlands—$35.00
Grades 4-6
This curriculum guide may accompany the Connections class Wonders of Our Wetlands/ESS or can provide stand-alone activities for your class.
What good are wetlands? Get your students knee-deep in all the cool things wetlands do, such as control floods, shelter wildlife, purify water, provide recreation, and support human cultures. Includes slides and two study prints.
Activity Sheets
FREE online.
Download
What to Do at Brookfield Zoo activity sheets for Grades Pre-K-12.