STEM Year 3-4
Students will use their STEM knowledge and skills to design habitat enrichment for zoo animals to support the welfare of animals at Kyabram Fauna Park.
Program description
In this Fighting Extinction Schools program, Year 3-4 students will use their STEM knowledge and skills to design habitat enrichment for zoo animals. The keepers at Kyabram Fauna Park are looking for new enrichment ideas to support the mental and physical wellbeing of their animals. The enrichment will enable animals to use their senses, move their bodies and behave in natural ways.
You will work with a Zoo Teacher to undertake research and learn more about animal they will be designing for. Back at school, students will work in small teams to build a prototype and test an idea. They can also share their designs with zoo keepers.
Students will learn:
- About the features of Zoo animals
- How keepers use STEM to support animal welfare
- STEM skills such as scientific observation and engineering
- Creating thinking and problem-solving skills
Program sequence
Connect
Use the activities in the Teaching Guide (below) to spark students’ curiosity before their zoo visit.
Connect and Understand
Students will use their scientific observation skills to deepen their understanding of animals and their care at Kyabram Fauna Park.
Your Park visit will include: An introduction to the day, Zoo Teacher workshop (30 minutes) and a self guided walking trail. Check out your Teaching Guide for other ideas of what to do at the Park.
Understand
Use activities in the Teaching Guide to deepen students’ learning back at school.
Act
Use the Teaching Guide to enable students to master their knowledge and skills in real-world contexts.
Program map and itineraries
Your booking confirmation email will list your group's education workshop time/s.
Program resources
Learning outcomes
Victorian Curriculum 3-4
Different living things have different life cycles and depend on each other and the environment to survive (VCSSU058)
- Students will learn about how animals depend on the environment to survive
Compare results with predictions, suggesting possible reasons for findings (VCSIS070)
- Students will test and refine a prototype for zoo enrichment
Generate, develop, and communicate design ideas and decisions using appropriate technical terms and graphical representation techniques (VCDSCD029)
- Students will use Design Thinking to generate, grow and test their ideas for zoo animal enrichment and welfare
Investigate a range of problem-solving strategies, including brainstorming, identifying, comparing and selecting options, and developing and testing hypotheses (VCCCTM020)
- Students will learn how to use each stage of Design Thinking to develop their own creative solutions – Understand, Ideate, Prototype, Test and Refine
Plan your excursion
This program is an outdoor all-weather program; the students will need appropriate clothing for weather conditions. This could include a raincoat, hat and sun protection
School groups will enter Kyabram Fauna Park via the Main entrance. Organising teachers please check in with our Admissions team upon arrival. More Information.
Book your education experience
Fill out an online form to request a booking for your zoo education experience
Request booking nowYou will need to know the following to book your zoo excursion or online workshop:
- Education program of your choice (if applicable)
- Preferred date
- School name and address
- Contact details of organising teacher
- Number of students/classes and their year level