Clear for Takeoff

This weekend officially marked off my second week at the Lehigh Valley Zoo, and boy was it a busy one! Since I was the first intern to start in the education department this summer and a fast learner (as they tell me) I have quickly become a go-to helping hand. By Sunday, anytime I heard my name I was ready for a, “Victoria, you’re going to lead this program/ tour/ creek study.”

If you look closely, you can see some of the critters we found in one of the creek studies!

In the past week I’ve assisted on two outreaches, one to an elementary school and one to a local children’s festival, lead a few zoo tours, facilitated five creek studies, run the daily education show, helped in programs, and much more. It has been so fun and encouraging to know that the staff at the zoo trust and believe in my abilities! I even stayed after hours on Wednesday to attend a staff meeting which was super interesting! I don’t think many people realize how much goes on behind the scenes at a zoo so it was neat to be a part of the staff meeting to get more of a glimpse into that.

Zoo guests check out the birds of prey on a zoo tour

I’ve also been signed off on a few animals which is really exciting! To work with each animal in the education department, there is a process that each staff member must go through. First, another staff member has to go over facts about the animal, how to handle and care for it, etc with you. Then, each time you work with this animal in a program, you must be shadowed by a staff member who can later give feedback. After working with the animal twice, you are quizzed on it and can then be signed off to use this animal without supervision. In my first two weeks, I have been signed off on the Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, Eastern Box Turtle, Pancake Tortoise, ferret, and Blue Tongue Skink. It may not seem super exciting, but it totally is! Not only can I now use these animals to run programs on my own, I can continue working my way up to be signed off on larger and more difficult animals. 

Maybe someday I'll get to work with Doug, our African Grey Parrot 

This past week has been busy and sometimes challenging for sure but it has been so exciting. As I gain more experience and can begin to do more on my own, I’m sure I will have many memories to share!

Here’s to another exciting week in this crazy adventure!