Minnesota Zoo Professional Development Opportunities

This hands-on training is geared towards new teachers curious about joining the ZOOMS STEM Design Challenge or returning ZOOMS teachers looking for more support on how to better facilitate classroom and field trip supporting activities to lead students through the enrichment or exhibit design process. Participants will leave this training with a deeper understanding of how STEM is used at the Zoo in animal enrichment, exhibit design, and wildlife conservation as well as how to incorporate activities that integrate STEM concepts into their curriculum, based on the Minnesota State Science Standards.

The ZOOMS STEM Design Challenge presented by Flint Hills Resources offers students a chance to develop a solution to a ‘real’ problem faced by Zookeepers and staff at the Minnesota Zoo. From designing an enrichment, to building a model of a renovated animal exhibit, the problem will challenge students to use STEM to best solve the problem and present a solution. Registered teachers will receive access to this free Zoo training to learn about the design challenge background and animals (in-person or access to a pre-recorded training), challenge supporting curriculum resources for both in-person and digital learning, and ongoing implementation support throughout the school year from Zoo education staff.

Join the Minnesota Zoo and the Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES) for a full-day, hands-on professional development workshop designed specifically for educators. This workshop is geared toward Life Science teachers (7th grade or above) and provides tools and activities to meet and exceed sate evolution standards.

Participants will explore engaging, classroom-ready activities focused on evolution, natural selection, phylogeny, human evolution, and scientific thinking through interactive labs, station rotations, online investigations, and collaborative discussions.

The workshop also includes a brief introduction to the ScienceSaves and Generation Skeptics programs, which equip educators with tools to teach critical thinking, identify misinformation, and promote public understanding of science.

Teachers will leave with dozens of free, standards-aligned resources, lesson plans, and digital activities that can be immediately implemented in classrooms and educational programs. Each participant will receive a copy of the TIES book On Teaching Evolution, as well as A Brief History of Four Billion Years of Evolution.

A light breakfast and lunch will be provided.