Self-Guided Activities for your Zoo visit

Field Guide to Local Plants & Wildlife
The Zoo campus is teeming with flora and fauna native to Minnesota—and not just the ones on exhibit! There’s more than one way to identify many of the organisms in this Field Guide. For plants, look at leaves as well as bark, seeds, and flowers. For animals, look for tracks and scat left behind, and notice how the animal moves or what sounds it makes. See how many plants and animals you can identify using these different clues!

Treetop Trail Field Guide
Treetop Trail reference guide for Educators.

Minnesota Trek
Keep your students engaged with this self-guided tour of the Medtronic Minnesota Trail. This activity guide focuses on the three main biomes of Minnesota and examines how animals are adapted to survive here. Designed for 6th-8th graders, this guide can be modified for use with older or younger students.

Climate Change Ocean Trek
Engage your students with this self-guided tour of Discovery Bay. This trek was developed for middle and upper level students to use at the Minnesota Zoo in order to examine how human actions have affected many aspects of marine life and understand methods for reducing human impacts on the oceans.
Climate Change Oceans Trek—upper grades
Climate Change Ocean Trek—upper grades KEY

Environmental Studies Trek
Assist your middle and upper-level students to explore environmental studies themes throughout the Zoo. Topics covered include habitats, environment, human impact, and climate.
Environmental Studies Trek—upper grades
Environmental Studies Trek—upper grades KEY

Russia Grizzly Coast Trek
Engage your students with this quick activity while visiting Russia’s Grizzly Coast. The scavenger hunt focuses on a variety of aspects from size to diet to adaptations. Two grade levels are available.
Russia Grizzly Coast Trek-Grades K-3
Russia Grizzly Coast Trek-Grades K-3 KEY
Russia Grizzly Coast Trek-Grades 4-8
Russia Grizzly Coast Trek -Grades 4-8 KEY

Zoo Trail Guides
Share facts about some of the Minnesota Zoo’s animals with your students before your field trip.
Minnesota Zoo Animal Facts
Northern Trail Zoo Animal Facts

Please note the Minnesota Zoo’s animal collection is constantly changing and shifting. Some activities may refer to animals no longer in our collection. Zoo volunteers would be able to answer questions students have about other animals.

Activities at your School

Minnesota Quest
Explore Minnesota’s biomes and discover how animals adapt to our unique landscape and climate with engaging, standards-based classroom activities with Minnesota Quest. This curriculum guide was developed for 6th-8th graders but can be easily adapted for older or younger students. Bring along the accompanying Minnesota Trek, an on-site self-guided tour of the Medtronic Minnesota trail to focus your field trip learning. This is a great complement to any unit on Minnesota history, wildlife, environments, or biology. This curriculum prepares students for Minnesota Trek.

Show Us Your Mussels Curriculum
Mussels are often out-of-sight and out-of-mind. But native mussels are important for healthy rivers and lakes. Sadly, freshwater mussels are the most at-risk group of animals in the United States. Five species native to Minnesota are listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Minnesota Zoo is working with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to help mussel populations by rearing mussels for release into the wild. In addition, the Zoo is working to educate the public about these important species and their role in healthy ecosystems.

This curriculum guide is designed to provide lesson ideas and activities to incorporate native freshwater mussels and their importance to water quality into your existing curriculum. These lessons can be used individually or together, depending upon your time and resources. All lessons are aligned to address current curricular objectives and both state and national educational standards.

Introduction

Anatomy and Life Cycle
1-Introducation to Native Freshwater Mussels – Lesson plan
1a-River Ecosystem – Student
1b-Common Freshwater Mussel list – Student

Food Webs
3a- Aquatic Food Webs and Invasive Species – Lesson Plan
3a- Aquatic Food Webs and Invasive Species – Student

Water Quality Labs
4b- Water Quality and Freshwater Mussel Lab – Lesson Plan
4b- Water Quality and Freshwater Mussel Lab – Student

4b- Water Quality and Freshwater Mussel Lab DATA GIVEN – Lesson Plan
4b- Water Quality and Freshwater Mussel Lab DATA GIVEN – Student

Symbiosis
6a- Ecological Relationships – Lesson Plan
6a- Ecological Relationships – Student

Mimicry
6a- Who is this mussel pretending to be – Lesson Plan
6a- Who is this mussel pretending to be – Student

Nutrient Cycling
7a- What Matters with Missing Mussels – Lesson Plan
7a- What Matters with Missing Mussels – Student

Invasive Species
8- Native vs Invasive Mussels- Lesson Plan
8a- Native vs Invasive Mussels- Student
8b- Common Freshwater Mussel list

8.1- Where are the Zebra Mussels – Lesson Plan
8.1a- Where are the Zebra Mussels – Student

8.2- Zebra Mussels and Invasive Species Population Dynamics – Lesson Plan
8.2a- Zebra Mussels and Invasive Species Population Dynamics – Student

Human Impact
9a- River Runs Through It – Lesson Plan
9a- River Runs Through It – Student

Resources for the Show Us Your Mussels Challenge
10a- Sample Project Description and Rubric
10b- FAQs for the Challenge
10c- YouTube Story Board
10c- YouTube Teacher Guide
10c- YouTube Student Guide
10d- Tracking Website Visitors Teacher Guide
10e- Instagram Teacher Guide
10f- Checklist