Oregon Zoo 2003 Press Releases

May 27, 2003 - Foreign-born Students Hone English-speaking Skills at Oregon Zoo's Butterfly Exhibit
May 22, 2003 - New Kid on the Rocks at the Oregon Zoo

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May 14, 2003 - Zoo Welcomes Back Butterflies with a Twist
May 9, 2003 - It's Official - Sea Otter Is Zoo Mother of the Year
May 9, 2003 - Oregon Zoo Hosts Head Start Family Day
May 7, 2003 - Legos at the Zoo
May 6, 2003 - Zoo Celebrates Wildflowers with Fun and Games
May 2, 2003 - Oregon Zoo Unveils Deep Sea Adventure

May 27, 2003
FOREIGN-BORN STUDENTS HONE ENGLISH-SPEAKING SKILLS AT OREGON ZOO'S BUTTERFLY EXHIBIT

PORTLAND, Ore.-On Thursday, May 29, English as Second Language (ESL) students from Aloha High School will hone their English skills at the Oregon Zoo on Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Eighteen ESL students will volunteer, answering question in the butterfly garden and lorikeet exhibit.

"What's fun is watching the teens teach kindergartners and other young kids about the birds and butterflies," said Charis Henrie, the zoo's education program coordinator. "The little kids look up to the teens and really pay close attention to what they're saying. Both teens and kids get a lot out of it."

The ESL students recently arrived in the United States and come from countries all over the world. Countries represented are: Mexico, Somalia, China, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Cambodia. They are in the process of writing a research paper and will present their findings to the class in an oral presentation later in the month.

The students have been studying butterflies and lorikeets in the classroom as part of a several week unit. Each student has chosen one species from the exhibit for more in-depth research; they then orally describe their findings to the class. Through their research, writing, and public speaking assignments, each student has fulfilled common curriculum goals in reading, writing, communication and life science.

Helen Lovgren, ESL teacher for Beaverton School District, says students have found the butterflies and lorikeets to be highly interesting, engaging, and meaningful-essential ingredients for learning.

"Now comes the exciting part," says Lovgren. "The students will be in a position to share their knowledge with visitors. It's this application of knowledge in a real world situation, outside the classroom, that is so valuable to our young people."

The students may also be called upon to use their first languages for interpreting to non-English speaking zoo visitors. Each student will wear a button that will identify his or her native language.

"Our visitors come from all over the world," according to Tony Vecchio, zoo director. "It's great to have these talented students on grounds to convey information in English, as well as other languages."

Lovgren believes that through interpreting butterflies at the zoo, the value of bilingual skills will become increasingly apparent to them.

Beaverton School District serves 4,200 English Language Learners who represent over 12 percent of the district enrollment. The program began in the 1970s with the arrival of Southeast Asian refugees, and today, there are over 70 languages represented in our immigrant and refugee students in Beaverton schools. Currently, there is an English Language Development program at every school in the district.

Last year, district's retention/graduation rate of second language learners increased and the number of students who have been evaluated and have been classified as proficient in speaking/listening/reading/writing of English has gone up over 150 percent from the previous year (Part of the proficiency portfolio is having met benchmarks in reading and writing) and has significantly helped raise benchmarks and test scores for foreign-born students.

The zoo works closely with the Beaverton School District on other educational programs. This is the fourth time ESL students from Beaverton School District have served as interpreters at the Oregon Zoo.

PORTLAND, Ore.-A female baby mountain goat born at the Oregon Zoo on May 21 is now on exhibit with her mother. The healthy kid, named Lily, weighs 7-pounds 7-ounces and appears healthy.

Lily's seven-year-old mother, whose name is Mom, came to the zoo from the Oregon Wildlife Foundation in Sheridan in 1998. A fourth-time mother, Mom is taking very good care of her baby.

"Lily is following mom around," said Jan Steele, zoological curator. "Everything is going the way you'd expect."

"She passed her physical this morning and everything looks good," said Michael Illig, senior North America keeper. "She's nursing and performing other bodily functions that indicate a healthy kid."

Newborn kids normally weigh about eight pounds and are very mobile shortly after birth. They are able to follow their mother in about one week.

The baby's father, five-year-old Sam, was born at the Pocatello Zoo in Idaho in 1998 and arrived at the Oregon Zoo in April 2000.

Mountain goat breeding season is in late November to early January. Their brief courtship ritual includes chasing, kicking with the front legs, and various vocalizations. The male also licks the female's coat. Gestation is around 150-180 days and one to three kids are born between May and June. Single births are most common, but twins are not uncommon. Triplets are very rare.

Mountain goats prefer steep, rocky areas in alpine or sub-alpine regions. They migrate between lowland winter areas and high elevation summer ranges. In the Pacific Northwest, wild mountain goats can be seen on Mt. Adams, Mt. Ranier and other places in the Washington Cascades. They can also be seen in the Wallowa Mountains of Oregon and Washington's Olympic Peninsula where they have been introduced. About 100,000 mountain goats are estimated to live in North America.

PORTLAND, Ore. - A bevy of beautiful butterflies will flutter by and touch down on visitors this summer at the Oregon Zoo. Winged Wonders, presented by Meier & Frank, celebrates its grand opening on Saturday, May 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a variety of special activities. The butterfly garden features more than 20 species of North American butterflies and runs through Labor Day. By mid-summer, the zoo will add a variety of exotic butterflies from around the world.

"The butterflies were such a big hit last summer, we decided to bring them back!" said Tony Vecchio, zoo director. "Visitors were always surprised to be completely immersed in butterflies; it was a wonderful experience."

Grand opening activities will feature fun for all ages. Children can get their face painted and make butterfly finger puppets to take home. Children can also participate in activities like the Flower Game, where they dress up like butterflies and other pollinators and carry "pollen" balls from flower to flower. Adults can take advantage of the zoo's demonstration garden to learn about attracting butterflies to their garden.

Visitors will follow a winding pathway through flower gardens to the exhibit entrance where they will receive a butterfly identification brochure. Once inside the exhibit, butterflies such as Zebra Swallowtails, Buckeyes, and Viceroys will be the main attraction. Visitors will meander through beautiful gardens with water features. Some lucky visitors will have butterflies land on them, making this exhibit truly interactive. "Lingering" areas with benches will allow visitors to sit back and be totally immersed in a world of winged wonders. Before leaving the main exhibit area visitors can view the life cycle of a butterfly through a pupae display.

An interpretive area will allow visitors to learn more about the butterflies with which they've just interacted. Interesting, fun hands-on activities will explain how a butterfly uses its senses of sight, smell and taste. A new shape-sorter puzzle will demonstrate how butterflies use camouflage to blend into different environments, including tropical forests, alpine meadows and temperate grasslands. The puzzle will also describe basic butterfly needs, no matter what their environment.

The zoo's field conservation projects with endangered Oregon silverspot and Fender's blue butterflies will also be featured. The interactive display will describe how the zoo rears endangered butterflies, as well as explain the life cycle of wild butterflies.

The exit area will consist of a butterfly garden with locally available plants native to North America. Plants include butterfly bush, cornelian cherry, kinnikinick, spirea and dogwood, all of which attract butterflies. Here visitors will discover what they can do in their own backyard to create a butterfly-friendly habitat.

Julia butterfly

"You have to think in terms of plants that will attract butterflies in all stages of their development," remarked Linda Coady Richardson, the zoo's horticultural supervisor. "The caterpillar's plant needs are different from the pupae's, which are different from the butterfly's."

The Oregon Zoo and the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) have joined 34 zoos and aquariums from around the country to form the Butterfly Conservation Initiative. The Initiative is designed to bring together government and non-government agencies to aid in the recovery of imperiled North American butterflies. The Oregon Zoo and AZA are committed to butterfly conservation. A portion of the proceeds from the Oregon Zoo's butterfly exhibit helps support the zoo's butterfly education and conservation efforts.

PORTLAND, Ore. - The public has chosen the Oregon Zoo's Southern sea otter Thelma as Zoo Mother of the Year for 2003. Thelma won convincingly with 56 percent of the on-line vote, while the other finalists Coco the chimpanzee and Dannon the swamp monkey received 32 percent and 12 percent respectively. Thelma and Oz

"We think the public made the right choice," said Karen Rifenbury, Oregon Zoo marine life keeper. "Thelma's a great mom."

Oregon Zoo Director, Tony Vecchio viewed The Zoo Mother of the Year vote as an opportunity to educate the public about chimpanzees, southern sea otters and swamp monkeys, which are either threatened or endangered.

"Once people makes an emotional connection with an animal, they're much more likely to care about the future of that species," said Vecchio. "This on-line vote has helped bring attention to the plight of these animals."

PORTLAND, Ore. - The Oregon Zoo is pleased to host Head Start Family Day for participants of its Head Start Zoomobile on Saturday, May 10, from 9 a.m. to noon.

Head Start Family Day gives children the opportunity to share with their families what they have learned during Head Start Zoomobile. The day also includes a petting zoo, a Discover Birds! show, a snack and a special recognition ceremony at 11:30 a.m. on the concert stage.

"It's a great opportunity for families to come together with their children and enjoy the zoo," said Sara Laursen, zoo volunteer coordinator. "They learn more about the program while creating family memories," she added.

The Head Start Zoomobile program gives children from low-income families an opportunity to interact with zoo animals without leaving the classroom. The program is directed toward pre-school age children (3-5), attending Head Start centers operated by the Portland Public Schools and the Economic Opportunities Committee of Clark County, Washington.

"Head Start Family Day is designed as a reward for the kids," according to Tony Vecchio, Oregon Zoo director. "Head Start Zoomobile helps kids make an emotional connection with animals so they get excited about science; it's an excellent program."

Trained zoo volunteers for the Head Start Zoomobile make three separate visits to each of the participating schools. During the first visit, children are introduced to a variety of mammals, including rabbits and an opossum. The second visit allows kids to get comfortable with chickens and ducks. The final visit showcases the zoos reptile and insect collection, which allows children to come face to face with Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks, snakes and lizards.

The zoo's goal during the classroom visits is to expose children to different zoo animals and teach them the importance of animal conservation, environmental stewardship, while providing an introduction to the teachings of the scientific method.

In addition to support from Head Start programs in Portland and Clark County, Washington, the 2003 Head Start Family Day at the zoo is made possible, in part, by grants from Southwest Washington Independent Forward Thrust (SWIFT) and the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington. Additional support for the Head Start Zoomobile program in Clark County has been provided by a gift from Dr. Karen Stanley.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Oregon Episcopal School's LEGO Physics classes will be presenting an original display of their computerized LEGO masterpieces in the Oregon Zoo's Elephant Museum, May 17-18, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. This is the sixth year the school has displayed their LEGO creations which demonstrate physics principles in a fun and imaginative way.

This year's theme, The Oregon Trail, will include elaborate LEGO creations that include a board portrayal of the trek to the Great Northwest and LEGO wagon trains. The interactive display will also showcase a giraffe, an elephant, and a rhino that the public can make move by shining a flashlight at a light sensor, as well as the automatic height determining machine, and a car that they can run through a maze, just to name a few.

"These are great kids building great contraptions," said Jane Kenney-Norberg, LEGO physics instructor. "I stress constantly to the kids that they are representing themselves, their family and their school—and that once they've done a zoo show, people will recognize them out in the real world. That certainly makes them pull it together!"

The display has been designed and constructed entirely by the students in the LEGO physics classes, which cover several grade levels. Fifty-three advanced LEGO "engineers" between the ages of eight and 18 will demonstrate what they've built.

May 6, 2003
ZOO CELEBRATES WILDFLOWERS WITH FUN AND GAMES

PORTLAND, Ore. - The Oregon Zoo will showcase the role Oregon wildflowers play as part of the web of life during Celebrating Wildflowers May 17 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The event, which is sponsored by the Bureau of Land Management, offers a chance to see the interdependence of plants and wildlife throughout Oregon.

Special activities all over the zoo will feature fun and learning for all ages. Children's activities include craft making, seed plantings, face painting and the Flower Game, where kids dress up like butterflies and other pollinators and carry "pollen" balls from flower to flower. Adults can take advantage of the experts that will be on hand to demonstrate how to attract butterflies and other pollinators by planting native flowers.

"Wildflowers and other native plants are critically important to a healthy ecosystem," said Tony Vecchio, Oregon Zoo director. "The role they play is often taken for granted. This event highlights their importance in ways that are fun and exciting for both children and adults."
Celebrating Wildflowers is an annual event that emphasizes the importance of conservation and management of native plants and their habitats. The event highlights the aesthetic, recreational, biological, medicinal, and economic values of wildflowers.

For more information about Celebrating Wildflowers nationwide, visit www.nps.gov/plants/cw/ Celebrating Wildflowers is free with zoo admission. General admission is $8 (12-64), seniors $6.50 (65+), children $5 (3-11), and under 3 are free.

The Oregon Zoo and the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) recently announced results from "Aza's Poll for the Planet." The Web-based poll asked children what they think about how we're taking care of the planet. More than 60,000 children responded. The results showed that many kids believe volunteers are taking an active role to preserve the environment, and 95 percent of poll respondents want to know what they can do to help. The zoo has incorporated its conservation messages into events like Celebrating Wildflowers in fun and innovative ways. The zoo is also seeking ways to involve young people into its conservation programs to help save endangered species.

May 2, 2003
OREGON ZOO UNVEILS DEEP SEA ADVENTURE
Deep Sea thrill ride opens May 16

PORTLAND, Ore.- Oregon Zoo visitors will travel to the darkest depths of the sea-without getting wet-at the zoo's new Deep Sea thrill ride, opening May 16. Visitors will become undersea explorers as they enter a submersible and travel thousands of feet below the ocean's surface in a simulation theater.

"Traveling into the darkness of the deep sea through this simulator ride is a thrilling way to learn about the mysterious and seldom-seen world under the ocean waves," said Tony Vecchio, Oregon Zoo director. "The strange sea creatures, combined with the sounds and movement of the submersible, creates an authentic experience-you can really feel yourself descending into the darkest depths," he added.

The Oregon Zoo's Deep Sea thrill ride is entirely based on scientific knowledge. Dr. Clyde Roper, Zoologist from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has acted as special advisor to the production team throughout the project. Dr. Roper's valuable guidance has resulted in an accurate portrayal of the environment and the creatures that inhabit this menacing world. Deep Sea thrill ride is a computer-animated film, produced by SimEx's Animation Studios in Toronto and Directed by Richard Needham.

According to Vecchio, the undersea experience promises to be memorable. He describes the experience: Visitors board the deep sea submersible and become undersea explorers in search of the two mysterious monsters of the deep: the giant squid and the sperm whale.

Undersea explorers will travel more than a mile beneath the Ocean surface, where pressure makes the marine environment more inhospitable than the surface of Mars. They will follow a sperm whale through a hydrothermal vent community that teems with strange sea life and witness a superheated environment that has only been observed by a handful of scientists. The captain of the submersible must be very careful not to get too close to the smokers because the super heated water could easily melt the windows and spell doom for the explorers. As the explorers complete their survey of the hydrothermal vents, they continue on their search to spot the giant squid in its natural habitat.

Suddenly, the two huge monsters appear out of the blackness. All of the undersea explorers have front row seats to this 'Clash of the Titans' as the submersible is crushed between the giant squid and the hungry sperm whale. Explorers watch as these two leviathans become entangled in a titanic struggle of survival.

The Deep Sea thrill ride relies on computer-controlled hydraulics, which move the entire audience in synchronization with the undersea actions on the screen. Riders view the world through the eyes of on-screen sea creatures and turn, twist and fall in synchrony with them.

DVD Video Projection and a DTS Surround Sound System add to the drama and helps create an exhilarating ride through the imagination-and an exciting jolt of entertainment that is also educational.

Zoo staff spent more than two years researching simulator attractions at other zoos and aquariums across the country. They were impressed with the Deep Sea thrill ride, not only with the experience for visitors, but also with the solid conservation messages conveyed by the film.

The Deep Sea thrill ride is located near the tiger exhibit and Zoo Railway Station. In addition to regular zoo admission, a $4 ticket ($3 for Members) will be required for visitors wishing to experience this limited-engagement attraction. Due to the limited number of seats, a maximum of 800 visitors per day will be able to experience Deep Sea.

Oregon Zoo is a service of Metro. The zoo is located on the MAX line, five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The zoo opens at 9 a.m. General admission is $8 (12-64), seniors $6.50 (65+), children $5 (3-11), and under 3 are free. Additional information can be obtained by visiting the zoo's web site at www.oregonzoo.org or calling 503-226-1561.