THE OREGON ZOO FOUNDATION
Sponsoring Education Programs
Not all sponsorships are currently available.
Please call The Oregon Zoo Foundation at
503-220-5734 for more
information
and to check availability.
Zoo Animal Presenters (ZAP) Team
$5,000 - $75,000
The ZAP Team addresses two high priority education needs: to provide youth with career exploration experiences that will prepare them for the real world of work; and to improve the quality of science education through innovative, non-traditional, hands-on science learning experiences. The ZAP Program provides 36 under-served youth with paid internships at the Oregon Zoo. First Year Team members receive training from January to June on animal handling, public speaking and community outreach. From June to September, the ZAP Team is out in their own neighborhoods and the larger community making presentations and practicing communication and leadership skills. Second Year ZAP students are teachers/counselors for UNO program participates and Third Year students assist with conservation and habitat restoration projects in the region.
Zoo School
$5,000 - $25,000
Zoo School helps visiting school groups make the most out of their visit to the zoo. Students join education staff in one of the zoo's classrooms for 30-45 minutes of hands-on activities and animal presentations. Then take their new knowledge out on the zoo grounds for their own self-guided safari.
Zoo To You
$5,000 - $25,000
Oregon Zoo has a variety of birds, small mammals, reptiles and insects available to visit your school. Our new classroom programs reinforce academic standards in Oregon and Washington. Each program incorporates themed hands-on activities and live animals.
ZooTeen Volunteer Program
$20,000
The ZooTeen program provides 9th through 12th grade students a comprehensive academic and vocational educational experience. More than 300 teenagers currently participate in the summer program designed to teach junior and senior high school students about zoo operations, wildlife conservation and animal husbandry. Students can apply their new knowledge through direct volunteer experience on zoo grounds. During the year-round ZooTeen program, students acquire transferable skills through school-to-work partnerships which provide community service project opportunities for students.
WILD LIFE Live! On-Grounds Summer Show
$10,000-40,000
The Oregon Zoo staff presents birds of prey and other birds during three 30-minute shows each day on the zoo’s concert lawn during the summer. These fun and exciting presentations provide a unique opportunity to introduce over 500,000 zoo visitors to birds that live in the local region and habitats around the world.
Head Start ZooMobile
$20,000
This collaborative outreach program enhances Head Start students’ natural science experience by bringing the zoo to them. Head Start was initially designed to help break the cycle of poverty by giving young children from low-income families skills so they can successfully take advantage of formal schooling in later years. The program takes place during the school year at area Head Start centers and includes classroom presentations of animals, lessons and family programs. A culminating “Head Start Day at the zoo” in the spring invites children and their families to explore the Zoo.
Senior ZooMobile: “What’s New at the Zoo”
$5,000
Trained volunteers present a slide show about recent events at the zoo and then involve residents in contact experiences with a collection of pettable animals from the zoo. The program provides the participants with continued involvement and contact with the zoo and the therapeutic benefits of guided animal contact experiences.
Urban Nature Overnights (UNO)
$10,000 - $30,000
Over 300 underserved urban youth (age 8-11) learn recreation skills and basic environmental concepts while camping overnight at the Oregon Zoo and local parks. UNO emphasizes the importance of understanding and respecting urban and wild ecosystems.
For more information, please contact The Oregon Zoo Foundation at 503-220-5734. |
