Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden®

Home of the world famous hippo Fiona. Family friendly Zoo committed to inspiring visitors with wildlife and saving species.

School Virtual Programs

Wild Chats are available to schools, home school co-ops, and pre-schools. All programs are based on academic standards. Payment can be made at booking with credit card, or by check or purchase order within two weeks of booking program (no cash payments).

Need Financial Assistance?

Qualifying schools may apply for free virtual programming. Visit the Living Classroom Education Access Fund for details.

Wild Chats

Wild Chats are live, classroom-based, education programs with a Zoo Educator. The Zoo Educator will lead your students through the program with the topic of your choice. Choose from Zoo Careers or My BFF(iona).

For after-school, weekends, or summer programs, see our Community Wild Chats.

Register for 2023-24

MORE DETAILS

Wild Chats

Wild Chats are hosted live by an Zoo Educator and include pre-recorded interviews with staff from around the Zoo. A Zoo Educator will gather student questions before the program to answer.

Audience: Wild Chats are available for all school children (in school or remote learning) from preschool through 12th grade.
Program Length: 45 minutes
Program Capacity: 30 students per program
Program Cost: $100 per program

Dates: Monday-Friday; October 16- May 17. You pick the date and time.
Times: 9:00am-4:00pm

Need a program after school or on weekends? See our Community Wild Chats.

PreK-12th Grade

My B.F.F(iona)

Through videos with her and her care staff and live conversations and Q&A with the Zoo program host, participants will get an insider’s view into the world of this charismatic hippo.

6th-12th Grade 

Zoo Careers

Through videos from different members of the Zoo team plus live conversation and Q&A with the Zoo program host, participants will get an insider’s view into some of the different kinds of careers it takes to run the world class Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden!

You will pick three zoo careers to be spotlighted during your program. Choose between: Animal Care Staff, Veterinarian, Horticulturist, IT Specialist, Aquatics/Dive Safety Officer, or Graphic Designer.

Wild Wednesday School Safari

Join us every Wednesday at 1pm EST on the Teacher Connections Facebook group, for a FREE live program. Our education team will be visiting animals and their care teams behind the scenes to learn more about wildlife and conservation. Groups  will be able to ask questions via the chat, and a follow-up activity will be posted to the group page.

Join the Teacher Connections Facebook Group

MORE DETAILS

Audience: all school children (in school or remote learning) from preschool through 12th grade.
Program Length: 15-20 minutes
Program Capacity: unlimited
Program Cost: FREE

Dates: Wednesdays, Spring 2023
Times: 1:00pm EST

FAQs & Policies

Payment Policies

  • Full payment is required within two weeks after program is booked, unless prepaid with credit card at time of booking.
  • If you are using a purchase order, a copy of the purchase order must be sent to [email protected] before the start of your program/s.
  • All checks sent to: Cincinnati Zoo Attn: Education 3400 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH 45220

What platform do you use for Virtual Programs?

For Wild Chats
The Cincinnati Zoo currently uses Zoom for all virtual programming. To ease day of operations, download the application to your computer and conduct a test call. Check out the tutorials created by Zoom for additional help.

For Virtual Field Trips
All videos and worksheets are available via Dropbox. Groups do not need to a Drobox account to access the files. Videos are not downloadable.

Our group cannot access Zoom. What should we do?

If your group is not able to access Zoom, please contact the Education at [email protected] to discuss your options.

When will we receive our link for Virtual Programs?

For Wild Chats
The contact teacher will receive an email with a link to your Virtual Programs on the Thursday the week before the date of their program.

For Virtual Field Trips
The contact teacher will receive an email with a link and password to the Dropbox account within 1-3 business days of registering.

Can students participate from their own homes?

Yes, students can participate from any location. Teachers may provide their program link to their students that will be learning remotely.

Will there be other schools in our time slot?

All programs are exclusive to the school that booked.

How many students can be registered per program?

For Wild Chats
Each program is limited to 30 registered students. If a class has more than 30 students, they must book multiple programs. Depending upon availability, those programs could be on the same day, or on different days. There is a fee per program.

For Virtual Field Trips
There is no limit to the number of students who may participate per Virtual Field Trip topic.

What time zone are Virtual Programs in?

For Wild Chats
The Cincinnati Zoo is located in Cincinnati, OH in the Eastern Standard Time Zone (UTC -5). All program times are given in EST.

Where can we find the curriculum standards for our topics?

All Virtual Zoo on the Move programs are aligned with Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana state science standards. All curriculum standards can be found on our website.

Will you be offering more topics?

The Zoo will be offering our most popular topics throughout the year and plan to debut new topics periodically throughout the school year. We hope to offer every grade band several program choices throughout the year, so groups can have multiple Virtual Program experiences.

How do I give feedback on our program?

The Cincinnati Zoo Education Department encourages all teachers to provide feedback on programs. All contact teachers will receive an email approximately 1 day after the program date. This email will provide a link to our website where teachers can fill out a survey. We encourage all participating teachers to offer feedback.

Is there any financial assistance for Virtual Programs?

The Cincinnati Zoo is proud to offer schools financial assistance for Virtual Programs through our Living Classroom Education Access Fund (LCEAF). The Living Classroom Education Access Fund (LCEAF) was launched in November 2012 to provide access to the Zoo and its nationally recognized education programming to under-resourced schools (public, private and parochial) in our service area.

To qualify for financial aid, schools must: 1) have a student population of at least 60% free and reduced lunch, 2) be from the Cincinnati Tri-State area (including Kentucky and Indiana) 3) agree to participate in a Zoo post assessment with students.

Funding for the Living Classroom Education Access Fund (LCEAF) is provided by The Helen G., Henry F. and Louise Tuechter Dornette Foundation, Ohio Department of Education, Time Warner Cable, Toyota, Duke Energy, The Ambassador Council of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, The John A. Schroth Family Foundation, PNC Trustee,  and the Sutphin Family Foundation.

Our group received financial assistance. What do we do after our program?

All groups that receive financial assistance are required to complete a post-assessment student survey. This post-assessment survey should be filled out by each student after the program has been conducted. These can be printed and filled out or submitted electronically by following the link that will be provided post-program.

Education Terms and Conditions

See our updated and consolidated <span style=”color: #ff9900;”><a style=”color: #ff9900;” href=”https://cincinnatizoo.org/education/education-terms-and-conditions/”>Terms and Conditions</a> </span>for additional details for all programs. <span style=”color: #ff6600;”><span style=”color: #000000;”>
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Zoo on the Move is proudly sponsored by

CALL OR EMAIL: 513-559-7730 OR [email protected]

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