Ecomuseum zoo
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On our way to the Ecomuseum zoo for the Animal Care Apprentice activity, I said to my niece, “It’s cool Chloé, I’m going to write an article about you feeding the animals!” Six-year-old Chloé responded, “I can write too.” And bang! Auntie Marie just kicked it into her everything is possible today gear!
A slice of life in the marvellous world of a six-year child.
Cooking for the Animals
The first part of the Animal Care Apprentice activity: preparing food for the furry, flying and whiskered friends. The children were a bit nervous at first, but Jenny, the zoologist accompanying them, simply had to say wolf, otter, and serpent to get them warmed right up. The activity has its share of laughs, is educational and, above all else, down-to-earth.
Children learn that the Ecomuseum zoo welcomes orphaned and injured animals that cannot go back to the wild. As such, animal care apprentices have the very important job of preparing food and a protein surprise for them. The place is abuzz with excitement.
So Chloé got to work carefully cutting up her vegetables; not an animal would be missing carrots or cabbage! She even gathered up her courage and cut some fish into little pieces for Happy, the mischievous river otter and added a cricket to the surprise for the crows. Yuck!
Chow Time!
Ecomuseum zoo
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Outside, Chloé ran down the trails, hot on the heels of the zoologist, going up, down and then back up the trails, holding on tight to her little pot of fish. She skilfully threw her mix of vegetables to the deer, per Jenny’s instructions, widened her eyes in front of the wolves, touched a snake and wiped her nose with her mittens. It was cute to watch her, alongside all the other little ones!
In the end, I come to the conclusion that this is a down-to-earth adventure for children to meet animals from Canada. An encounter with the furry, scaly and feathered creatures that live in our forests, our immediate surroundings, our imaginations.
What Else?
The Ecomuseum zoo adapts the Animal Care Apprentice activity for groups of every age, even for teens and adults. The next time the activity will be held for those aged 7 to 12 years old will be during spring break, on March 5 and 9, 2012. Check out the activity calendar published on the zoo’s website and then reserve your spot… they go in the beat of a wing!
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