She advocates the use of home, school or local neighborhood environmental education programs for this age group. For example, during the Animal Adaptations and Specializations program, children may take notes about feeding, defense and temperature adaptations and then discuss their notes in groups for two or three minutes during the program. Programs should be carefully selected based on the age of the learner. Silver explains that more complex issues, like extinction, should be reserved for high school students who are willing to discuss open-ended questions. The zoo tailors program offerings to specific age groups.
Silver strongly advocates personal interaction.
I want the program to feel like I'm a guest speaker in the classroom. She notes that personalization is dependent on support from teachers who moderate classroom questions. Finally, Silver suggests that sites schedule events at least two weeks in advance. Often, she says, the process begins with a phone call to begin considering curriculum requirements and available dates and times. Interested groups may then download a registration form from the zoo website and send it in to reserve an event.