Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium

Educationannually, nearly 300,000 learners of all ages enjoy the Zoo's popular education programs, classes, and teacher workshops. These programs allow participants to closely identify with wildlife, plants, and natural habitats, providing a firm understanding of the interconnectedness of all living things.zoo programs impact members of the community who visit the Zoo, and also who cannot make it to the park itself. Zoomobiles made numerous appearances at schools, nursing homes, community fairs, malls, outlets, libraries, and group gatherings to promote the Zoo's many conservation-education programs. Partnering with local vendors has allowed the Zoo to offer many assembly programs free of charge and create more ways to serve more students. In addition, by providing virtual programming to students, families, and teachers, no individual should miss the opportunity to expand their understanding and appreciation for wildlife and our ecosystems. These virtual offerings allowed us to do virtual educational programming in all 50 states. These opportunities allow the Zoo to connect with wide and diverse audiences from varying socio-economic backgrounds and generates interest in and provides access to stem fields. Our popular Zoo camp summer program for children ages 2 to 13 continues as one of our most popular activities for the community, and the Zoo is committed to providing support for the continued growth of this program. The Zoo u program offers semester-based courses that allow high school students to explore new areas of science and conservation in a fun and exciting way. Students take an in-depth look at current research and topics in zoology, biology, ecology, and more. Classes are designed to be interactive and challenging for students in grades 9 to 12. A similar program targeting 6-8 grades, junior conservationists, is held on the same schedule. For many decades, the Zoo teen program has been providing opportunities for teens ages 14 to 17 to work at the Zoo during the summer and learn more about animals while gaining their first work experiences. Programs such as pizza with the keepers and enrichment exercises introduce high school-aged youth to what working at a Zoo and with animals is really like, potentially spring-boarding them into rewarding lifelong careers.education at the Zoo reaches beyond what can be taught in a classroom setting. Our entire Zoo campus is a living classroom. As one of the largest youth employers in the region, the Zoo works with a host of community partners and local schools to provide at-risk youth an opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge and on-the-job learning in viable positions at the Zoo. In addition, the Zoo offers internships in all areas of the facility, including the marketing, animal husbandry, education, conservation research, veterinary, and horticulture departments. Outside of formal classes, programs, employment, and internships, members of the general public are educated with every visit to the Zoo. The Zoo is open every day of the year except thanksgiving day, christmas day, and new year's day and welcomes approximately 900,000 people through its gates annually. Through its exhibitry, interpretive materials, amphitheater shows, and hands on learning opportunities throughout the campus, the Zoo creates informal learning opportunities to all who come through our gates.

Recreationopen throughout the year with the exceptions of thanksgiving day, christmas day, and new year's day, the Zoo hosts numerous events for community and regional groups. With fully ada-accessible facilities, the provision of open space for public recreation, several historically preserved public landmarks, and 8,000 animals representing more than 900 species along with foliage from every corner of the earth, the Zoo offers something special for every unique interest of each of the hundreds of thousands of visitors from all backgrounds who enjoy trips to the Zoo annually. To increase community involvement, hundreds of special events and promotions geared towards the general public, families, special needs groups, community and regional groups, and Zoo members are conducted throughout the year. Special events held during the daytime and evening are designed to engage visitors of varying levels and interests. These events include diverse themes such as new baby celebrations, animal-centric events that focus on individual species, a 5k race called zoozilla, adult-only evening engagements, an asian lantern festival filled with entertainment, and holiday-themed extravaganzas, including zooboo and Zoo lights. Dream night, an invite-only special event, was started in 2006 through a partnership with children's hospital of Pittsburgh. This event invites children with disabilities and chronic healthcare needs along with their families enjoy a private Zoo visit after hours free of charge. The plethora of programs currently offered is expected to continue and grow in the coming years.in order to ensure accessibility for everyone regardless of financial means, the Zoo designates opportunities for free visits throughout the year, including a day where all visitors receive free admission. There are various other special promotions offering discounted admission as well. Military veterans, active duty military members, and reservists receive free admission every day. Physically, mentally, or emotionally challenged persons are granted free admission any time throughout the year, as are groups serving the disadvantaged, which receive free admission through our scholarship program. The Zoo donates a substantial portion of its services to benefit the local and regional community, where the vast majority of its visitors reside. Operations are entirely free from profit motive, which allows the Zoo to continue to expand the positive initiatives it facilitates while exploring new ways to support and enrich the community that it serves.

Conservation & researchthe Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium's science and conservation program looks to conduct progressive and innovative projects while engaging and supporting stakeholders on wildlife conservation directives. By developing novel approaches to pressing issues, the program continues to successfully incorporate local communities for long-term sustainability of critical conservation efforts. The Zoo has participated in and funded conservation research programs regionally, on all seven continents, and in all five oceans.there's more going on at the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium than meets the eye, especially when it comes to animal conservation. The international conservation center, often referred to as the icc, is operated under the auspices of the Zoo. It sits on 1,000 acres of rolling hills in somerset county, Pennsylvania. The icc is the only facility in north america's exclusively dedicated to african elephant conservation, education, training, breeding, and research. Through the sea turtle second chance program (stscp), the Zoo accepts injured sea turtles and hatchlings who didn't make it into gulf stream waters and cares for them until they are healthy enough to be released back into the wild. The Zoo is an important participant in this program because it is an inland institution. Most of the aquariums participating in the stscp are located along the coast, which allows them to take in turtles who can make a speedy recovery. Some hatchlings and injured turtles need long-term rehabilitation. These animals are transported to the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium for their extended recovery time, freeing up space for faster recovering turtles at the institutions along the coast and allowing many more turtles to be rehabilitated in the program. Through educational displays and meet-the-keeper sessions, visitors have the opportunity to learn about sea turtles, and how they can impact their care and survival in the wild.beyond species-specific programs, several Zoo residents offer valuable opportunities for research that can be applied to their wild counterparts. The Zoo & Aquarium raises, often rehabilitates, and cares for animals in our park environment allowing the opportunity to research their behavior. This allows for valuable information to be collected that may not be available through research in the wild alone.the Zoo's operations also support conservation at a local level. Since 1995, volunteers from the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium have adopted two miles of butler street from the rd fleming bridge to slightly beyond the highland park bridge. As a result of every scheduled cleaning, Zoo employees fill approximately 50 trash bags with garbage such as cigarette butts, soda bottles, and food wrappers. Cleaning this roadway just twice each year, we remove approximately 1.5 tons of trash.the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium's green team committee takes conservation and environmentally friendly practices to a new level. The green team's mission is to research and recommend how to use resources and manage waste efficiently and sustainably while operating the Zoo. The team strives to create a culture of conservation for Zoo staff and for the visiting public. Improvements made by the green team include upgrading to all green cleaning practices in Zoo facilities, advocating for energy-efficient infrastructure and green building design, implementing additional composting and recycling options, and establishing green partnerships with other cultural and entertainment institutions including phipps conservatory and botanical gardens, the national aviary, PPG paints arena, and the children's museum of pittsburgh.at the Zoo, most of the organic waste is recycled into compost and used in landscaping throughout the park. This keeps the waste out of landfills so that it does not generate climate-warming gases as it would if it were thrown away with other garbage, and it also helps us to plant and maintain a beautiful landscape. The compost-enriched soil reduces erosion, alleviates soil compaction, provides nutrients that help plants grow, and controls disease and pest infestation in plants. The composting program compliments other recycling programs at the Zoo, including water, cardboard, batteries, cans, bottles, paper, and cell phones.whether funding or participating in projects in the wild, conducting research with our resident animals, or implementing eco-friendly practices that make an environmental impact, conservation and research is an essential piece of everything we do at the Zoo.