In Week 3 of Term 3, Piha Learning Area 1 had the opportunity to go to the Auckland Zoo. Our Science topic for this term is ‘How have living things adapted to their environment?’ The kind and caring zoo keepers have shared their outstanding knowledge about the animals to our tamariki. They told us about the profiles; adaptations, habitats, and diets of some of the interesting animals they look after at this wondrous place; it really helped us with our work. They had so many fun ways to entertain us including humour with interesting facts, and animal feedings. On behalf of Madison & Lily, and all of Piha LA1, we would like to thank the staff of Auckland Zoo for giving us the chance to experience this amazing place. Here are some recounts of the day by Piha students.

Written By Ella Larsson Hogman, Piha, Room 13

As all of room 13 strolled along the bland, lifeless concrete coloured pavement, I saw the other bus smoothly navigate to the other side of the car park. It was the 16th of August 2021, Learning Area 2 of Piha had just arrived at the Zoo, all children and adults excited for what the day had in store for them. All of GEIS had planned a trip to the Zoo for education reasons as well as to experience more animal life. Basically the whole point of going to the life-filled Zoo was to learn about animal adaptations which relates to our Inquiry topic this term “How do living things adapt to their environment’?

We were all asked to come early to school since we had to leave at approximately 8:40 which was when the normal, standard school day begins. Ms Chase asked everyone to grab their bags and line up in a neat, tidy, quiet line. We all had backpack buddies, I was with my best friend Hayley. We had backpack buddies because then we wouldn’t have to carry our own half empty bag, which made it way more practical. As we made our way outside, I ran to get to the front of the line because I like being at the front. The other students made their way out of the classroom slowly. Ms Chase asked if Hayley and I could hold some of her belongings and since we’re “sooo” polite we said ‘sure’. The whole of room 13 strolled at a brisk and speedy pace to get to the bus. We had to stop on the way there because Ms Chase had to get something from the office. Soon enough we were on the bus, on our way to the Zoo!!

As me and my friends sat at the back of the clearly used, aged bus, Hayley and I were playing sweet or sour which is a game where you wave to people and if they wave back or smile at you they are sweet, if they don’t they are sour. We also sang The Llama song and Wheels on the bus. I thought we were actually pretty good ‘ totally’. When we arrived at the Zoo I was asked to go to the front of the line with Hayley because we were the teacher’s helpers. We walked through the huge entrance and all of Learning Area 2 assembled on a little meadow with a majestic tree in the middle. The guides did a quick debriefing of some safety rules that related to a safety video we had watched last week. After that, we split into the assigned groups. Some were with the adult helpers and some with their own teacher, which Hayley and I were.

Firstly room 13 and 14 had education workshops about flamingos and cheetahs. Room 13 had the flamingo workshop first. I learnt that their color actually comes from a type of crab or crustacean that they eat. I also found out that they are actually greyish when they are born. I learned that the flamingo males do a dance to impress the women when it's mating season. And guess what?  We even got to learn how to do the dance, it’s very funny to watch. Imagine if that was what happened in the human world! We also learned about cheetahs and how they have amazing eyesight. Our educator told us that cheetahs can actually spot a single, foul rat on top of the Sky Tower!!!! That’s almost 6 kilometers. We all got to touch some of the cheetahs fur, and that was the end of our education workshops.

Having finished the workshops, my group began to roam around the zoo. Firstly we went to the South East Asia Jungle Track which is where the new huge Siamang/Orangutang towers are. The towers are 3-6 massive poles that shoot up from the ground. If you’re lucky you can see some of the coal-black haired Siamang Gibbons and auburn long haired Orangutans swing from the ropes that are attached to each and every pole. How they get up to the 25 meter high poles is there are ladders that they can use to climb up to the top. Next we finished off the African Safari Track where we saw Giraffes, Zebras, Rhinoceros, Ostriches and Water bucks out in the open pens. We also saw lots of meerkats, 2 porcupines and lovebirds. Some cool facts about these animals are that Lovebirds get their name from how strong their bond is. You see, the Lovebirds are monogamous unlike most other bird species. Monogamous means that they pair up and live with that bird or mate for life; that's why at the Zoo they will normally be sitting in pairs! 

We continued walking through the African Safari Track until we came upon an empty animal enclosure where there used to be Lion’s. Ms Chase thought it would be a good idea to take a food and toilet break; we all agreed. I had some cut up pears while Hayley on the other hand had a red velvet cupcake. It smothered all over her face and hands, it looked like she had committed a crime. After a while Hayley still had tons of red velvet cupcake on her face even though she had been trying to get it off for about five minutes. We kept walking through some more areas, Te Wao Nui/ New Zealand, Australian Bush Track and lastly the South American Rainforest Track where we saw some Galapagos tortoises, Tarantulas and Capybaras which look like humungus guinea pigs. We also went to our last encounter which was about the Spider-monkeys. A Zookeeper was feeding them corn and carrots as they ran around trying to catch the food that was coming towards them like rough rain. It was so adorable when one of the monkeys had grabbed a raw, golden corn and was hanging from a branch, only by its tail. The branch was about 4 meters off the ground so that was pretty cool to watch. As I looked at the monkeys demolishing the food I thought about how it was nearly time to go back to school….

As soon as we all knew it, it was time to go back. All of Learning Area 2 reunited with each other by the entrance. Everyone looked like they had been enjoying the day happily. Room 13 stood up first and started to walk back to the bus while sharing all about their day. Ms Chase counted up all of the students as we scrambled up into the bus. Since Hayley and I were at the front of the line we got the very back seats of the bus. On the way back to school, all you could hear were the busy students of Room 13 and 14 sharing all their adventures that had happened during the day. Unfortunately there were some cheeky students that were throwing a melted, raspberry candy bag around. So one of those students had to stay behind in the bus and sweep the floor when all of the other students were walking back to their classes. As I walked with Hayley I thought to myself about what had happened today and all the fun things we had been doing. I really loved the trip to the Auckland Zoo because we got to experience lots of fun and amusing things. I definitely recommend going to the Zoo but maybe after lockdown would be the best. And that was how my day at the Zoo turned out.

Written By Max Rodden, Piha, Rm 13

I was sitting on the bus. Wheels turning, seats bumping, bored out of my mind. We were going on a school trip to the zoo, because of the term 3 inquiry - How animals have adapted / evolved. After 30 minutes of pure pain, we arrived at the zoo. When we were at the zoo we clambered out the bus and shot into two lines.

We walked over to the middle of the zoo. Room 15 and 16 split into groups and room 14 and 13 (the room i’m in) went over to the african trail to learn about the adaptations of flamingos, cheetahs and elephants. We learnt that a few of the elephants' adaptations are their trunks and tusks. Their trunks are used to eat pick up food without having to lie down and their tusks are used to fend off predators. The flamingo's adaptations are their rubbery legs to keep safe from predators and rough water. They also have their salt filtering glands at the tip of their beaks. The cheetahs' adaptations are their camouflage and their speed.

After that we went back to the middle of the zoo and had a quick snack. Then we got into groups and looked at some enclosures. It was mostly boring and most of the animals weren't even there. About halfway through the trip we watched the zookeeper feed the monkeys (I forgot the type of monkey they were). He fed them by throwing the food around the enclosure. Then we walked around the zoo some more. Until it was time to leave.

We walked over to the exit and got into two lines before getting on the bus. I sat close to the back of the bus next to JD. Just like last time the bus ride was very boring but this time it went faster because I was tired. My back also started to hurt because of an injury I had last year. I couldn’t wait to get back to school and get back home. I nearly fell asleep on the bus because I was so tired.

When we got back to school we got our bags and sat on the mat for 10 mins. Then we got let out and I walked to the bus and rode it home. The day overall, was boring but I had some fun.

Written by Ruby Hopkins, Piha, Rm 13

I quickly jumped off the bus and got into two lines with my class as instructed. Me and my classmates walked over to the front gates whispering with excitement. We joined a zoo keeper at the start and he walked us over to the elephant enclosure where we sat on some nearby seats. He started the workshop. We listened to him explaining some facts about flamingos. It was interesting watching the two elephants having fun in the back. We went to look at the flamingos and they were pink with long skinny legs. The zookeeper, PJ, showed us the flamingo mating dance. When the males want to mate with the females the males will come together and do an impressive dance for the females. We even learnt how to do it ourselves !

Next PJ took us to the cheetah enclosure where we sat down for our second workshop buzzing with excitement. While we sat, PJ told us some interesting facts about cheetahs like their habitat, what they eat and even how they go so fast! We all passed around photographs that had to do with a cheetah like a photo of sunglasses for how they have black spots around their eyes that protect them from the sun. At the end of the workshop we got a chance to pet a real cheetah's fur!

For the rest of the day we split off into small groups to walk around the zoo guided by teachers and parent helpers. I was with my teacher and my teacher aide. First we saw the orangutans! They were so cute! We walked all over the zoo and at 1:00pm we went to watch the spider monkey feeding. The zoo keeper would throw carrots and corn at the monkeys and the little animals would jump from tree to tree like spiders! It was super adorable.

Eventually we had to go back to school but I really enjoyed it. We all lined up and said our farewells. While I was on the bus I felt like falling asleep!