The Characteristics of Living Things: How Do We Know It’s Alive?

Students learn about the characteristics of all living things. Specifically, that living things move, reproduce, consume energy, grow, and die. We explore these characteristics of life and the variation in these characteristics. For example, students learn about the many ways that animals move through their environment.

Key Concepts/Words: Energy, food, growth, life cycle, movement, reproduction

Diversity… We Are All Different, Yet the Same

We may all look different, eat different foods, and even behave differently, but in the end, we are all people. Reptiles are no different. They may look different, eat different things, and even behave differently, but in many ways, they are just like us. This lesson explores diversity and the great variation we see in the world around us, while focusing on the things that we all have in common.

Key Concepts/Words: Diversity, differences, similarities, animals, characteristics, empathy, stewardship, vertebrates, diet

Colors and Textures

We all know that snakes are scaly and not slimy, but did you know that they still all feel different? In this presentation, the children will experience a range of textures and colors, exploring the diversity of reptiles in a tactile way.

Key Concepts/Words: Diversity, differences, similarities, colors, texture, rough, smooth, bumpy, hard, soft, senses

Using the Senses to Learn About Senses!

This lesson focuses on the five senses and how they help animals, including people, survive. Students learn about the fascinating variation in sensory abilities of different types of animals and they begin to learn about how senses are needed for survival. Best of all, students use their senses of sight, smell, touch, and hearing to learn about the animals we bring to your classroom (however, we hope none of the students taste the animals!).

Key Concepts/Words: Senses, sense organs, sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing

The Characteristics of Living Things – How Do We Know It’s Alive?

Students learn about the characteristics of all living things. Specifically, that living things move, reproduce, consume energy, grow, and die. We explore these characteristics of life and the variation in these characteristics. For example, students learn about the many ways that animals move through their environment.

Key Concepts/Words: Energy, food, growth, life cycle, movement, reproduction

Exploring the Needs of Living Things

This lesson focuses on the basic necessities of life: energy, water, shelter/space, and air. Students learn how animals meet these needs in their environment and how changes to the environments affect the survival of animals.

Key Concepts/Words: Air, diet, energy, food, growth, pollution, senses, shelter/space, water

Ultimate Survivors: How Animals Adapt to Changes in Their Environment

The world can be a tough place to live in. All organisms must be able to respond and adapt to changes in their environment. Many species have specialized features and adaptations that help them to meet their needs. Animals respond to changes in temperature, water availability, food availability and more. Students learn how different vertebrates respond and adapt to these seasonal changes as well as how different characteristics help various vertebrates survive and even thrive in their environments.

Key Concepts/Words: Amphibians, birds, ectothermic/endothermic, fish, food, mammals, reptiles, temperature, water, adaptation, seasons, migration

Life Goes On… and On: Animal Life Cycles – Birth, Growth, Reproduction, and Parental Care

Just as there is variation in the appearance of vertebrates, there is variation in the life cycles of vertebrates. This lesson focuses on the life cycles of vertebrates and introduces students to the many different ways animals are born, grow, reproduce, and care for their young.

Key Concepts/Words: Amphibians, bird, birth, fish, growth, mammals, parental care, reptiles, reproduction

Vertebrate Variety: Exploring the Characteristics of Vertebrates

Students learn all about the five classes of vertebrates and compare their characteristics. Reptilia’s staff describe the physical characteristics, behavioral characteristics, and life cycle characteristics of reptiles and amphibians and compare them to birds, mammals, and fish.

Key Concepts/Words: Amphibians, birds, ectothermic/endothermic, fish, life cycle, mammals, reproduction, reptiles, vertebrates

The World Around Us: Living and Surviving

This lesson combines the other three lessons, touching on how various vertebrates live and survive in their environment, using their senses and other adaptations to find food, avoid predators, and meet their needs, as well as looking at how their life cycles suit their lifestyles.

Key Concepts/Words: Amphibians, Bird, birth, fish, growth, mammals, parental care, reptiles, reproduction, characteristics, senses, adaptation

Plant & Animal Interactions

The natural world is a strange and wonderful place where all living things are intricately linked to each other. The interaction and interdependence between plants and animals is an excellent way to introduce the concept of interconnectedness to students. This lesson helps students to identify the similarities between plants and animals and it introduces them to the interactions between these two types of organisms.

Key Concepts/Words: Energy, food, interaction, growth, life cycle, movement, pollination, reproduction

Ultimate Survivors: How Animals Adapt to Changes in Their Environment

The world can be a tough place to live in. All organisms must be able to respond and adapt to changes in their environment. Many species have specialized features and adaptations that help them to meet their needs. Animals respond to changes in temperature, water availability, food availability and more. Students learn how different vertebrates respond and adapt to these seasonal changes as well as how different characteristics help various vertebrates survive and even thrive in their environments.

Key Concepts/Words: Amphibians, birds, ectothermic/endothermic, fish, food, mammals, reptiles, temperature, water, adaptation, seasons, migration

Life Goes On… and On: Animal Life Cycles – Birth, Growth, Reproduction, and Parental Care

Just as there is variation in the appearance of vertebrates, there is variation in the life cycles of vertebrates. This lesson focuses on the life cycles of vertebrates and introduces students to the many different ways animals are born, grow, reproduce, and care for their young.

Key Concepts/Words: Amphibians, bird, birth, fish, growth, mammals, parental care, reptiles, reproduction

Vertebrate Variety: Exploring the Characteristics of Vertebrates

Students learn all about the five classes of vertebrates and compare their characteristics. Reptilia’s staff describe the physical characteristics, behavioral characteristics, and life cycle characteristics of reptiles and amphibians and compare them to birds, mammals, and fish.

Key Concepts/Words: Amphibians, birds, ectothermic/endothermic, fish, life cycle, mammals, reproduction, reptiles, vertebrates

The World Around Us: Living and Surviving

This lesson combines the other three lessons, touching on how various vertebrates live and survive in their environment, using their senses and other adaptations to find food, avoid predators, and meet their needs, as well as looking at how their life cycles suit their lifestyles.

Key Concepts/Words: Amphibians, Bird, birth, fish, growth, mammals, parental care, reptiles, reproduction, characteristics, senses, adaptation

Organ Organization and Integration

How do the organs of other organisms work compared to ours? How are organ systems integrated to perform as one unit to sustain life? These are some of the questions explored in this lesson. Our lesson is a tour of the organ systems found in all terrestrial vertebrates highlighting variation in the structure and function of the major organs and systems. Students gain a better understanding of the way these systems work together.

Key Concepts/Words: Circulatory system, digestive system, muscular system, musculoskeletal system, nervous system, food, respiratory system, system integration

Classic Classification: How We Organize The Living World

Scientists classify organisms according to a specific guideline established by Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish biologist who lived in the 1700’s. This classification system is used to organize species into workable groups of living things that are similar in many ways. This lesson focuses on biodiversity, the methods of classification and the characteristics of animals in the five vertebrate classes.

Key Concepts/Words: Amphibians, birds, characteristics, classification, ectothermic, endothermic, fish, fossil, invertebrate, mammals, reptiles, vertebrate

Ecological Essentials: The Delicate Balance

The diversity of animals and ecosystems in which they live is astounding; however, the basic elements of these ecosystems remain the same and the natural laws that dictate the interactions within the system are predictable. This lesson focuses on the basic concept of ecology and introduces students to the idea of ecological interactions.

Key Concepts/Words: Abiotic, biotic, community, competition, energy, food web, niche, population, predator, prey, space, shelter, water

Humans and Ecosystems: How Do We Fit In?

Humans do not operate outside the laws of nature. The laws that govern ecological processes apply to our activities. This lesson focuses on the links between our actions and the health of ecosystems. Students apply their basic knowledge of ecosystems to better understand the role of the human population in ecological processes.

Key Concepts/Words: Air, conservation, endangered, ecosystems, energy, extinction, food web, habitat loss, interaction, pollution, technology, water

Fear of reptiles, and snakes, in particular, is common even among those with a passion for animals. Exposure to snakes will help students overcome this fear so that it does not become an issue for them in the workplace. Students enrolled in animal care courses typically do not have much exposure to reptiles and amphibians. These animals are becoming much more common in private homes as pets. A well-rounded understanding of the characteristics and needs of reptiles and amphibians will give students more options when looking for work.

Animal Care Courses
Reptilia’s staff provide unique programs for students learning about animal care. Many animal care courses do not have the time to cover reptiles and amphibians in depth. In fact, many schools have only one or two classes (2-4 hours) devoted to covering the biology and care of these increasingly popular but misunderstood animals. Reptilia’s programs cover a lot of information effectively in a way that students remember. The live animals and experienced demonstrators make the experience unique because it covers theory and practical application together.

Programs at Reptilia
Bring your class to Reptilia and experience a hands-on demonstration and a tour of our zoo facility. The visit to our facility is especially meaningful for animal care students as they can see how the animals are handled and housed in a zoo setting. We also have venomous species at the zoo which provide an opportunity to demonstrate handling of venomous reptiles.

Programs at Your School
Our staff can bring a variety of animals to your school and deliver the same program provided at our zoo.

Workshops for students enrolled in teacher’s college focus on Life Systems curriculum and Biology curriculum. Many teachers who will teach at the elementary school level do not have a science background. Reptilia’s workshops provide a foundation in life sciences or an in-depth look at one particular aspect of the curriculum. Teacher candidate workshops also focus on using a multidisciplinary approach to teaching.

Programs for Teachers and Teacher Candidates
Reptilia understands that many teachers at the elementary school level are apprehensive about teaching science because they do not have the background in science necessary to teach the concepts outlined in the curriculum. Reptilia’s teacher workshops are conducted with this in mind. The goal of each workshop is to provide teachers with the knowledge necessary to confidently teach the concepts in the curriculum. Each workshop will have three main components which are consistent with the three primary aspects of the curriculum. That is, the workshops will focus on the following: (1) teaching basic concepts, (2) providing activities that focus on investigation, exploration, and data collection, and (3) demonstrating links between the concepts and the outside world. After attending Reptilia’s workshops, teachers will:

• Be familiar with the topics in the Life Systems Strand.
• Have more knowledge to draw from during lessons.
• Have support materials that can immediately be put to use in the classroom.
• Be able to easily meet the curriculum requirements for the Life Systems Strand.

Reptilia is supported to a great extent by schools and teachers. These workshops help us share our expertise and knowledge with teachers and school boards that support us.

Programs at Reptilia
Bring your group to Reptilia and experience a hands-on demonstration and a tour of our zoo facility. The visit to our facility is especially meaningful for teachers as it gives them an opportunity to see the great diversity that exists in this group and we can demonstrate how to use zoos and zoo exhibits as teaching tools.

Programs at Your School
Our staff can bring a variety of animals to your school and deliver the same program provided at our zoo.

Research involving reptiles and amphibians is on the rise. Students enrolled in courses intended to prepare them to work with wildlife in the field need exposure to reptiles in real-world situations. Reptilia can provide hands-on in-class experiences and guided field courses that will prepare students for real-world work with reptiles and amphibians. Courses demonstrating safe handling of venomous species are also available.

Reptilia’s expertise extends beyond biology and husbandry to handling and collection of data in the field. Students studying reptile and amphibian biology in the context of natural resources management and research will benefit from Reptilia’s identification and field courses. Each course is designed to teach students about the natural history, ecology, behavior, and identification of reptiles and amphibians.

Ontario Species Lesson
Our first session focuses on the identification and natural history of native Ontario species of reptiles and amphibians. Students will learn about the natural history, ecology, and behavior of native species while learning how to identify them. A combination of live animals, video, and slides will be used in the multimedia presentation.

Students enrolled in zoology courses rarely see or work with live animals. Reptilia’s zoology/herpetology classes cover aspects of reptilian and amphibian physiology, classification, evolution, and ecology.

Zoology Programs
Zoology students don’t often get to work with live animals. Several options including live demonstrations and field courses are available. All programs will be customized to suit the needs and requests of the specific course coordinator. Reptilia will work closely with the coordinator to ensure each goal is achieved. Some options and suggestions are listed below:

Herpetology
This is an identification lab that will teach students how to identify various reptile families from live specimens. Video and slides will also be used as part of the experience. Live examples from more than 15 families of reptiles will be brought to your lab for students to see first hand. Alternatively, you can bring your students to Reptilia and observe even greater diversity in a hands-on presentation and zoo tour.

The increasing popularity of reptile and amphibian pets makes it necessary for veterinarians and their technicians to have at least a basic knowledge of reptile and amphibian identification and care. Reptilia’s focus is on proper identification, handling, and common health issues associated with the most common reptile and amphibian pets.

Veterinary Students and Technicians
Reptilia’s staff provide unique programs for students learning about veterinary science. Many veterinary science and vet tech courses do not have the time to cover reptiles and amphibians in depth. In fact, many schools have only one or two classes (2-4 hours) devoted to covering the biology and care of these increasingly popular but misunderstood animals. Reptilia’s programs cover a lot of information effectively in a way that students remember. The live animals and experienced demonstrators make the experience unique because it covers theory and practical application together.

Programs at Reptilia
Bring your class to Reptilia and experience a hands-on demonstration and a tour of our zoo facility. The visit to our facility is especially meaningful for students as they can see how the animals are handled and housed in a zoo setting. We also have venomous species at the zoo which provide an opportunity to demonstrate handling of venomous reptiles.

Programs at Your School
Our staff can bring a variety of animals to your school and deliver the same program provided at our zoo.