Program Offerings

Zoo-to-You programs are available for classroom settings of 60 or fewer students or assembly programs of over 60 students.

  • Preschool Zoo-to-You Outreach Programs: Introduce your preschoolers to the world of animals with a 30-minute Zoo-to-You Outreach Program. Your students will meet 3 animals and learn about the topic of your choice.
    • Classroom Pricing: 0-20 miles = $80; 21-40 miles = $110; 41-60 miles = $160; Additional classroom programs = $40 each; Weekend/Evening (5 pm or later) fee = $100.00
    • Assembly Pricing: 0-20 miles = $170; 21-40 miles = $220; 41-60 miles = $300; Additional assembly programs = $90 each; Weekend/Evening (5 pm or later) fee = $100.00
  • School Zoo-to-You Outreach Programs: Primary & Secondary teachers, compliment your lessons with a Zoo-to-You Outreach program. During these 45-minute presentations your students will meet 3-4 animals and learn about the topic of your choice.
    • Classroom Pricing: 0-20 miles = $90; 21-40 miles = $120; 41-60 miles = $170; Additional classroom programs = $50 each; Weekend/Evening (5 pm or later) fee = $100.00
    • Assembly Pricing: 0-20 miles = $170; 21-40 miles = $220; 41-60 miles = $300; Additional assembly programs = $90 each; Weekend/Evening (5 pm or later) fee = $100.00
  • Career Talks: The Potawatomi Zoo Education Department will offer one free career talk to high schools in St. Joseph County Indiana per school year. A Zoo Educator will come and speak about career opportunities in zoos and the training required for these professions. The Educator will also bring along one of the animals they work with at the Zoo.
    • Pricing: FREE (only once per year for high schools); Weekend/Evening (5 pm or later) fee = $100.00
Topics: Looking for animal programs to support your classroom lessons? Select from our available topics to enhance your students' experience with animal encounters, interactive biofacts (shells, feathers, scales, skulls, fur, and more!), and activities pertaining to a topic listed below.
  • Adaptations: Each animal has physical and behavioral adaptations that help them survive. Utilizing touchable biofacts and animal presentations, this  program will get students critically thinking about the adaptations that allow animals to move, find food, and defend themselves in the wild!
  • Habitats: From the tundra to the rainforest, from the desert to the wetlands, all animals need the same resources to survive. Learn how animals in different habitats find these resources in this hands-on educational program.
  • Ecosystems: Expand upon a habitat to include all of its living and non-living things, and you have a framework for an ecosystem! This program teaches students about the interconnectedness between biotic and abiotic factors within a shared biome.
  • Classification: What makes an owl a bird? Or a lizard a reptile? Or an armadillo a mammal? Find out in this immersive program about animal classifications!
  • Life Cycles: From birth to adulthood, every living thing has a life cycle. Chickens, frogs, and chinchillas have life cycles unique to their classification. This program uses cooperative learning techniques to teach students how and why life cycles differ.
  • Senses: Snakes that smell using their tongue and bugs that taste using their feet?! Students engage in this program by exercising their 5 senses and learning how they compare to the senses of the animal kingdom
  • Endangered Species: Endangered species are animals that are nearly extinct in the wild. This program teaches students why species may become endangered and practical ways they can help protect wildlife.
Not seeing a topic that fits your classroom's needs? Let us know! We can adapt a program to focus on many other topics that you may be discussing in class.
Your organization can bring the zoo to you with a 45-minute Zoo-to-You Animal Presentation or 1-3 hour Mini-Zoo* Display including 3-4 different animals and a table display of biofacts (fur, feathers, skulls, etc.).
  • Cost: 0-20 miles = $125; 21-40 miles = $160; 41-60 miles = $210; Additional programs/hour of display = $70 each; Weekend/Evening (5 pm or later) fee = $100.00
  • *Mini-Zoo Displays rotate through each animal every 20-30 minutes. For the animals' safety, Mini-Zoo Displays are capped at 3 hours.
Nursing, group, or assisted living homes can choose from two Zoo-to-You Outreach Program styles.
  • 30-minute Group Program: Residents can gather in a central room where a Zoo Educator will introduce them to 3 animals. After the animal is introduced, the Educator will travel around the room allowing residents to meet and touch the animal.
    • Pricing: $80; additional program (same day) = $40
Please Note: Wild Animal Therapy Zoo-to-You Outreach Programs are only available for facilities within 20 miles of Potawatomi Zoo. If your facility is outside of that 20-mile radius, you can schedule a Wild Animal Outreach Program.
To schedule a Zoo-to-You program, please call the Potawatomi Zoo Education Department at (574) 235-9070 or e-mail at education@potawatomizoo.org.

Outreach Programs must be scheduled with at least 2 weeks notice.

  • Zoo-to-You Outreach Programs are invoiced the month before which they are scheduled. You may choose if you prefer your invoice to be sent by mail, fax, or email.
  • Program payment may be made on the day of the program or sent to the Zoo following the program. Payment terms: net 30 days.
  • The discounted rate for additional programs only applies to programs scheduled on the same date, same trip. If the time between programs exceeds the length of a program, an additional charge may also apply.
  • Please note that there is an additional $100 per program fee for weekend and/or evening (5 pm or later) programs.
  • Potawatomi Zoo accepts check, cash, or card payments.
  • Zoo-to-You Outreach Programs are not petting zoos.
  • Assembly programs must provide their own PA system if needed.
  • We will schedule Outreach Programs for outdoor locations, but the Zoo reserves the right to cancel the programs due to extremely high or low temperatures or inclement weather that poses a health risk to our animals. If you have an outdoor location, we recommend that you also have an indoor option.
  • The Potawatomi Zoo cannot schedule Outreach Programs at private homes or locations where other animals or pets will be present.
  • Potawatomi Zoo reserves the right to discontinue any Outreach Program in which the safety of the animals, audience, or zoo staff is in question.

Program Offerings

Zoo-to-You programs are available for classroom settings of 60 or fewer students or assembly programs of over 60 students.

  • Preschool Zoo-to-You Outreach Programs: Introduce your preschoolers to the world of animals with a 30-minute Zoo-to-You Outreach Program. Your students will meet 3 animals and learn about the topic of your choice.
    • Classroom Pricing: 0-20 miles = $80; 21-40 miles = $110; 41-60 miles = $160; Additional classroom programs = $40 each; Weekend/Evening (5 pm or later) fee = $100.00
    • Assembly Pricing: 0-20 miles = $170; 21-40 miles = $220; 41-60 miles = $300; Additional assembly programs = $90 each; Weekend/Evening (5 pm or later) fee = $100.00
  • School Zoo-to-You Outreach Programs: Primary & Secondary teachers, compliment your lessons with a Zoo-to-You Outreach program. During these 45-minute presentations your students will meet 3-4 animals and learn about the topic of your choice.
    • Classroom Pricing: 0-20 miles = $90; 21-40 miles = $120; 41-60 miles = $170; Additional classroom programs = $50 each; Weekend/Evening (5 pm or later) fee = $100.00
    • Assembly Pricing: 0-20 miles = $170; 21-40 miles = $220; 41-60 miles = $300; Additional assembly programs = $90 each; Weekend/Evening (5 pm or later) fee = $100.00
  • Career Talks: The Potawatomi Zoo Education Department will offer one free career talk to high schools in St. Joseph County Indiana per school year. A Zoo Educator will come and speak about career opportunities in zoos and the training required for these professions. The Educator will also bring along one of the animals they work with at the Zoo.
    • Pricing: FREE (only once per year for high schools); Weekend/Evening (5 pm or later) fee = $100.00
Topics: Looking for animal programs to support your classroom lessons? Select from our available topics to enhance your students' experience with animal encounters, interactive biofacts (shells, feathers, scales, skulls, fur, and more!), and activities pertaining to a topic listed below.
  • Adaptations: Each animal has physical and behavioral adaptations that help them survive. Utilizing touchable biofacts and animal presentations, this  program will get students critically thinking about the adaptations that allow animals to move, find food, and defend themselves in the wild!
  • Habitats: From the tundra to the rainforest, from the desert to the wetlands, all animals need the same resources to survive. Learn how animals in different habitats find these resources in this hands-on educational program.
  • Ecosystems: Expand upon a habitat to include all of its living and non-living things, and you have a framework for an ecosystem! This program teaches students about the interconnectedness between biotic and abiotic factors within a shared biome.
  • Classification: What makes an owl a bird? Or a lizard a reptile? Or an armadillo a mammal? Find out in this immersive program about animal classifications!
  • Life Cycles: From birth to adulthood, every living thing has a life cycle. Chickens, frogs, and chinchillas have life cycles unique to their classification. This program uses cooperative learning techniques to teach students how and why life cycles differ.
  • Senses: Snakes that smell using their tongue and bugs that taste using their feet?! Students engage in this program by exercising their 5 senses and learning how they compare to the senses of the animal kingdom
  • Endangered Species: Endangered species are animals that are nearly extinct in the wild. This program teaches students why species may become endangered and practical ways they can help protect wildlife.
Not seeing a topic that fits your classroom's needs? Let us know! We can adapt a program to focus on many other topics that you may be discussing in class.
Your organization can bring the zoo to you with a 45-minute Zoo-to-You Animal Presentation or 1-3 hour Mini-Zoo* Display including 3-4 different animals and a table display of biofacts (fur, feathers, skulls, etc.).
  • Cost: 0-20 miles = $125; 21-40 miles = $160; 41-60 miles = $210; Additional programs/hour of display = $70 each; Weekend/Evening (5 pm or later) fee = $100.00
  • *Mini-Zoo Displays rotate through each animal every 20-30 minutes. For the animals' safety, Mini-Zoo Displays are capped at 3 hours.
Nursing, group, or assisted living homes can choose from two Zoo-to-You Outreach Program styles.
  • 30-minute Group Program: Residents can gather in a central room where a Zoo Educator will introduce them to 3 animals. After the animal is introduced, the Educator will travel around the room allowing residents to meet and touch the animal.
    • Pricing: $80; additional program (same day) = $40
Please Note: Wild Animal Therapy Zoo-to-You Outreach Programs are only available for facilities within 20 miles of Potawatomi Zoo. If your facility is outside of that 20-mile radius, you can schedule a Wild Animal Outreach Program.
To schedule a Zoo-to-You program, please call the Potawatomi Zoo Education Department at (574) 235-9070 or e-mail at education@potawatomizoo.org.

Outreach Programs must be scheduled with at least 2 weeks notice.

  • Zoo-to-You Outreach Programs are invoiced the month before which they are scheduled. You may choose if you prefer your invoice to be sent by mail, fax, or email.
  • Program payment may be made on the day of the program or sent to the Zoo following the program. Payment terms: net 30 days.
  • The discounted rate for additional programs only applies to programs scheduled on the same date, same trip. If the time between programs exceeds the length of a program, an additional charge may also apply.
  • Please note that there is an additional $100 per program fee for weekend and/or evening (5 pm or later) programs.
  • Potawatomi Zoo accepts check, cash, or card payments.
  • Zoo-to-You Outreach Programs are not petting zoos.
  • Assembly programs must provide their own PA system if needed.
  • We will schedule Outreach Programs for outdoor locations, but the Zoo reserves the right to cancel the programs due to extremely high or low temperatures or inclement weather that poses a health risk to our animals. If you have an outdoor location, we recommend that you also have an indoor option.
  • The Potawatomi Zoo cannot schedule Outreach Programs at private homes or locations where other animals or pets will be present.
  • Potawatomi Zoo reserves the right to discontinue any Outreach Program in which the safety of the animals, audience, or zoo staff is in question.

2023 Pokagon Grant Outreach Programs

With the help of a generous grant from the Pokagon Fund, the Potawatomi Zoo Education Department is able to bring the zoo to your classroom. We will be offering a series of 4 visits per classroom. Groups can be up to 60 kids. During each 45-minute visit we will present on a topic and include 3 of our ambassador animals. We recommend scheduling the 4 visits in a 4-week period. Below is a list of topics we can offer. Each can be adapted for different grade levels. This grant is currently available to South Bend Community School teachers only.

K-6

Senses: Each visit we would focus on a different sense (touch, sight, hearing, and taste/smell together)

Ecology: Each visit we would focus on a different ecology topic (habitats, adaptations, ecosystems, endangered species)

Classifications: Each visit we would focus on a different group (amphibians, birds, reptiles, and mammals)

For Middle and High School

Zoos: For this topic, we would cover conservation, species survival plans, animal care, and zoo careers

Have a topic or idea you don’t see listed? Let us know and we can accommodate you.

We will be able to offer this program to 28 classrooms free of cost this school year. If grant funds are exhausted this program can be scheduled for the cost of $90 per each classroom visit. Please fill out the contact form at the following address to schedule

Thank you for your interest in the Pokagon Grant-funded Outreach Programs. We have a limited number of classrooms that can be accommodated under this grant. Please fill out the questions below, and you will be contacted if selected for the program.

    Which topic series are you interested in? Select all that apply.



    [checkbox topics-4 use_label_element "Zoo Conservation (includes topics like Species Survival Plans and Animal Care) How will this be beneficial to your science curriculum? (required) [textarea* benefits-138 placeholder "Please explain how this program will benefit your students."]