Zoomobile visits Mars
ADAMS TWP — Students at the Mars Centennial School learned about the various layers of the tropical rain forest Monday by meeting some of its residents.
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium's Zoomobile visited the school to teach fifth and sixth graders the four layers of the equatorial jungle, and showed animals that thrive in three of those layers.
A large green-winged macaw, a clingy kinkajou and two ball pythons made their way around the gymnasium on the arm of zoo representative Heather Berkey, while her co-worker, David Mintz, described the animals to the students and prompted them to ask questions.
The excited fifth-graders who attended the 1 p.m. session followed the rules by remaining quiet and not touching the animals as they appeared one-by-one in the gym.
“It's neat to learn more about the tropical forest and actually meet the animals that live there,” said Isabella Cinalli, a student in Tammy Mitchell's fifth-grade class.
Isabella said her favorite creature was the ball python, “Monty,” because he appeared beautiful to her instead of “gross and scary” as she expected.
Her classmate, Bryce Cunningham, was fascinated to learn that a snake can swallow an animal that is five times bigger than its head. As Berkey explained, the fifth graders could swallow a whole watermelon if their facial structures mirrored the ball python's.
“It was a lot of fun,” Bryce said. “We got to learn a lot more about the rain forest and its animals.”
Another classmate, Jenna Coulter, also enjoyed the rain forest presentation and the animals from the zoo.
“It was really interesting and cool to learn about all the animals and their environment,” she said.
The students learned that the macaw inhabits the emergent layer of the tropical rain forest, which is made up of the highest trees that protrude above all other growth.
The kinkajou, a nocturnal member of the raccoon family with a prehensile tail, lives in the canopy layer of the rain forest along with monkeys, apes, sloths and other tree-loving animals.
Berkey said the kinkajou loves honey and has a bee sting-proof coat. She said the kinkajou that visited the Centennial school was a stray, having been found roaming the streets of Pittsburgh more than a decade ago.
While Berkey and Mintz did not bring an animal to represent the understory layer, the shady part of the rain forest that houses frogs and reptiles, they did bring the ball pythons to demonstrate the inhabitants of the forest floor.
Berkey and Mintz said they visit hundreds of schools each year in the Zoomobile. They agreed that the programs help youngsters learn about the importance of the rain forest, and could foster an early awareness of conservation.
Asked the most frequent question she receives from students, Berkey replied instantaneously.
“Does it bite?” she said.
“Or, 'Can I touch it?'” Mintz added.
Principal Todd Lape said in addition to the educational benefit, his students enjoy meeting exotic animals.
“Kids this age are very excited about animals and it's a huge thrill for them,” Lape said.
He said Monday was the second visit to the Centennial school by the Zoomobile. He said Nutrition, Inc., the company that provides the school district's food services, funds and coordinates the program.
