A Week in the Life of a Zookeeper - a camp like no other!

For over a decade, Columbian Park Zoo has been offering area youth a totally unique camp experience.  A Week in the Life of a Zookeeper provides young teens with an interest in zookeeping or other animal-related careers a rare inside look at what these jobs entail.  Topics include animal husbandry, conservation, public education, and customer service. 

What to Expect:

This camp is unlike other Zoo Camps.  A portion of each day will be spent in the classroom with Zoo Educators, learning about the zoo industry. Campers will also spend a portion of each day outside the classroom, working alongside zookeepers on safe animal husbandry tasks such as enclosure cleaning, diet preparation, animal grooming, and exercise.  Campers will also be expected to speak publicly to small groups of zoo visitors about the animals in our care. 

Zookeepers work in all weather conditions and campers will be working alongside them unless a severe weather situation arises.  Campers will get hot, sweaty and will be exposed to dirt, animal feces/urine, hay/straw, other allergens, and cleaning chemicals.  Personal protective gear, such as gloves and masks, will be provided as appropriate and must be worn as directed.  In addition, campers will work in small teams throughout the week on a project, which will be presented to the camp and zoo staff (parents invited) at the end of the week.  All campers are expected to contribute to this presentation.

What to Bring:

A reusable water bottle, packed lunch, a long pair of socks (to wear under provided rubber boots), and a great attitude!

Getting dirty has never been so much fun!