Chicago Wildlife Watch

Can I use Chicago Wildlife Watch in the classroom?

Absolutely! Chicago Wildlife Watch, just like all the Zooniverse projects, offers a unique opportunity to explore real scientific data while making a contribution to cutting-edge research. We would like to stress that as each image is marked by the volunteers, it really does not matter if your students don't mark all the features. That being said, the task itself is simple enough that we believe most people can take part and make a worthwhile contribution regardless of age.

What resources are there to support use in the classroom?

Over the summer of 2014, teen interns at Adler Planetarium developed a floor activity to bring awareness to the fact that nature is everywhere and we live in nature. A Lesson plan for this activity can be found on ZooTeach.

Videos are also a great tool to introduce students to Chicago Wildlife Watch. Here are a couple of our favorites:

TropicMind.com: Ecosystem and Food Chain (aimed for younger children)
Bill Nye: The Science Guy - Biodiversity

We also recommend checking out the Urban Wildlife Institute webpage for more information on the organization.

Partner resources

Please visit Lincoln Park Zoo's Educator's Resources webpage to access curriculum guides, zoo field trip and self-tour information, accessibility kits and links to several multi-media apps.

The Adler Planetarium is dedicated to helping the public experience science and discover the universe through field trips, school partnerships, child and teen programming. See the Teach and Learn section of the Adler's website for details.