A One-Day Diary
No, I’m not writing this to feed my ego or to impress you with how hard I work. I recorded one typical day in my life to illustrate that being a wildlife educator is NOT the fun and gregarious lifestyle that so many of you imagine it to be. I have not embellished. I did [...]
From the Mouth of Babes – Favorites 2008
W.C. Fields warned, "Never work with animals or children." Well, I guess I deserve what I get, since I work with animals AND children. It is always a jaw-dropping moment when some wide-eyed child responds to our presenter with a totally innocent, yet always humorous, quip. This year, we decided to write them down before [...]
Problem Party People
Zooniversity teaches about 600 wildlife shows each year and a big hunk of them are at children’s birthday parties. Ninety-nine percent of the party parents and guests are wonderful people. They follow our safety rules, they respect our expertise as wildlife professionals, they are polite and interested audience members. But, there is that remaining one [...]
A Zooniversity Shopping List
Think you spend a lot of time and money shopping for your family, your school or your library? We bet you don’t have these items on your shopping list or in your budget. Here’s a small sampling of what’s on Zooniversity’s monthly shopping list—a list only a wildlife educator could appreciate: 40 lbs. fresh Spring [...]
Zooniversity’s “Top” 10 Ridiculous Requests
When you deal with the general public (and mothers planning birthday parties), you just never know what you’ll hear when you answer the phone. Some of the requests have been so ridiculous, that I started writing them down a few years ago. For your enjoyment, and to borrow from David Letterman, here is Zooniversity’s “Top [...]
THAT Kid from the Country Club
When you are a wildlife educator, you can do hundreds of shows each year. You can meet thousands of adults and tens-of-thousands of children each year. Year, after year, after year. The numbers can be staggering. But, there is always one show, one kid, that you vividly remember…and not for good reasons. My nightmare: THAT [...]
