26、What do kids learn from their “Keeper for a Day” experience at a zoo?

 

Kayoko MACHIDA

Sapporo City University

 

The aim of this study is to evaluate a popular educational program called “Keeper for a Day for Kids in Sapporo Maruyama Zoo.” This program has been conducted to promote understanding of animal ecology, biological diversity and valuing life through a three-hour-experience of taking care of animals with experienced keepers for school children.
A questionnaire, including a word association question, was given before and after the program. The participants were asked to write down words that come to mind when they hear the word “animals in a zoo.”
420 words of 121 kinds before the experience and 385 words of 151 kinds after the experience were collected from 96 participants. All the words were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Using the General Inductive Approach (Thomas 2006), they were coded and classified into 10 categories including positive/negative images of animals, the role of zoos and zoo keeping. Although the number of pre words and post words did not show a significant difference, changes in category types, contents and quality of words between pre and post experiences indicated that the participants expanded and deepened their perspectives on nature and diversity of zoo animals, keepers work as well as the role of zoos.