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School Programs
Whether you teach preschool or middle school, we have a school program to fit your needs. All programs are carefully crafted around South Carolina Science Academic Standards and are developed to involve your students in active, inquiry-based learning.
Interested in having your school group take a walk on the wild side?
Our Zoo staff can lead your K-12 group on a tour of the Zoo that is designed to meet SC state standards,
while giving you the inside scoop on our animals.
Visit our Tours page to learn more about school tours.
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PRE-K TO KINDERGARTEN (click each class title for more information)
What's a bear to do when the weather is unbearable? What does it take to survive? Join us at the Zoo to discover the bear necessities.
Kindergarten standards: K-2.1, K-2.5*, K-4.2, K-4.3 (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
The animal kingdom is full of working parents and wild children. Sound like your house? Some animal parents stick around, while others lay eggs and then leave town. Investigate the cycle of life and the parents who make it possible.
Kindergarten standards: K-1.3, K-2.3, K-2.4, K-2.5, K-5.1
Fur, feathers, or scales? You can tell a lot about an animal by looking at the skin they're in. Explore the prickly, fuzzy and slippery world of animal classification through biofact exploration and live animal encounters.
Kindergarten standards: K-1.1, K-3.1*, K-5.1 (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
Can you taste with your feet? Hear with your hair? See in the dark? Sensational animals can! Examine the 5 senses of humans and other animals through interactive games and hands-on activities.
Kindergarten standards: K-1.1, K-2.1*, K-3.1 (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
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1ST-2ND GRADE (click each class title for more information)
Get swept up in the Great Migration through wild Africa! This safari adventure winds through grassy plains of Serengeti, into tropical rainforests of the Congo, and along sandy desert paths of the Sahara. Discover how amazing animals survive in this world within the world.
1st grade standards: 1-2.5, 1-2.6
2nd grade standards: 2-2.3, 2-2.4
Food fight! Animals must eat to live. Figure out who is eating who and find out where all that energy goes. Dig into the food web through biofact exploration and live animal encounters. Follow an animal's life cycle from beginning to end in the circle of life.
1st grade standards: 1-2.1, 1-2.5, 1-3.2
2nd grade standards: 2-2.1, 2-2.3, 2-2.4, 2-2.5
Tish Rabe's book for Dr. Seuss asks, "Is a Camel a Mammal?" We have the answer. Whether it has fins, fur or feathers, you can tell a lot about a critter by its covering. Join us at the Zoo to discover that animals have class.
1st grade standards: 1-1.1
2nd grade standards: 2-2.1*, 2-2.2, 2-2.5* (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
Eating out tonight? What about eating outside?! Some plants and animals dine in the rainforest café every day. Venture to the tropical rainforest to discover how jungle plants and animals survive in the forest's layers. Meet live animal visitors from this misty realm.
1st grade standards: 1-2.1, 1-2.5, 1-3.2
2nd grade standards: 2-2.1, 2-2.3, 2-2.4
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3RD-4TH GRADE (click each class title for more information)
I have a bone to pick…or do I? Join us at the Zoo to explore a group of animals that makes up 95% of life on Earth. They may be spineless, but they're not wimps—make no bones about it!
3rd grade standards: 3-2.2*, 3-2.5* (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
4th grade standards: 4-2.1*, 4-2.3*, 4-2.5 (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
Outplay, outwit, outlast; for animals, survival is not just a game. In the world's harshest places, animals must use more than their heads to carry on. Adaptations let some creatures take the lead to become wild survivors. Observe animal visitors that are specially adapted to life in tough places.
3rd grade standards: 3-1.1, 3-2.2, 3-2.3, 3-2.4
4th grade standards: 4-2.1, 4-2.2, 4-2.4
Maybe they're born with it? Animals depend on their adaptations to survive. Some get skills by their own wits and some get them from their parents. Which animals are a "chip off the old block"? Distinguish inherited from acquired adaptations through animal encounters and active learning.
3rd grade standards: 3-1.1, 3-2.2, 3-2.3, 3-2.4
4th grade standards: 4-2.2, 4-2.4, 4-2.5
Swamps are astonishing places full of mysterious animals and ghostly plants. Explore this unique habitat and discover what it takes for animals and plants to survive when they are swamped!
3rd grade standards: 3-2.2*, 3-2.3, 3-2.5* (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
4th grade standards: 4-2.2, 4-2.5* (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
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5TH-6TH GRADE (click each class title for more information)
Follow the clues to solve a wild crime! Try your hand at forensic science to observe and categorize evidence about animals. Interactive scientific skill stations and animal encounters can help you provide wild justice.
5th grade standards: 5-1.4, 5-1.6, 5-2.4
6th grade standards: 6-1.1, 6-1.2, 6-1.3, *6-3.1 (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
It's a tough world out there. Don't blame me if I use paws, claws or even chemicals for survival. As an animal or plant, I may have an alarming strategy to survive but after all, it's in my own defense.
5th grade standards: 5-2.4, 5-2.5
6th grade standards: 6-3.2, 6-3.4*, 6-3.5 (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
Classification can be taxing, but we can help! King Phillip keeps it all straight. Join us at the Zoo for a little tax-onomy relief!
5th grade standards: 5-1.6*, 5-2.4 (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
6th grade standards: 6-2.2, 6-1.3, 6-3.1* (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
Outplay, outwit, outlast; for animals, survival is not just a game—and if you snooze, you just might lose! Animals in an ecosystem depend on each other to survive. What happens if one piece of the habitat puzzle goes missing? Find out as we explore ecosystem dynamics and meet animal visitors.
5th grade standards: 5-2.2, 5-2.4, 5-2.5
6th grade standards: 6-3.2, 6-3.4, 6-3.5
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6TH GRADE - HIGH SCHOOL (click each class title for more information)
It takes more than good looks to survive in the wild. Animals have to out compete, outwit and out play to survive. Tour the Zoo with us to find out how behaviors help animals survive and what enrichment is all about!
Program is tour-based.
6th grade standards: 6-3.2, 6-3.4, 6-3.5, 6-3.6
7th grade standards: 7-4. 7.4.1
High School standards: B-1, B-3.6, B-6.1
Around the world in 80 days? Explore the world's biomes with us in just 45 minutes. Your around-the-world adventure will take you to places like the grasslands of Africa, taiga of Russia and rainforests of Southeast Asia, but get you back in time for lunch.
Program is tour-based.
6th grade standards: 6-3.4*, 6-3.5* (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
7th grade standards: 7-4.1, 7-4.2* (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
High School standards: B-5.3, B-6.1, B-6, B-6.2, B-6.5
Some celebrities make the "A" list; some animals make the "E" list. Making the list is great for celebrities, but not for animals. Tour the Zoo to see animals that have made the list and animals that have made it off the list. Find out what Riverbanks is doing to get animals off the list and to help prevent animals from making the list in the future.
Program is tour-based.
6th grade standards: 6-3.4*, 6-3.5*, 6-3.6 (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
7th grade standards: 7-4.1*, 7-4.2, 7-4.3*, 7-4.6 (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
8th grade standards: 8-2.7
High School standards: B-5.3, B-6.1, B-6.2, B-6.6* (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
Are you interested in photography, art, retail, horticulture or guest services? Believe it or not, the Zoo might be the place for you! Take a tour with us where you'll see that it really takes teamwork and a lot of talented people to run the Zoo.
Program is tour-based.
6th grade standards: 6-3.4*, 6-3.5* (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
7th grade standards: 7-4.1, 7-4.2* (*Indicates partial completion of the standard.)
High School standards: B-6.1
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| COLLEGE-LEVEL: |
| If you are interested in college level programs or teacher training programs, please contact the Education Department at 803.779.8717 x1224. |
| Cost: |
A program fee of $55 is charged for each class of 25 students. |
| Capacity: |
Garden programs can accommodate any group size. These informal programs are held in the Botanical Garden amphitheater, with participants sitting on the grass. |
| Availability: |
Programs are available Monday-Friday, 9:00am-2:00pm. Each program lasts approximately one hour. |
| To Reserve: |
Programs may be reserved in advance by calling 803.978.1131 or by emailing asegura@riverbanks.org. |
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| PRESCHOOL-2ND GRADE (click each class title for more information) |
| + Bug Hunt |
| Children learn the importance and characteristics of insects before going out into the Garden to dig up their own creepy crawly bugs. The group will look for bugs in various habitats discovering the secret world where insects live. The tour ends with an appropriate story. |
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| + All Living Things |
| As plants grow from tiny seedlings to mature plants, they provide many different elements for other living things. Students will learn about plant life cycles and the important relationship of insects and plants. They will also discover the many vital elements plants provide for humans and animals. |
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| 3RD-6TH GRADE (click each class title for more information) |
| + Plant Adaptations |
| Students will see various plants from different habitats that include the desert, wetlands and rainforest. Their explorations will lead them to investigate the different adaptations that are necessary to survive in each habitat. |
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