Texas is too big for a groundhog! Come see if the spectacled bear sees his shadow!

What: Weather Day at the Zoo!

Visit 16 Area Schools booths to collect facts on the weather and the animals.

The Weather Museum, NASA, Weather Safety Booths

When: Groundhog Day, Saturday, February 2^nd, 2002

Animal Weather Walk begins at 10 AM

The Spectacled Bear looks for his shadow at 11AM

Event and activities last until 3 PM

Where: The Houston Zoo

1513 North MacGregor

The Weather Museum is coordinating with several area schools and the Houston Zoo to host an exciting event this February at the Houston Zoo. The focus of the event is to bring attention to the Weather Museum but the children at the schools involved and the Houston Zoo will benefit as well. Listed below are some bullet points of what we would like to accomplish with this event.

• Raise funds to help build a Weather Museum that will host exciting interactive exhibits for kids and adults!
• Encourage a learning interest in meteorology and oceanography
• Encourage teachers to include oceanography/meteorology in their lesson plans
• Bring attention to the fact that each and every thing is affected in some manner by the weather
• Educate the public about dangerous weather conditions and how to respond in these situations

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• Students gain an in-depth understanding of how we are all affected by the weather
• Pre and post evaluation to determine that learning has taken place
• Healthy competition to encourage students to put more effort into their studies
• Schools will include inner city/underprivileged children
• Competition winners honored with free trip to the zoo to teach others about animals and how they are affected by the weather

• Zoo needs new habitat for the spectacled bear. This event will involve media coverage which will also benefit the zoo.
• Zoo will likely have some form of fundraising for the bear’s habitat (i.e. buy a brick for the bear)
• Zoo will be able to use this event to encourage people to participate in Zoo Friends, the non-profit organization for the Houston Zoo whose interest is to improve the Houston Zoo for both the animals and people.

The Houston Zoo, a division of the Parks and Recreation Department, is located at 1513 North MacGregor. The zoo is open daily from 10:00 AM until 6:PM. Regular admission is $2.50 for adults, $2.00 for seniors. $.50 for children ages 3-12 and Free for kids two and under. Visit the Houston Zoo’s website at www. Houstonzoo.org for more zoo information.

Media Contact: Melinda Sanspree- Copeland at: Sanspreem@pii-usa.com

1/23/02

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