Celebrating our One Year Anniversary of FREE admission for children on Wells Fargo Wednesdays!

A one year anniversary celebration will be held at Fresno Chaffee Zoo from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, August 3. On hand will be representatives from the Zoo and Wells Fargo offering stagecoach photos, games and refreshments. All children 11 years of age and under will receive FREE admission when they attend with their families.

"We're very excited to have this partnership with Wells Fargo, and we appreciate their generosity that will allow so many children to visit our Zoo," states Scott Barton, Fresno Chaffee Zoo Director/CEO. "It's with the support of organizations such as Wells Fargo that we are able to achieve the goals of our mission to inspire wonder of our natural world, provide an engaging learning environment, and create a passion for conservation".

"Wells Fargo is thrilled to be celebrating the one year anniversary of Wells Fargo Wednesday's at Fresno Chaffee Zoo," said David Galasso, regional president for Wells Fargo's Central California region. "We'd like to thanks the wonderful team at the Zoo for their commitment to our community and for the opportunity to partner with this extraordinary facility. The zoo provides such a rich and valuable experience to children and adults alike."

Teen L.E.A.D.E.R.S. Program is Making a Difference

This week we’ll spotlight two of our Teen LEADERS, Wendy Lee and Haleema Robinson, who spent the day volunteering on Tuesday, July 19th. Wendy is about to start her Junior year at Central High School West Campus.  She believes that, “The Teen LEADERS program is important to me because I am educating others about the importance of wildlife, how to conserve by recycling, and how we can learn to reduce human impacts on wild animals' environments…Not just that, but I am able to bond with other teen LEADERS and volunteer coordinators and build good friendships.”

Haleema graduated in June from Clovis West and will begin college at Fresno State in the Fall. She says that the Teen LEADERS program, “has allowed me to explore new ideas and facts about our environment that I would not have known without the program.  I also joined to meet new people as well as have a great time teaching others.”

On Tuesday alone, over 100 children and 80 adults joined them in several fun games related to aquatic habitats and animal adaptations. Wendy said, "I had such an amazing day watching every reaction that the children and adults had to our very positive message of water conservation."  It is great to see that a small group of committed volunteers can make a big difference in sharing lessons about how to better conserve our natural environments and resources. Come join us at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo to experience the Teen LEADERS Activity Station and the fun, educational lessons they have to share!

ValleyPBS and Fresno Chaffee Zoo bring you DINO NITE

To purchase tickets, go to http://valleypbs.org/dinonite/ or www.fresnochaffeezoo.org 

Fresno TweetUp Goes Wild 2!

Once again, The Beehive and Fresno Chaffee Zoo are partnering for Fresno Tweetup Goes Wild 2, an after-hours party at the zoo where our local Twitter community can mix and mingle at a discounted price.

This year's event is Saturday, August 27, from 5-8 p.m. Chaffee Zoo will be closed to the public, so it's an exclusive event for the Fresno Twitter crew. Tickets will cost $5, and kids 10 and younger are free with their parent(s).

If you attended last year, and many of you did, you know it was a blast. There will be food, drinks, live music, and, of course, all kinds of games and prizes. Expect more details on The Beehive as the date gets closer.
A few notes on how the Tweetup will work:

• You MUST message Chaffee Zoo (@fresnozoo) and/or The Beehive (@fresnobeehive) on Twitter to get on the list for $5 tickets.
• You'll pick up your tickets along with a nametag at the will-call table before the event. You can bring non-Tweeps with ya, but wouldn't you rather just get them to join Twitter and add to our cool local Twitter community? Exactly.
• The Zoo says all its usual animals will be out. We've got a few other fun things scheduled -- like another Twitpic Scavenger Hunt and a variety of Tweetup Challenges for prizes.
• Mark any and all Tweets about the event with the hashtag #wildfresno. And follow that hashtag for all the chatter about Fresno Tweetup Goes Wild.
• If you're not Twitter, you've got plenty of time to join and get into the swing of things. Be sure to follow @fresnobeehive and @fresnozoo first thing.

Teen L.E.A.D.E.R.S. Program is Making a Difference

POST FOR JULY 8:

This week Teen LEADERS spread the word about water conservation! Games that involved overfishing awareness and water polution prevention were played and over 200 children and adults were reached. An important part to conserving the environment is also protecting water conditions and the public loved this week's message. The Teen LEADER-ran Activity Station has many more lessons to give this summer, so make your way over to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo to see what it's all about!

POST FOR JULY 15

Fresno Chaffee Zoo's the name, and habitat conservation is the game. This past Sunday through Friday, the Teen Leaders focused on what the public can do to preserve animal habitats, as well as our resources. The interactive games this week consisted of recycling and animal type sorting. Both topics addressed were meant to emphasize how to keep our Earth clean and how to protect different animals in the wild. Over 400 adults and children were reached this week and that number only keeps increasing with each and every week! Come and check out the Activity Station during your next visit at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo! 

Scroll down to see more information about the Teen LEADERS program.

Teen L.E.A.D.E.R.S. Program is Making a Difference

BLOG POST DATE: JUNE 17, 2011

Over April’s Spring Break, Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s “Teen LEADERS” began their volunteer training studying leadership and aquatic habitats at Ball Ranch on the San Joaquin River.  Teens will volunteer at the Zoo all summer sharing games and messages focused on conserving and preserving our local watersheds and global oceans. The experience was generously sponsored by San Joaquin River Stewardship Program who facilitated this day-long “Lessons in Leadership” training incorporating canoe techniques, exploration and communication lessons.

Teen LEADER Jared commented, “Today's canoeing experience was a blast. Not only did we get to be immersed in a natural habitat and experience it first-hand but we also gained valuable team building and leadership skills.”

Teen LEADER Dilpreet also found that, “Spending the day canoeing a learned a bit more than just how to not capsize in the water…it takes teamwork to maneuver the canoe and having faith in your partner while necessary, may not necessarily come easily. Also, each job (giving power in the front or control in the back) while rowing the canoe is equally important, and neither job is necessarily easier, just different; therefore, you might be great at one task but not the other. I enjoyed this experience because while I learned something new, I also gained some valuable tidbits about life in general.”  

The experience helped prepare Teen LEADERS for stronger bonds amongst their team and more effective communication with the visitors that they’ll encounter at the Zoo.

Scroll down for more information about the Teen LEADERS program.

Jabari is turning 1!!!

We are excited to announce we are having a first birthday party for Jabari, our baby male giraffe and everybody is invited! 


Join us at noon, Sunday, July 17, 2011, for a birthday party celebration. Put on a party hat (FREE for the first 250 children into the Zoo), enjoy birthday cake donated by Costco (West Fresno) and watch baby Jabari open gifts and eat his birthday cake made special for him by his keepers and volunteers. This event is FREE with general admission.

Jabari was born to female dam, Baba, and male sire, Angalia. Jabari is Baba's fourth baby and Angalia has sired nine.

The reticulated giraffe is found in the southern part of the Sahara desert; they live in open woodland and wooded grasslands of Africa. As a species, giraffes are not in immediate danger, but several subspecies are known to be drastically reduced in numbers. Nine subspecies have been recognized; all are similar but distinguished by coat pattern and geographical distribution.

Teen L.E.A.D.E.R.S. Program is Making a Difference

Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s Teen LEADERS (Leaders Educating with Activities and Demonstrations on the Environment and Sciences) are local volunteers age 14-17 who conduct educational games and outreach to Zoo guests.  Their messages revolve around local freshwater quality, water conservation and how we all can play a role in preserving ocean health. This 2011 pilot program is made possible by a grant from the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District.

WEEK ONE: JUNE 26, 2011

This first week of the pilot Teen Leader program went spectacularly well! The Teen Leaders reached over 200 adults and children this week alone, and had a fantastic time spreading the valuable message of water conservation. Some lessons conveyed to the public involved preserving the oceans and the importance of conserving water. All activities presented by the Teen Leaders this week offered positive alternatives to some potentially harmful human tendencies regarding overall ocean health and mass water consumption. All in all, this first week was excellent and the following weeks provide time for the Teen Leader program to really make a splash in the realm of water awareness in our community!

~Shauna, Teen LEADER Volunteer

 WEEK TWO: JULY 1, 2011

The Teen Leader program made a huge impact on the community this week! Over one hundred people were reached and over half of that number consisted of kids. This week’s lessons were all about emphasizing human impact on the environment and animal habitats. Simple solutions like recycling correctly and conserving habitats were taught in a fun way with different interactive activities and games. The kids really took to the valuable message of wildlife conservation taught by the Teen Leaders this week and will surely utilize that new knowledge to help make the Earth a more environmentally-friendly place! 

Stay tuned for a new update each week through August to follow what these Teen LEADERS accomplish!