Year-End Raffle; Meet JMZ Animal Ambassadors!

December 12, 2023

Dear Friends,

This month, we feature the JMZ’s “animal ambassadors” – animals that are trained to travel to local schools for the JMZ’s education programs. The JMZ’s animal ambassadors represent the diversity of animals at the zoo and include arthropods, reptiles, birds, and mammals, all of which have understandable and interesting adaptations that provoke questioning and thinking from children. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, students in East Palo Alto, east Menlo Park and Redwood City are exposed to these diverse animals through the JMZ’s Science Outreach program funded by the Friends in underserved schools.

Finally, during this time of year-end giving, I hope that you will consider donating to the Friends to support our work to enhance the JMZ, and expand access to science education in the community. If you donate $100 or more to the Friends before December 31, you will be entered in a raffle for a chance to win a private animal experience at the JMZ. Congratulations to our GivingTuesday raffle winner, Vivian C.!

Thank you again for your continued support of the Friends. Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year!

Lauren Angelo

President, Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo

Meet the JMZ's Animal Ambassadors

Questions for John Aikin, JMZ Executive Director

What are animal ambassadors?

Animal ambassadors are creatures who live behind the scenes at the JMZ. These animals are introduced to the public during special programs either onsite or at schools. The JMZ is home to a number of unique animal ambassadors, and what makes the experience of meeting one so exciting is that they are always accompanied by a member of our knowledgeable animal care staff. This gives our audience the opportunity to ask questions about each animal and observe them in close proximity. The animals in our ambassador program are carefully chosen. We select animals that are useful for reinforcing science lessons, like animals with obvious adaptations and characteristics that are distinctive to them.

Pearl the Opossum is one of the engaging ambassadors we bring to schools and other programs. As the only North American marsupial, opossums are an interesting educational creature for children to meet in classrooms. We always let Pearl leave and re-enter her crate on her own terms and she is always excited to eat her favorite treats, like grapes. From hissing cockroaches to bats, there are a number of amazing animals who call the JMZ home and spark the curiosity of young students.

Pearl the Opossum is one of many animals who visits special programs. Photo courtesy of David Liittschwager.

How long have animal ambassadors been a part of the JMZ?

Animal ambassadors have been a part of our institution for almost ninety years, since the time when the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo was simply the Junior Museum. We have records that show small animals lived at the Junior Museum as far back as the 1930s. We even have photos of our founder, Josephine O’Hara, holding snakes and interacting with visitors. Volunteers would show these animals to the public for programs and started bringing them to schools to teach lessons about wildlife. These animals lived at the museum and because there was no zoo, children interacted with them primarily through lessons.

The number of animals at the Junior Museum continued to grow, and so, in 1969, we decided to build a zoo–hence the name change to the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo. This allowed us to introduce larger wildlife to our collection of creatures. Originally, the zoo hosted a few animals, mostly native to California. Over the years, we were able to include wildlife from other parts of the world while keeping some of our favorites, like the raccoons.

Common snapping turtles sometimes make an appearance for feedings at the JMZ. Photo courtesy of David Liittschwager.

When can I see animal ambassadors at the JMZ this month?

Animal ambassadors are a really important piece of our work and give us the chance to connect with young learners who are curious about nature. This month, you can see one of our most popular animal ambassadors, Sequoia the Bald Eagle, who has lived at the zoo for over a decade. With her handler, John Flynn, Sequoia makes appearances at the JMZ on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at noon. Our two barn owls also make appearances around the same time as Sequoia. The barn owl is the mostly widely distributed owl species in the world, and can be found almost anywhere with grasslands.

We host other animal programs in our zoo, like our ever popular flamingo feedings. The cichlid feedings in the afternoon are a great opportunity to see our Fly River turtles, which we feed fruit skewers. We toss these treats into the tank and let them sink to the bottom. The turtles are immediately excited and start to pluck the fruit off of the skewers. Fly River turtles are nocturnal, so feeding time is a great opportunity to see them in action and watch their interesting swimming style, which looks a lot like that of sea turtles. We hope you are able to stop by with your family later this month to meet our amazing animal ambassadors!

A leopard gecko looks wide-eyed at the camera. Photo courtesy of David Liittschwager.

Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo

info@friendsjmz.org | www.friendsjmz.org

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