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  Educational Programs:

• Our presentations are highly informative, engaging, and interactive. We provide an enjoyable experience for our audience, while instilling a greater understanding of these unique animals and the incredible lives they live. 
• Our presentations are available for a variety of different venues including but not limited to: schools, after-school programs, libraries, daycare centers, and home school students.    
• Our programs are designed to be age/grade appropriate and are available from pre-K to the collegiate level. At the middle-school and high school level our programs can serve as an excellent supplement to life science or biology classes during the reptile and amphibian sections of the course, allowing students to observe first-hand the diversity of these animals. 
• Topics covered may include characteristics and taxonomy of reptiles and amphibians, animal behavior, ecosystem roles, responsibilities of keeping animals and their proper care, careers in wildlife related fields, native wildlife, natures benefits to man, and the importance of conservation of our natural world. We offer flexibility in our programs, catering them to meet the needs of your school to incorporate a variety of required curriculum topics at your request. A typical program will consist of approximately forty-five minutes of lecture time followed by fifteen minutes of hands-on experience with the animals, and additional question and answer time. You set the schedule.
  

Currently we have two programs available :

• "The Wonderful World of Reptiles and Amphibians"
• "The Wonderful World of Reptiles and Amphibians Part 2"
• Each of these programs features a different cast of animals and covers different aspects about the remarkable characteristics and lives of these animals. 

Beginning in May of 2007 we will be offering two additional programs:

• "Wonders Down Under" - Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia
• "Remarkable Rainforest Creatures" - Reptiles and Amphibians of the world's tropical rainforests 

• A typical program will include between ten and fifteen of our fascinating reptiles and amphibians, including frogs, a salamander, turtles, lizards, snakes, and a small crocodilian (We welcome your suggestions on which animals will be used in our presentation).
• At the conclusion of our presentation we provide an opportunity for the students to come up and take a closer look at our animals, including a chance to touch one or two of our animals in a controlled setting, after which we provide hand sanitizer to the students.

   

• Our background: Jamie and Melissa Pastika have a combined experience of more than twenty years as professional animal keepers working at some of the finest zoological institutions in the country including the Jacksonville Zoo, Busch Gardens, and Disney's Animal Kingdom. They both have Bachelor of Science degrees, Jamie in zoo-science and Melissa in biology. You can learn more about them under the "About Us" tab.
• We prefer to offer our programs to smaller groups of students (one or two classes at a time) to offer a more personalized experience, but are able to do larger groups at your request. Our programs are priced as modestly as possible to allow for multiple presentations. This allows for better age grouping and a more rewarding experience for each student.
• Rates for our programs are as follows:
• A one hour presentation is $135.00 for audiences of up to 60 people.
• Presentations to audiences larger than 60 people are $175.00 for a one hour and fifteen minute presentation (fifteen minutes of additional time for touching  is necesary with groups of this size).
• We also have a $490.00 full day rate. 
• Discounts are given with two or more hours of presentations.
• Pre-school age programs are $120.00 for a single program and $110.00 each for two or more consecutive programs. 
• There is an additional charge of 50 cents per mile over 120 miles round trip from Owatonna, MN.  For full day bookings the free mileage is extended to 200 miles round trip.
• We want all students to be able to enjoy and learn from our programs, so we are willing to provide discounts for those schools facing financial constraints.
• Satisfaction guaranteed - We have confidence that you will find our programs to be a good educational experience for your students, based on the very positive responses that we have received in the past. If you do not find this to be the case, the cost of your program will be reduced to the minimal amount of our cost of transportation to your program.
• Additionally we are also available to do school fairs, family nights, or other events and are available from 8:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M., 362 days a year.
• We maintain the highest standards of safety in animal handling, and do not use dangerous animals in our presentations. We are happy to provide references and proof of insurance upon request. 
• We can be reached at 1-888-4RADZOO (1-888-472-3966) or at programs@theradzoo.com for questions and bookings.    
• Thousands of Minnesota's students have experienced our wildlife education programs, to incredibly positive responses from students and staff alike. A few of their comments are given below.

We have had the RAD Zoo come to Friedell Middle School the last two years and talk with our science classes. The kids absolutely loved the program and the knowledge that is given to the kids is truly amazing (every question is answered at a level the kids can understand). I would recommend this program to anyone. Thank you for what you do for kids!!!!
    Chris L. : Science Department at Friedell Middle School

This is an excellent presentation for children.  It is educational, interesting, and a lot of fun.  The students loved being able to see and touch a variety of reptiles and amphibians. 
     Kristen D. : 1st Grade Teacher at St. Andrew's Academy

Students had a wonderful time learning about the reptiles and especially being able to see them up close.  Several students are still talking about the experience!
    Ashley G. : Terrific Tuesday Coordinator and Kindergarten Teacher
    at Hidden Valley Elementary School

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