Summer Break Teacher Pass 2011 The Philadelphia Zoo is proud to once again offer our extremely popular Summer Break Teacher Pass. This pass is available to certified/licensed preK-12 classroom teachers, principals and assistant principals who work in public, private and charter schools. The pass is good for your individual free admission, Mondays through Fridays, between June 15, 2011 and August 31, 2011. The registration period will be open now through June 24, 2011. Should you experience any difficulty during the registration process, please contact our Group Sales Team at (215) 243-5235. Click here to read additional program details and to register for your 2011 pass. Spring Brings New Zoo Babies We have recently welcomed two new additions to our Zoo family. Polamalu, a male Coquerel's sifaka, was born on February 1st to parents Eudoxia and Zeno. Polamalu lives in PECO Primate Reserve with his parents and two older brothers (Loka and Ozo). Check out a recent YouTube video of Polamalu. Phoenice and Mercury, our white-handed gibbons, also recently became parents to baby Leo. The entire gibbon family is doing very well and will be on exhibit in PECO Primate Reserve after Leo is a little bit older. Click here to learn more about white-handed gibbons. Spring Field Trips - There is Still Time to Book Your Trip May is here and June is fast approaching but there is still time left to book your spring field trip to the Zoo. Visit our Teacher's Lounge and download our 2011 Educator's Guide which contains helpful tips for planning your field trip, a Zoo map customized for teachers plus a listing of our onsite classes for elementary, middle and high school students. Remember that during our peak season, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are generally less crowded. Call (215) 243-5235 today to book your spring field trip to the Zoo. X•tink•shun - A Wild Puppet X-Perience The Philadelphia Zoo, in partnership with The Jim Henson Company, has recently opened the first and only exhibit of its kind: X•tink•shun: A Wild Puppet X-Perience. X•tink•shun encourages guests to embark on a journey of learning and empowerment by encountering live theatrical puppet presentations and street performances on Bank of America Eco-Stages situated throughout the Zoo. The "tail" behind X•tink•shun is told by a cast of characters including Alfreda Cheetah, Iggle the Eaglet and Igor the Tiger. Learn more about X•tink•shun and meet the cast of characters.       Teacher Spotlight - Meet Andrea Triner Andrea Triner, a fourth grade teacher at Our Lady of Calvary in Philadelphia, is one of the newest members of the Zoo's Teacher Advisory Council. Andrea was looking to engage her students in a real life situation that related to ecosystems and adaptations. The topic choosen was to help "save gorillas" by recycling cell phones. Andrea and her students made posters for the school and collected dozens of cell phones. The students delivered their phones to the Zoo and received a special presentation at the gorilla exhibit. Andrea said, "The students are still talking about it. They proudly left knowing their choices helped make a difference in the lives of animals." Click here to learn more about how recycling cell phones helps gorillas.                 Summer Camp 2011 Exploring summer learning options for your own kids? If so, we hope that the Philadelphia Zoo's Summer Camp 2011 offerings are high on your list. Summer Camp at the Zoo gives children ages 3 to 15 years old the opportunity to become the next generation of wildlife stewards. The Zoo offers full-day and half-day programs ranging from one to three weeks in length during the months of June, July and August. All programs are targeted to specific age groups. Click here to learn more about our Summer Camp 2011 offerings…and don't delay, camps are filling quickly.