On November 6, GHS teachers Jenna Berzy, Luann Pramuk, and Julie Wencloff took their AP Psychology and AP Biology classes on a field trip to Brookfield Zoo to observe the animals’ behavior. Each class had their own assignment for students to complete. Pods of students freely roamed the zoo for a few hours before meeting up at the South Gate at 12:30 p.m. to head home. 

“I got to learn about how the animals behaved and had time to go around and see all of them,” said AP Psychology student Emilia Shapiro. “My assignment was to observe the animals for five minutes and see how they eat, drink, sleep and make a hypothesis about it. I watched the gorillas and dolphins because they were the most active. The dolphins were swimming around and coming up to the glass while the gorillas were feeding their young, hanging out together, and climbing trees.” Berzy said she wanted her pupils to see psychological learning and conditioning, two current topics in her classroom, in action. 

Wencloff’s AP Biology class was studying Simpson’s Diversity Index Model. “It’s a mathematical analysis of the biodiversity in the natural world. Even though the zoo was not natural, we had to count the number of species in three different ecosystems.” 

Students who were also in Pramuk’s U.S. History class could also get extra credit by taking a picture of a historical monument. Junior A’reya Davis, who is in AP Psychology and U. S. History, took a picture of wheelbarrow from a 19th century logging company in the Swamp building. Exhibits were exotic, authentic, and diverse. Students could walk through the winding sidewalks and observe sea lions, big cats, and giant birds outside. Various buildings were located throughout the park, housing different biomes for tropical or underwater creatures. There were elaborate recreations of jungles, swamps, and oceans. Peacocks strutted about, free from any cage, since they cannot fly. Restaurants, cafes, and gift shops were scattered between exhibits. 

The field trip coincided with the day of Griffith Theatre Company’s play preview day. Students involved with the production of I Remember Mama had to stay behind to offer a sample of their hard work to the student body. Between the field trip and preview, classes were scarce in terms of attendance. 

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