EL Learning Journey to the Jurong Bird Park on 26 June 2018

     It was a rainy Tuesday. The children were very excited to be going on their learning journey to the Jurong Bird Park. We took about an hour to reach our destination from our school. 

     

     There was a slight drizzle when we arrived at the bird park later than expected, at about 9.20 am. Luckily, most students were well-prepared with their raincoats and umbrellas.Upon reaching the bird park, the children quickly put on their raincoats and caps. Some children shared their umbrellas with their partners.

At the ticketing counter, entrance tickets were sold at $30/ adult and $20/child.

Our proposed itinerary was:

1) 9.10 am - Penguin Coast

2) 9.30 am - Flamingo Pool area

3) 9.50 am - Hawk Arena- toilet break, recess and watch Kings of the Skies Show at 10am

4) 10.30 am - make our way to Birds Discovery Centre. Hooting Owls Lesson from 10.45-11.15

5) 11.20 - Dinosaur Descendants 

6)11.30 - Take a round down the bird park to the exit.

7) 11.50 - students to go to toilet 

8) 12 noon- board bus to return to school.

Map of The Jurong Bird Park

Click here for the Map of Jurong Bird Park

    Our first stop was at The Penguin Cove.

     Next, we went to the Flamingo Pool.

Flamingos have no feathers on their legs are they walk in water. Thus, they won't get wet and heavy to fly.

     Due to the drizzle, we did not have recess or manage to see the show at the Hawk Arena. Although we went there, we ended up going to the Amphitheatre to seek shelter and be dry from the rain. There were plenty of seats available. The Hawk Arena was an open space without shelter. The children were very excited to see a flock of flamingos rehearsing for their actual performance at 11 am.

Having recess at the Amphitheatre:

     
    Along the way, we went into Wings of Asia. some peacocks were free to roam and some the children were startled when the bird approached their directions.

    Then, we went to the Hooting Owls lesson at The Birds Discovery Centre. Tickets are $6/person for local schools and $8/ person for the public.You might like to see more of the other school programmes here. https://www.wrs.com.sg/en/jurong-bird-park/school-groups/education-programmes.html

     Owls are noctural animals which are active at night. However, they do not sleep through the day.

Do you know that owls cannot roll their eyes?

     This is because owls do not have eyeballs at all. Instead, they have long eyes that are shaped like tubes. Their eyes are fixed in their positions (sockets) and cannot turn due to this shape.

It was pretty interesting to find out that the owls can rotate their heads either way at an angle of 270 degrees. Owls, like other predators/ huinters such as tigers and lions, have binocular vision and their eyes face the front. Thus, they have a better perception of depth. 

     Owls do not have ears. Instead, they have two ear openings which are at different height so that they can know the exact location of their preys when the echo reaches their ears. Female owls have brown feathers on their body to camouflage themselves as they have a longer period of time at their nests.

At the end of the lesson, the children were allowed to touch the owls (actual owls which were once alive).

There were other exhibits to see too, such as eggs of different sizes from various bird species.

   Next, we went to Dinosaur Descendents and saw some fossils in the sand. Nearby were the storks which we also visited.

Storks

   Due to the poor weather conditions, we decided to take a shorter path back to the entrance/exit. Luckily, we did because in less than 5 mins, the drizzle turned into a heavy downpour. To our expectations, we managed to complete the journey by 12 noon.

   When we reached the school, most of the children were famished and they were given some time to grab a bite. Though it was a rainy day, the children still enjoyed their learning journey as they learnt more about the owls and had a fun time bonding with their friends.