Going On Safari - Elementary Program and Preschool Storytime

This is a program I did back in the summer; I originally planned it for the elementary aged program, then adapted it for the preschool storytime (see below) the next day. We had an animal show booked that week with animals from around the world, so I wanted to do something with a safari theme. Not knowing if I was going to have any help over the summer or not, I also wanted to keep it fairly simple, without a lot of advanced prep, set-up, or clean-up, so decided on a simple binocular craft and safari activity using inflatable animals (cheaper and take less storage space than plush animals).

This was one of my "splurge" programs for the summer, as purchasing all the inflatable animals was a bit pricey, but they can (and will) all be used again in the future. If you already own larger plush or inflatable animals you can use, it would be significantly less costly to do.

Program: Going On Safari

Ages: 5-10, then adapted for ages 3-5 (see below)

# of Participants: Planned for up to 30, actually had 14 kids, then 8 for storytime

Budget: $165, but bulk of cost was reusable inflatable animals, consumable items cost less than $1/participant

Materials:

• cardboard craft tubes (such as from toilet paper, but I opted to purchase for hygienic reasons), 2 per participant, $0.33 each, 60 for $20
• colored masking tape, $7 for 8 rolls
• washi tape (already had), optional
• yarn or heavy string (already had)
• markers
• crayons
• construction paper cut into pieces sized to fit around tubes
• glue sticks
• tape
• scissors
• hole-punch
• assorted inflatable animals - $138 (The ones by JET were good quality, though scale is inconsistent since they are all about the size of a medium-large dog, so we just said some of them were babies.)
• elephant, $18
• rhino, $18
• zebra, giraffe, & tiger, $40
• alligator, kangaroo & kiwi bird, $38
• monkeys, $14 (poor quality, leak, but will last barely long enough for program)
• snake, $10 (this one was plush)

Activities:

Binocular Craft 

1. Participants could decorate two cardboard tubes however they liked using crayons, markers, colored paper, colored masking tape, and/or washi tape.
2. The tubes were then glued together, as well as taped together by wrapping tape around the middle. [Realized too late that it would have been nice to have something to act as a spacer in the middle to have at a more appropriate width.]
3. Holes were then punched on the outer side of each tube at one end, and string or yarn tied to them so they could hang around the kids' necks.

 

Safari 

1. Prior to the program, my co-worker had made a "fact sheet" for each animal with one or two interesting facts, along with a photo of a real animal, and a checklist of animals to find with a question about each animal that had to be answered.
2. The animals were hidden all around the library, and the appropriate fact sheet was posted next to them.
3. The kids took their binoculars and checklists and searched the library until they found all of the animals and answered the questions, requiring them to have actually found the animal and read the fact sheet. They were reminded that it was NOT a race, it didn't matter how fast they found them, or who found them all first, and there was no running or yelling. I also encouraged them to take photos with the animals.
4. Once they had found all the animals, they returned to the program room and showed one of us their checklist. If they had all the questions answered correctly, they got to pick a small prize (I gave them a small selection to choose from: small plastic animals, slap bracelets, or pop-it bracelets).
5. If they had missed a question or had the answer wrong, I sent them back to find the animal again and get the correct answer (most were because they didn't read the question carefully, a couple accidentally skipped a question), then they got to pick their prize.

How It Went:

I was a little worried some of the older kids would think the binocular craft was too babyish, but they seemed to enjoy being creative decorating them, and most did use their pretend binoculars on the safari. They really enjoyed the safari, and I got a lot of positive feedback from caregivers, too. More animals would make it even more fun! Of course you can use whatever animals you want, and either inflatable or plush. I chose inflatable because I could get larger animals for less cost than plush, and they could be deflated and thus take less storage space. I will definitely do this program again in the future!

Preschool Storytime Version:

Since we had so many cardboard tubes leftover, and had so much fun with the safari, I decided to just adapt both activities to use after the safari-themed preschool storytime the following day. I followed my usual storytime plan, reading Sitting in My Box by Dee Lillegard & Jon Agee and Starry Safari by Linda Ashman & Jeff Mack and singing songs featuring exotic animals ("The Animals in the Jungle Go...", or "If You're a Lion and You Know It"), then did modified versions of the binocular craft and safari afterward, simplifying both in order to be more developmentally appropriate and take less time.

For the binocular craft, we provided fewer options for decorating, skipping the colored paper and washi tape, and just having them color directly on the white tubes with crayons or markers, and using the colored masking tape to attach them together. For the animal safari, instead of sending them out to search for them, I led them around as a group to find the animals together, and read the facts to them, skipping the checklist with questions and prizes. Then they were free to go back for photo ops with the animals.

How It Went: This streamlined version worked perfectly for the preschoolers, and they loved it! One caregiver left me a note over the weekend telling me her child had not stopped looking at the world through her binoculars, and when I saw them again a couple of weeks (or more?) later at the library, the child still had her binoculars, except that the caregiver said they were a different pair, and that she had been obsessed with making them at home since the program. So definitely a hit!