New Mexico Wildlife Center/

Wildlife Education Programs

NMWC offers on- and off-site wildlife education programs. Our educational presentations are designed to engage, inform, and foster excitement in K-12 school age children, community and service organizations, senior citizens, special needs groups, and the general public. Presentations provide information on habitats, adaptation, conservation and biology, utilizing birds of prey on the glove as well as reptiles and other animals.

NMWC has a curriculum of wildlife education programs designed specifically for K-12 groups. These are based on student age and are designed to meet New Mexico Public Education Department’s science standards to advance classroom learning. For example, our program for Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten students is called “Animal Superpowers”. This program teaches students about the amazing abilities of New Mexico Wildlife and fulfills the Strand II, Standard II (Kindergarten), Science Standard, Benchmark I: 1. Identify major structures of common livings organisms (e.g., stems, leaves, and roots of plants; arms, wings, and legs of animals). 2. Observe that differences exist among individual living organisms (e.g., plants, animals) of the same kind. In this program we teach students how the major structures of animals found in New Mexico allow them to move in amazing ways and how differences between different types of birds give them different “superpowers”.

NMWC’s wildlife education programs are especially unique because our staff and volunteer handlers include our ambassador animals in these programs, giving participants an opportunity to observe New Mexican wildlife up close. When groups come to NMWC for a program, they also take a tour of our facility and see all of our 30+ ambassador animals. This allows participants to learn about a more diverse array of wildlife of New Mexico and make a connection with these animals, which we hope will inspire them to relate to animals in the wild.