Thailand Earth Expedition with Miami University and Cincinnati Zoo!

Project Dragonfly at Miami University has partnered with the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden to create Earth Expeditions, a global conservation program offer ing university courses in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The mission of this program is to build an alliance of individuals with firsthand knowledge of inquiry-driven, community-based learning for the benefit of ecological communities, student achievement, and global under standing. In 2008, Woodland Park Zoo joined Cincinnati Zoo in a conservation and science education project, Wild Research. As a part of this project, Woodland Park Zoo education staff experienced Earth Expeditions firsthand and met Woodland Park Zoo’s conservation partner, the Hornbill Research Foundation, in Thailand.

If you too would like to personally experience the rain forests of Asia and meet our partners in conservation, we invite you to join Miami University and the Cincinnati Zoo to investigate Thailand’s astonishing Old World rain forests and diverse cultural environments. This course will address key topics in ecology while exploring emerging models of conservation and education. Discover the power of inquiry to generate knowl edge and inspire conservation. Prior to and following the field experience in Thailand, students will complete coursework via Dragonfly Workshops Web-based learning community as they apply experiences to their home institutions.

Earth Expeditions university courses are open to educators from all disciplines and settings. Summer 2009 trip dates and application forms for this Earth Expedition will be available in this fall. For more information see the Earth Expeditions Web site or contact Earth Expeditions Pro gram Manager Jill Korach at: Korachjk@muohio.edu or earthexpeditions@muohio.edu.