Central Park Elementary field trip

For a number of 4th graders at Central Park Elementary in Bossier today was the first time they ever stepped foot out of Louisiana. It was also the first time many of them had ever been to a zoo.

"I just wanted them to experience leaning in a different way," say their teacher Vanessa Powers.

Powers was awarded a grant from Target to pay for the trip.

But it wasn't all fun and games for the students. It was also a working field trip. From the time the students got on the bus at 7:15 am Tuesday morning till the time that they arrived in Tyler , TX, at the Caldwell Zoo, the students were doing math. And the lesson didn't stop once they were off the bus. While walking around the zoo the students were also on a math scavenger hunt. Powers says the purpose of the hunt is to show kids that math is everywhere from the angle of the cages to the depth of the water in the ponds where alligators lurk. 

For the last several weeks the students have also been learning about the animals they would see at the zoo. One 4th grader called the experience "Awesome!"