Squam Lakes Natural Science Centre, located in New Hampshire, US, has launched live animal outreach programs to enable groups to come together for educational and entertaining sessions from their own homes.
With the aim of advancing understanding of ecology by exploring New Hampshire’s natural world, the programs are designed in particular for school groups. The Virtual Live Animal Outreach programs are 45 minutes in length, taught by expert Naturalists, and feature two live animal ambassadors.
Science Centre Naturalists connect securely to program participants via Zoom, which allows interactivity and provides a more personal experience for program participants. Live animals are right in front of the camera, giving program participants a closer look than they may get at an in-person program.
The maximum number of participants (logins) is 100, but the science centre recommends a group size of 40 or fewer so as much interactivity can be included in the program as possible.