Year 8 iLAN Excursion

On Tuesday, 25th October, the first of our beautiful Spring days, the Year 8 iLAN students enjoyed an excursion to the Perth Zoo. The students participated in the Teaming with Wildlife workshop run by the Zoo. These activities gave them the opportunity to develop leadership and team building skills by completing a set of challenges within a conservation context. 

The students worked in teams to find imaginative ways to solve animal-related challenges, they explored the skills and qualities needed to make a successful team, and were given an opportunity to reflect on what they did well and how they could improve. The first activity was Turtle Back, where they had to get their team across the river without falling in. This involved hopping on to brown foam blocks (turtles) to get to the other side of the fake river before the turtles swam away. The second activity was to erect a tent blindfolded with one group member giving instructions. This person was not allowed to assist in any way and could not move off their mat. After much trial and error, all groups managed to erect their tents. The final activity was Follow the Path, in which the students worked out the route by following the mistakes of their team mates, then avoiding the mistakes when it was their turn to cross. Their teammates could assist, but were not allowed to talk, so they had to work out other methods to communicate. Following the activities, students had the opportunity to walk around the zoo and observe the animals. 

Overall, we enjoyed an active, but relaxing, day at the zoo. We learnt about conservation issues, worked on our problem solving and communication skills and visited some of the animals.