National Inclusion Project and the Chicago Zoological Society Become 'Let's All Play' Partners

Submitted by the Chicago Zoological Society.

The Chicago Zoological Society has partnered with the National Inclusion Project this year to implement a training program titled Let’s All Play that will enable Zoo Camp staff at Brookfield Zoo to better serve children with disabilities.

“Through this partnership, we will train our Zoo Camp staff members in inclusion techniques, expand our camp staff to include a counselor experienced in working with children with special needs in informal settings, and provide Zoo Camp scholarships for children with disabilities,” said Dave Becker, senior manager of learning experiences for the Society, which manages Brookfield Zoo.

Zoo Camp, which is accredited by the American Camp Association, serves 1,700 children each summer. Campers ages 4 to 14, divided into five groups by the latest completed school grade, explore animals and the natural world in fun, engaging, and age-appropriate settings through activities, encounters, games, art, and science inquiry. An estimated 6 percent of all Zoo Campers have special needs, including physical disabilities, autism, sensory processing disorders, and attention deficit disorders. The Let’s All Play curriculum will train staff to assess and respond to situations with campers and facilitate interactions between campers with and without disabilities. Additionally, CZS will hire a Zoo Camp counselor to work with children with disabilities, including campers with more profound disabilities.

“We believe our partnership with the Chicago Zoological Society will get us one step closer to making the inclusion of children with disabilities the expectation and not the exception,” says Jerry Aiken, executive director of the National Inclusion Project.

As a final component of the National Inclusion Project partnership, CZS staff will work with local organizations that serve children with disabilities to identify potential participants for Zoo Camp this summer. Up to 10 children with disabilities will be offered one-week scholarships of up to $250 to enable them to fully participate in Zoo Camp.

“We are dedicated to building and strengthening inclusion initiatives zoowide, and the Let’s All Play partnership will enable our camp staff to better serve our campers with disabilities,” Becker added. “We receive more inquiries about Zoo Camp every year as more families have become aware of the Chicago Zoological Society’s capacity to work with children with special needs. This partnership will allow all children, regardless of ability, to learn about animals and become conservation leaders.”