AniMoves at the Zoo

Take your kids on a virtual trip to the zoo! Rising New York Road Runners AniMoves at the Zoo is an exploration of movements performed by popular zoo animals. Kids can participate in 54 activities to help keep them physically and emotionally strong. Use the printable AniMoves at the Zoo trackers below to log progress during your visit to the virtual zoo.

Sign your kids up and get started today!

How It Works: Select an animal or movement type from the image below then view and play the activities within each group. As a bonus, we have included fun facts about each animal! Kids plan and track their progress using the activity trackers and earn a printable certificate.

AniMoves Zoo Map: Your guide through the zoo to plan your stops, track your progress, and record your learning along the way. 

Adult Guide: Fun ways to incorporate AniMoves at the Zoo into your lesson plans.

Printable Certificate: To celebrate your kids' accomplishment print and fill out this certificate.

No printer? No worries! Have your kids create their own!). Check out our Build Your Own Race Kit video for some inspiration. Click an animal below to start moving with your kid(s).

Giraffe Teamwork

Giraffes are herbivores—they only eat plants. Along with their long necks, giraffes have tongues up to 20 inches long that help them grab leaves off trees. They live in sub-Saharan Africa where they travel in groups, called towers, working as a team each day.

Animal Acting
Stretch up as high as you can. Imagine you are a giraffe reaching 14–18 feet high! Now pretend to be some other animals with Jenny and Annie in Animal Acting.

Evolution
Jenny and Annie will try to evolve into superheroes as they play Evolution. Female giraffes protect their babies, called calves, by always keeping them close. When calves are a few weeks old they are placed in a group where mother giraffes take turns protecting them while they find food. Sounds like mother giraffes are superheroes, too.

Mirror Mirror
Besides their long necks, giraffes are known for their spots. Although they may look similar, no two giraffes have the same pattern. To find something that is the same, learn to play Mirror Mirror from Jenny and Annie.

Partner Locomotion
Giraffes perform one of our favorite locomotor skills—running! They may not be the fastest animals, but they can run up to 35 miles per hour over short distances and maintain 10 miles per hour over long distances. Grab a partner and check out some other movements in Partner Locomotion.

Rock, Paper, Scissors Body Language
Though giraffes can lie down to sleep, they spend most of their lives standing. Find a family member, friend, or classmate, or play along with Aliphine in a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors Body Language. Giraffes might pick paper most of the time, but they could have fun playing, too.

Rubber Band
At 1,500 to 3,000 pounds, giraffes spend most of their time eating up to 75 pounds of food a day. Their favorite leaves are from acacia trees; since acacia leaves have a lot of water, giraffes do not have to drink water often. People may not eat from trees, but we need vegetables and water every day to stay healthy and strong. Make sure you and a partner feel strong before a round of Rubber Band with Jenny and Annie.

Gorilla Strength

Gorillas are like people in some ways—we have opposable thumbs, making it easy to grab, and we have fingerprints that do not match anyone else. Our biggest difference is our strength. The biggest, strongest, and oldest gorillas, called silverbacks, can lift 4,000 pounds.

Card Cardio Challenge
Weighing up to 600 pounds, gorillas exercise by swinging from trees for their cardio workouts. All you need is a deck of cards, Jenny, and Card Cardio Challenge!

Dice Fitness Madness
Gorillas live in groups, called troops, with 2–30 members. They are led by a silverback—named after the silvery gray color their hair turns as they grow older—and include one or two younger males, a few females, and their babies, called cubs. Find your own troop and join Rudy in Dice Fitness Madness.

Dips
There are two species of gorillas—western and eastern—and four total subspecies. All gorillas live in the African rainforests where they climb trees to find food and sometimes sleep. Without strong arms, it would be hard for gorillas to climb so easily. Let’s build our strength by doing Dips with Daniel.

Fitness Circuit Blast
Find two or three pictures of a gorilla’s face and study their noses for 30 seconds each—notice anything different? Like their fingerprints, no two gorillas have the same nose. Scientists use photos of their noses to tell them apart. Now use 30 seconds on each exercise with Beverly in Fitness Circuit Blast.

Obstacle Stations
In Obstacle Stations, you will perform different exercises until you complete each station. There are six exercises in this activity and gorillas eat four types of food—leaves, fruit, seeds, and insects.

Team Relay Core
Team Relay Core is an activity gorillas can play! People and gorillas have opposable thumbs, but gorillas also have a semi-opposable big toe. This means they can grab with their feet the same we they do with their hands. All they need is a ball and a few friends, and they will have as much fun as you.

Cheetah Running

The ability to reach 60 miles per hour in three seconds, a flat-shaped tail that helps steer and keep balance, and spotted skin. These are all characteristics describing the fastest mammal on land: The cheetah.

Choose the Distance
Most cheetahs reach top speeds ranging from 60 to 70 miles per hour, though some can reach 80 to 100 mph! At this speed, they can move 23 feet in a single stride. Choose the Distance is an interval training activity. Set a goal for how much time you will spend running and include running and rest periods. Do not run at cheetah speed; instead, pace yourself to reach your goal time.

Let Imagination Run
Cheetahs usually chase other animals at half speed, then need about 30 minutes to catch their breath before they eat. In Let Imagination Run, pretend to be a race car or spaceship while changing speed. Like a cheetah, remember to rest and catch your breath after reaching top speed.

Out and Back
Out and Back will test your pacing as you run out from one spot and back in the same amount of time. Cheetahs, tigers, lions, leopards, jaguars, and cougars are all “big cats.” They all chase other animals, but must pace themselves so they do not get tired.

Quick to React
The spotted fur of cheetahs makes them hard to see in the tall dry grass of the plains. This makes it easier for cheetahs to make a sudden dash when chasing other animals. Practice your own sudden dashes in Quick to React.

Shadow Running
To create a shadow, we will need sunlight. The black lines under a cheetah’s eyes help protect their eyes in the sun. It is like having sunglasses in their fur! Find a partner for a game of Shadow Running. One person will lead and the other will be the shadow, following their movements around the activity area.

Speed Run
Football, soccer, baseball/softball, lacrosse, rugby, and track athletes all wear cleats to run faster. Cheetahs have claws like cleats, which help grip the ground when running to help increase speed. Speed Run will help you increase your speed without cleats or claws.

Sea Lion Flexibility

There are seven known sea lion species. California sea lions can swim up to 25 miles per hour underwater and make sharp turns. Sea lions can do backbends so far that their heads almost touch their backs, making them the most flexible animals.

Animal Stretching
The key to flexibility is stretching. Join Aliphine in a game of Animal Stretching to be as flexible as a sea lion.

Cool It
After a run or workout, it is important to bring your body temperature down. When sea lions get hot, they lie in the surf, seek shade, or remain inactive. Beverly will lead you in a game of Cool It to help you cool down.

Copycat Stretching
After a long day of fast swimming and turning, sea lions like a nice stretch. Watch Copycat Stretching and follow along for some stretching after a walk or run, or if you spent a lot of time sitting down today.

Partner Cool-Down
A group of sea lions on land is called a colony, but in water they are called a raft. Find your own group or partner, or work with Aliphine to reflect on your workout or activity while stretching in Partner Cool-Down.

Silly Stretches
Use your imagination for Silly Stretches. Did you know sea lions sometimes sleep with their nose pointed up toward the sky? It may seem silly to people, but it is comfortable for sea lions.

Sporting Spirit Cool-Down
Rudy will lead you through a few stretches in Sporting Spirit Cool Down before you continue your day. Some sea lions are trained and perform around the United States, showing their intelligence and fun spirit.

Bird Coordination

Birds fly in different formations or shapes; the most common is V formation. Some fly in large flocks that have no shape at all. Each formation is called an echelon and can be one of the most amazing things to watch. People can rehearse a dance and have a group perform together. Birds can move together without practice, making them very coordinated creatures.

Captains Deck
Smaller birds fly in large groups and in different directions. Smaller flocks will join until there are hundreds of birds flying together in a dance across the sky. Grab your flock for a game of Captain's Deck; listen for the commands from your captain and move together.

Crab Walk Relay Race
Geese, swans, ducks, and pelicans are birds that fly in V formation. Pelicans also eat fish and sometimes crabs just like people. Let’s find some friends, play Crab Walk Relay Race, and reach the finish line before spotting any pelicans.

Follow the Leader
Many migrating birds will fly in the shape of a V called V formation. One bird will fly in front while other birds will form two lines—one to the left and one to the right. This shape helps the birds fly for longer periods of time, using the wind from the flight of the bird ahead. Take formation in Follow the Leader and be sure to take turns and have fun!

Get on an Island
Some birds move together—as one, like a school of fish—to protect one another. Without communicating, birds can fly in beautiful formations of hundreds of birds. Try moving together like different sea animals in Get on an Island.

Locomotor Relay
Starlings fly in large flocks of up to 100,00 called a murmuration. These flocks swoop and soar in different shapes in the evening before resting for the night. Some NYRR staff will show you how to play Locomotor Relay with a group. Encourage your teammates to swoop and soar to the finish line.

Red, Yellow, Green Light
Not all flocks are the same bird. Different bird species will see another flock of birds and join them. You can do the same—grab anyone who wants to play Red, Yellow, Green Light. If more kids see all the fun and want to join, make sure they know how to play.

Cockatoo Dance

Cockatoos are members of the parrot family. Parrots are known for imitating or copying sounds, including human speech. Cockatoos take their imitation to the next level by moving to music! Using pumping and bobbing motions and movements left and right, a cockatoo will dance to a song if they see you do it first.

Dance Fitness Bowling
Cockatoos are zygodactyl—two toes point forward and two backward. They use their feet and beaks the same way we use our hands. In bowling, our fingers are two in the back and one in the front; grab your imaginary ball and join Coach Sheila in Dance Fitness Bowling.

Dance Fitness Fast Tempo
Cockatoos gather in large, noisy flocks, sometimes including two or three different species, for a meal including berries, seeds, nuts, and roots. Grab your flock and join Coach Myna in Dance Fitness Fast Tempo. Tell your family over dinner how much fun you had and invite them to join you in an activity.

Dance Fitness Right Left
Another form of communication for cockatoos are their crest (top of their head) feathers. Cockatoos will move their feathers —press close to their skin, relax, partially and fully raise—to communicate and express how they feel. Show your family, friends, classmates, and teachers your mood using your dance moves with Coach Sheila in Dance Fitness Right Left.

Dance Fitness Slow Tempo
Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia, Solomon Islands, and the Philippines are all places cockatoos call home. They live up to 60 years—some for over 70 years, depending on the species! Time to slow it down with Coach Myna in Dance Fitness Slow Tempo.

Dance Fitness Yo-Yo Slide
Let’s have some fun! Cockatoos are loud and noisy birds that scream to communicate with one another. Follow along with Coach Sheila in Dance Fitness Yo-Yo Slide and make loud silly noises with your movements. Check with your teacher, parent, or guardian before getting loud.

Dance Fitness: Warm-Up
There are 21 cockatoo species and some form long-lasting bonds, creating a pair. Coach Sheila will lead you in Dance Fitness: Warm-Up. Create your own pair by finding a partner or teaming up with Coach Sheila.

Red-Eyed Tree Frog Jump & Toss

Red-eyed tree frogs get their name from their bulging bright eyes. Their bodies are green with a white belly and neck; blue sides with white and yellow stripes; blue arms; orange feet; a long, sticky tongue to toss out and catch insects; and long, powerful legs for jumping.

Hoop Jump
Being green helps the red-eyed tree frog blend in with tree leaves while it sleeps. If the camouflage fails, the frog will open its eyes and scare away other animals with its big bright red color, then jump to safety. Find a few items to jump into, like hula hoops, or make a few circles with items at home like socks or markers and learn to play a round of Hoop Jump.

Jumping Over Hurdles
Some of the highest jumpers are the smallest animals. Red-eyed tree frogs can grow between two (male) and three (female) inches long. This does not stop them from being one of the world’s highest jumping animals, reaching 20 times their length. Find a few different sized items for Jumping Over Hurdles. Make sure your teacher, parent, or guardian approves your objects before you begin.

Long Jump Relay
A batch of red-eyed tree frog eggs are laid on a leaf over a pond. When ready to hatch, tadpoles swirl around to break the eggs open as they slide down the leaf and into the pond below. Tadpoles live in the pond until they grow into brown froglets to live in nearby trees. Once they become adults, they grow into colorful frogs ready to jump to new heights. Grab some human tadpoles, froglets, or adult frogs and hop into Long Jump Relay.

Sticks
Red-eyed tree frogs may not have hands to throw objects, but they do have tongues they can toss out to catch insects—crickets, flies, and moths. Find a target like a shoe box or basket and a soft object to throw like a bean bag or socks and join in a game called Sticks.

Throwing Challenges
Tropical rainforests in southern Mexico, throughout Central America, and South America near ponds, streams, and rivers are places red-eyed tree frogs call home. Their suction-cup toes help them stick to the underside of leaves where they rest during the day. Find a soft object like a small pillow, stuffed animal, or soft ball and join Jenny in Throwing Challenges. Pretend you have suction-cup hands and try not to drop your object.

Underhand Toss Practice
Red-eyed tree frogs are nocturnal, meaning they sleep during the day and are active at night. Since people are active during the day, join Aliphine for a game of Underhand Toss Practice before the sun goes down.

Sheep Peace

Often found in groups, called flocks, sheep will keep one another safe by staying together. Sheep are known as prey animals. They do not attack other animals and when in danger they run away instead of fighting (except for males, called rams). All these qualities make sheep one of the most peaceful animals.

Bear Breath
Sheep have an excellent sense of smell—better than humans! They use smell to find water and their lambs (young sheep). They prefer to travel into the wind, which helps them smell. Rachel will guide you in Bear Breath as you find peace after class, homework, or a long day.

Feeling Breaths and Sounding Breaths
Sheep are frightened by sudden loud noises like yelling or barking. After hearing loud noises sheep will become nervous and stressed. Feeling Breaths and Sounding Breaths with Rachel will help you with any nervous or stressed feelings.

Mountain Arms
Sheep and humans have many similarities, but sight is not one. Sheep can see 300 degrees without turning their heads; they cannot see directly behind them. Join Rachel in Mountain Arms and breathe deeply as you create a mountain and pretend to see a 360-degree view.

Rainbow Spine
Turn that frown upside down! Sheep know the difference between a smile and a frown on human faces and prefer smiles. Join Rachel in Rainbow Spine and use the shape of a smile and deep breathing to lift your mood.

Spinal Wave
Can you recognize and remember up to 50 sheep faces and remember them for two years? Sheep can!In Spinal Wave Rachel will show you an activity you can try with three different options. Remember this activity whenever you need a short break to refocus.

Waterfall Breath
Not only can sheep smell water but some studies show they can find their own medicine. When they are not feeling well, they eat specific plants to help cure themselves. Have you been busy on the same task for over an hour? Create a waterfall with Rachel, using your breathing, in Waterfall Breath. Feeling better?

Flamingo Balance

It should be no surprise that flamingos represent balance. When standing on one leg, flamingos’ legs “lock,” which holds them in place. They can rest all their weight on one side without using their muscles to stay balanced.

All Aboard
Flamingos can run on water like we run on land. Their webbed feet help them run faster before lifting into the sky. Grab some items to build a path across the ocean with Aliphine in All Aboard. Make sure your teacher, parent, or guardian approves your path before you begin.

Balance Like Me
Try standing on one foot and closing your eyes as if you are asleep. Flamingos fall asleep standing on one leg; they sway more when standing on two feet than on one. Balance Like Me will test how well you can perform different tasks while balancing on one foot.

Freeze It
When flamingos become hungry, they find shrimp, snails, and algae—plantlike water organisms—in the water. They use their long neck to dip their heads into the water and scoop food like a shovel. Flamingos stand on two legs to eat; how many body parts can you use to balance with Aliphine in Freeze It?

Home Balance Fun
Even though you cannot see their ears, flamingos have good hearing. They use sound to keep flocks together and for parents and chicks (young flamingos) to recognize each other. Join Jenny in Home Balance Fun and add sound with music! Make sure your teacher, parent, or guardian approves your path before you begin.

Individual Balance Challenges
There are six flamingo species: Greater, Lesser, Chilean, Andean, James's, and American. All flamingo species have pink feathers, but the Andean flamingo is the only species with yellow legs. Jenny will lead a round of Individual Balance Challenges. Try being a little different, like the Andean flamingo, and balance on your less dominant side.

Stop the Rock
Flamingos are born with white feathers and a straight bill. As they grow, their bill begins to curve downward and their feathers become pink. Play along with Rachel as she takes the shape of a star for a game of Stop the Rock.

Additional Resources

WCS Education provides free digital resources for teachers, students, and families to engage in exciting and enriching virtual science learning. Enjoy activities like Bronx Zoo Quests— the virtual adventure created by youth volunteers ages 14-24 in the Discovery Guide program—and more!