Why do snakes flick their tongue? What happens when things are frozen with liquid nitrogen? How do bees see the world? How do scientists track condors in the wild? What do stars look like through an infrared telescope? These — and many other — questions will be answered at the Santa Barbara Zoo’s Science Day with hands-on family fun from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

All activities are free with zoo admission.

“The point is to get everyone excited about science,” said Tiffany Musgrove, director of conservation education. “This is a great opportunity for all ages, boys and girls, moms and dads, to have interactive experiences that are, above all, fun!”

The zoo and several community partners will present more than a dozen activity stations, each with engaging, hands-on activities for children from preschool to eighth grade. Prizes are awarded for participants who complete each activity. There are also related keeper talks and animal encounters throughout the day.

Teachers can use these creative, exciting ideas to bring science alive in their own classrooms. To that aim, teachers and their families receive free zoo admission to Science Day by pre-registering to education@sbzoo.org. Educators are also eligible for a special raffle to win science-related educational materials.

Activities will include:

» Dissect a variety of animals to see how they are different.

» Clean up a frog habitat to protect the animals that live there.

» Practice performing a physical on a (stuffed) animal.

» Participate in a behavioral training session.

» Create a dance to communicate like a bee.

» Design a research station to help the island fox.

» Use a “Jacobson’s organ” to learn about surrounding areas.

» Discover different ways that animals find food.

» Learn about animals that live in your backyard.

The community partners also presenting activities include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, UCSB’s Materials Research Lab, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, the Bishop Diego Garcia High School Engineering Academy, Friends of the Island Fox, the UCSB Physics Circus and The Looking Glass Preschool.

Benefits for Teachers

The zoo has developed this “wild” curriculum to aid teachers in making science exciting for their students. Teachers who pre-register receive free admission for themselves and their families to Science Day. All of the activities presented are tied to the California Learning Standards and suitable for the use in the classroom.

“We want kids and teachers to discover that science is fun and can happen in their backyard, kitchen, classroom or anywhere they happen to be,” said Desiree Rogers, coordinator of visitor experience.

Classroom versions of all of the activities will be available to teachers via download at www.sbzoo.org.

— Julia McHugh is a publicist representing the Santa Barbara Zoo.