Wednesday Transition

We’re approaching the time for our weekly transition of staff. Wednesday mornings fly by, and then there is a flurry of activity to prepare for the switch off. We clean and disinfect as we go, but during this transition period, we spend extra time disinfecting everything we can think of. Even the vehicles we drive. (Thanks Janine). For me, I gather up everything I can think I need to continue to work offsite. (Mostly it’s my work bag with aRead more

We miss our volunteers

Below is a recent email that Mary sent out to the Animal Care Team volunteers. We’d love to have them here with us but are glad they are staying safe at home. Hello all, This is typically the time I am arranging the volunteer calendar for April. All I can think about as I look at a blank calendar is how much we very much miss our dedicated Animal Care Volunteers! We are getting by during this shut down. TheRead more

Welcome to April, the new normal

I hope everyone is still well at home helping to flatten the curve and keeping everyone as safe as possible. We’re getting in a rhythm here, although to be honest it is too quiet and a bit sad. At the same time it is impressive to watch the commitment and creativity of the folks I work with. The Animal Care Team is still here doing what has to be done to make sure our non-human Museum family is cared forRead more

Super Mandy

Meet Mandy. She’s responsible for the Museum’s Birthday Party Programs. In this role, she works closely with Educators, guests, our team of education animals, and all of us on the Animal Care Team. Mandy didn’t want to be photographed, but I recently found her updating materials for our Animal Handlers. Our documentation and training for those staff that work with animals for programs is extensive. Mandy stepped into this additional responsibility as our Program Animal Handler Trainer (not the bestRead more

Volunteer Help

I caught some of our volunteers working hard last week. A huge thanks to those spotlighted below, and all the other volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes to help us care for the animalsRead more

Preparing for Incidents

I help lead the team of staff that respond and help manage incidents on grounds. It’s a great group of folks to spend time with. We review actual incidents that have occurred, discuss situations we are concerned about, review procedures, conduct surprise drills, and more. In the past few weeks we conducted “Emergency Jeopardy” as well as knocked out two emergency drills. TEAM ULI, my partner and Butterfly House Director, took on TEAM SHERRY in our Jeopardy style activity. AsRead more