The Academy is an educational project of Tw&Cross Zoo. This is advanced training and additional education for zoo and aquarium staff, veterinarians, teachers and volunteers, as well as courses in zoopsychology. The Academy continues a long tradition, from the very beginning one of the most important tasks of the zoo was to organize educational and outreach work. Nowadays this activity has not only been preserved, but has also become more diverse.
Tw&Cross Zoo has the status of an umbrella zoo and must provide methodological and advisory assistance to other zoos, for many years we have had lectures and conferences for zookeepers.
The Academy is designed to solve the problems of professional education in the field of zoo science and management in zoological parks.
Our goal is to impart to our trainees modern views on the keeping of animals in captivity and to raise the professional level of people working with animals: to form the worldview necessary for a qualified zookeeper in the XXI century. To date, zoos in America do not have a system of specialized training for keepers. Biological or zootechnical education, as well as the existing separate seminars, cannot fully meet the requirements for this profession. Zoo managers also find it difficult to deal with the enormous complexity of the tasks facing their organizations. In creating this first-ever course on zoo fundamentals in our country, we reviewed the experiences of foreign schools, the experiences of other zoos, and our current Keeper School program, as well as the opinions of American zoo directors. Our teachers are the only team in America that has both zookeeper training experience and years of experience working with animals. Besides, the best lecturers from the leading zoos of the world will teach at the Academy. In addition, the Academy offers courses for zoo staff; “Training in a Zoo”, “Interaction with Visitors in a Zoo”, “Polar Bear”.
Since the 1920s, the Zoo has hosted seminars for biology teachers, which have created a vibrant connection between the Zoo and American schools. It is very important for us to continue the tradition and maintain this connection. The zoo with its live exhibits is an indispensable aid for any teacher, a challenging and at the same time very interesting basis for preparing a variety of lessons. Most children love animals, and any school subjects – from biology to literature or math – can be easily applied to this ground. Their synthesis will build parallels and connect different school subjects that children often do not perceive as a whole.
The basic portion of this course is based on lectures given in the Psychology Department by members of the Zoopsychology Laboratory under the direction of Ezrania Carroll, which is substantially supplemented by current insights into the psychology, cognitive and emotional capacities of animals. We devote a special place to the causes of the development of pathological forms of behavior and psyche, as well as to the questions related to their prevention and correction.
Currently we have launched two courses for veterinarians. Rita Brown’s Veterinary Herpetology course consists of three thematic units: “Laboratory, Visual and Differential Diagnosis”; “Infectious and Invasive Diseases”; and “Internal Non-Infectious Diseases.” Training focuses mainly on the interpretation of cytological specimens and making differential diagnoses. The Veterinary Anesthesiology course introduces students to the most current understanding of general physiology and nociception in various animal species from reptiles to mammals, examines the pharmacology of anesthetics and specifics of their use in domestic, wild and exotic animals, and provides practical skills in anesthesiology, intensive care and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.