{"id":111063,"date":"2020-02-13T12:03:01","date_gmt":"2020-02-13T17:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=111063"},"modified":"2020-02-13T12:03:01","modified_gmt":"2020-02-13T17:03:01","slug":"onondaga-countys-first-story-walk-unveiled-at-rosamond-gifford-zoo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=111063","title":{"rendered":"Onondaga County\u2019s first Story Walk unveiled at Rosamond Gifford Zoo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Good Night, Gorilla\u2019 walk takes children, families around\nthe zoo<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon led a group of\npreschool children and their families through the Rosamond Gifford Zoo Tuesday\nto unveil the county\u2019s first StoryWalk, a project that supports early literacy\nas well as exercise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The StoryWalk, a collaboration among the Early Childhood\nAlliance, the Onondaga County Public Library system and the zoo, offers a\ndisplay version of the children\u2019s book \u201cGood Night, Gorilla\u201d whose pages lead\nkids on a walk past zoo animals as they follow the story to its conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The StoryWalk concept was created by Anne Ferguson of\nMontpelier, VT, in 2007 and launched by the Kellogg-Hubbard Library and the\nVermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition. It has since been trademarked and\nadapted in all 50 states and several other countries. Several libraries in\nOnondaga County do StoryWalks at their locations in the warmer months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

County Executive McMahon said StoryWalk fits perfectly with\nhis mission to support early learning initiatives that are affordable and\neasily accessible to families of all demographics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are placing a renewed focus on ensuring our children are\nkindergarten ready, and there is no better partner in that effort than the team\nat Early Childhood Alliance,\u201d McMahon said. \u201cI am excited that we are now able\nto add our teams at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo and the Onondaga County Public\nLibraries to that effort with this fun and family-friendly event.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs families across the County prepare for winter break, the\nZoo is the perfect place to check out the animals, make some memories, get some\nexercise and at the same time show our kids how important and fun reading can\nbe,\u201d McMahon added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OCPL Executive Director Christian Zabriskie and Early\nChildhood Alliance Director Laurie Black said they thought the zoo as an ideal\nplace to launch StoryWalk because it attracts so many families with young\nchildren as well as school field trips for every first and second-grade class\nin Syracuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is so exciting to be moving while reading a story!\u201d\nZabriskie said. \u201cParents, your children may not always remember the story, but\nthey will remember the time spent together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cGood Night, Gorilla\u201d StoryWalk starts in the zoo upper\nlobby, runs through the USS Antiquities Cave, then heads outside to loop around\nthe courtyard to the Social Animals wing, where it ends at an exhibit that\u2019s\nhome to siamang apes, who resemble their cousin the gorilla in the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book, which has very few words, tells the story of a\ngorilla who steals the zookeeper\u2019s keys and lets all the animals out to follow\nthe zookeeper home and move in with him. It features an adorable mouse carrying\na banana and a surprise ending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The StoryWalk will be displayed at the zoo for the next five\nweeks, and the zoo is devoting one of its Winter Break activities to spotlight\nStoryWalk next week. The zoo has declared Wednesday, February 19 StoryWalk Day,\nand will offer two guided StoryWalks, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Both of Wednesday\u2019s\nStoryWalks will end with a special keeper chat about siamang apes Abe and\nFatima and their relationships with their caregivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onondaga County Public Libraries, ECA and the zoo already\nare planning the next StoryWalk in April. Stay tuned for a StoryWalk featuring\na book about penguins that will lead to the zoo\u2019s Penguin Coast exhibit. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Good Night, Gorilla\u2019 walk takes children, families around the zoo Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon led a group of preschool children and their families through the Rosamond Gifford Zoo Tuesday to unveil the county\u2019s first StoryWalk, a project that supports early literacy as well as exercise. The StoryWalk, a collaboration among the Early Childhood Alliance, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23813,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=111063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/111064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=111063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=111063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=111063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}