Beckman Center Conservation Education Lab

The San Diego Zoo's Conservation Education Lab was dedicated at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for Conservation Research, making its scientific staff and facilities available to challenge, engage, and inspire students of all ages. The lab is outfitted with state-of-the-art research equipment, allowing visitors to gain a hands-on feel for the research activities taking place in the Genetics, Wildlife Disease Laboratories, Plant Ecology, Reproductive Physiology, Behavioral Biology, and Applied Animal Ecology divisions. Here students, teachers, and others have direct experience with research scientists, gain access to powerful research tools, and are involved in lessons that connect them to the science of conservation in new and exciting ways.

The Conservation Education Lab provides the opportunity to take a full, in-depth look at the work of conservation biology and the many fields of study that help guide conservation decision-making. Its programs are developmentally appropriate, relevant, and emphasize understanding through inquiry. In summer 2006, the lab was officially launched by inviting 12 local high school life science teachers to engage in a weeklong research institute focused on the conservation of the California condor. Institute participants worked alongside researchers and learned about the recovery of the condor from a multitude of scientific disciplines including genetics, pathology, and applied conservation. The summer institute not only provided teachers with innovative, hands-on learning experiences in conservation science, but also gave them the tools to frame their curriculum and state content standards in the context of real-world issues involving wildlife conservation.