The Oakland Zoo is located in the Oakland hills off highway 580. The Oakland Zoo has both a regular zoo and a children's zoo. The zoo is open 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. The cost of admission for school groups of 12 or more students is $3.00 for children ages 2--14; $3.50 for adults;$3.00 for seniors(over 55). There is no extra fee for using the children's zoo. Parking fees are: $3.50 for cars; $9.00 for busses. Parking is free on the first Monday of each month (excluding holidays). Special tours of the zoo are available at no extra cost, but they must be arranged for in advance. The zoo also asks that an adult child ratio of 1:8 be followed. For information and reservations call (510) 632-9525. For tours ask for extention 142.

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Standards:First grade standard 2 of the life sciences: Plants and animals meet their needs in different ways. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students know different plants and animals inhabit different kinds of environments and have external features that help them thrive in different kinds of places.
b. Students know both plants and animals need water, animals need food, and plants need light.
c. Students know animals eat plants or other animals for food and may also use plants or even other animals for shelter and nesting.
d. Students know how to infer what animals eat from the shapes of their teeth (e.g., sharp teeth: eats meat; flat teeth: eats plants).
Second grade life sciences standard 2: Plants and animals have predictable life cycles. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students know that organisms reproduce offspring of their own kind and that the offspring resemble their parents and one another.
b. Students know the sequential stages of life cycles are different for different animals, such as butterflies, frogs, and mice.
c. Students know many characteristics of an organism are inherited from the parents. Some characteristics are caused or influenced by the environment.
d. Students know there is variation among individuals of one kind within a population.
Third grade life sciences standard 3: Adaptations in physical structure or behavior may improve an organism's chance for survival. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students know plants and animals have structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.
b. Students know examples of diverse life forms in different environments, such as oceans, deserts, tundra, forests, grasslands, and wetlands.
c. Students know living things cause changes in the environment in which they live: some of these changes are detrimental to the organism or other organisms, and some are beneficial.