Education Resources

Did you know that dogs not only help people as loving friends and pets, but they also help firefighters? In this storybook, you’ll explore the history of dogs working alongside firefighters and learn about the community helper roles they perform today.

Community helpers are people who do important jobs to keep communities safe, healthy, and running smoothly. Here at the National Zoo and the Smithsonian, there are many different kinds of community helpers who keep all the animals and the museums safe and sound. In this video, discover a few of those community helpers and get a glimpse of the work they do often behind the scenes.

This resource explores what community helpers are and how animals, specifically Naked mole-rats, live together in community groups, just like we do! The activities, videos, read-aloud suggestions, and conversation starters can help deepen community helper units

Have you ever wondered why Naked mole-rats look the way they do? Or what a Naked mole-rat family structure, or colony, is like? With the help of Keeper Mimi and Pinky Jackalope, discover more about these hairless creatures and how they are great examples of community helpers!

Explore the wonders of the natural world through the songs of the First Lady of Children’s Music, Ella Jenkins! This series of activities uses Ella Jenkins' music to explore tree types and features with fun activities like singing about trees and going on a tree walk. Enjoy a free playlist of songs about trees from Smithsonian Folkways Recording while you are learning!

Join Pinky Jackalope as she journeys across the Smithsonian to discover trees — both outside in nature and in gardens, and even inside the museums! Whether it's a tall oak tree growing next to the National Museum of American History or a sculpture of a tree inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Pinky will learn what makes each tree so special to the Smithsonian and to the world!

Screech owls may be tiny and cute, but they’re also tree experts! Join Keeper Sarah and Pinky Jackalope to discover how screech owls make their homes in tree cavities and use their feathers to perfectly camouflage with the bark, helping them hide from larger animals.