If you are a grade 3-12 teacher looking for ways to engage your students in authentic integrated STEM, join the ZOOMS STEM Design Challenge presented by Flint Hills Resources for the 2025-2026 school year! Participation is completely free! ZOOMS teachers receive access to digital resources, support throughout the school year from Zoo staff and access to a free teacher training on September 25th, 2025 to learn all about the design challenges and sea lions.  Student designs can be submitted for consideration to advance to the Zoo’s culminating ZOOMS Exhibition in March 2026!

California Sea Lion Enrichment Design Challenge

In the spring of 2024, the Zoo welcomed five male California Sea Lions to their new habitat in Discovery Bay. The youngest, Flynn and Hudson, are highly energetic one-year olds from Sea World San Antonio. The older sea lions, JoJo from Queens Zoo, Clyde from Bronx Zoo, and Theo (Clyde’s son) from Central Park Zoo, have all made themselves at home. Bringing together these new animals at the Zoo has been a huge undertaking for Zookeepers and animal care staff who have had to learn their personalities, unique needs, and work hard to form relationships with each sea lion for training and husbandry. These intelligent and athletic marine mammals have made great progress in their new home, even participating in the new Sea Lion Discovery presentation to show off their amazing natural behaviors! Because they are quick learners, and very fast swimmers, Zookeepers are looking to find ways to keep them busy and mentally engaged while helping them continue to adjust to their new home.

Sea Lion Discovery Bay Exhibit Design Challenge

As Zoo leaders envision the future of the Minnesota Zoo, a wide range of exciting ideas are being imagined—new animal experiences, immersive habitats, and innovative ways to connect guests with wildlife. As they explore these possibilities, they’re seeking inspiration to bring some of these concepts to life. One such idea is a reimagined indoor/outdoor sea lion habitat in Discovery Bay, expanding into the current plaza area. With the recent arrival of five energetic male sea lions—Clyde, Theo, JoJo, Hudson, and Flynn—this is a timely opportunity to explore how a new habitat could meet their needs, provide engaging experiences for guests year-round, and support Zookeepers in delivering exceptional care for this intelligent and playful species.

To learn more and sign up your class to participate, visit https://mnzoo.org/zooms-stem-challenge/ .  To register to attend the September 25th, 2025 Teacher Training at the ZOo, visit https://mnzoo.org/professional-dev/