Smithsonian’s National Zoo – Parts 1 & 2
Thanks for joining us for these special two Field Trip episodes!
They were recorded at Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington DC with Kaden Borseth, the zoo’s Manager of School and Teacher Learning.
The episodes were voiced by Kara, Jean, Kaden and T.
Episode art was drawn by Jean.
They were originally released in late August and early September 2025.
— Enjoy these books that include zoos —
Click on each photo for a link to the book on our Bookshop.org account
Kaden’s book shout-out!
— We had so much fun visiting with Kaden at the Zoo —
— Check on the animals with Smithsonian’s National Zoo webcams —
— Visit Smithsonian’s National Zoo gift shop! —
So many cute panda-related items
Stuffies so adorable you can convince yourself your household needs another
— Our family has enjoyed zoos on both coasts —
At Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, DC
At the Oakland Zoo in Oakland, CA
— Zoo Episode Notes —
What are Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute? —
We visited with Kaden Borseth – the Manager of School and Teacher Learning.
There are two locations at the National Zoo. We went to their place that is open to the public. It is free. This is where you come to see the animals, learn about them, and get inspired just by watching them live their best lives. And then they also have the Conservation Biology Institute, which is out in Virginia and the Rolling Hills by Shenandoah National Park. It's beautiful, but it is closed to the public because that's where they do a lot of their research and a lot of our reproduction.
They work with a lot of endangered species and they breed them there, things like red pandas, oryx, cheetahs, things that don't like to breed out here at the zoo with lots of people around. They keep there in a nice, quiet, serene area.
The goal of the National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is all about saving species. They are working to learn from the animals so they can better save them out in the wild. So they learn about things that they might eat here and how that affects their health.
They have many scientists that do research. One of Kaden’s favorite is out in Panama with Panamanian golden frogs. They are doing research on Panamanian golden frogs, chytrid fungus, and a lot of the other frogs in the area, because chytrid fungus is affecting their health and they are about to go extinct. Or some of them are extinct in the wild. So they collected some of these frogs and are doing research to see some frogs actually don't get affected by this fungus. Why is that? And then they see if they can apply it to these other frogs and then even release them later to actually repopulate them, which we've done with other animals as well.
How and when was the zoo started? —
The zoo was started a long time ago, when a taxidermist realized how close the American bison were to extinction. There used to be millions in the Great Plains, but he realized that there were only a few hundred left.
So he chatted with people at the Smithsonian, they supported him bringing some back to Washington, DC. So he brought some back, along with some other animals, like fox, deer, a couple other things.
And that's where the first zoo started, was down on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Right by the Capitol, the White House, all in between, where the rest of the museums are. They were next to the nice red building that looks like a castle downtown.
A few years later, Congress passed a bill, said, yes, this is the National Zoo, and they created this land on Rock Creek. It's a beautiful area, and Olmsted, who is a big planner, who's designed many things throughout the U.S., created the zoo and the walkway, and it's a gorgeous space.
Jobs at the zoo —
More to come soon!
Working with and for the animals —
More to come soon!