Arctic Blast Tuesdays are back this June and July! Each Tuesday at 1 p.m., the Zoo will drop giant ice cubes in the water play area of Paws On. Be sure to arrive on time as the ice will melt quickly in the summer heat. This event is FREE with Zoo admission.

In Paws On you can also enjoy an aquarium, fort building, an air-conditioned discovery room, and an animal petting area. Paws On is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Paws On Petting Zone is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

CLICK HERE for more information about this and other upcoming events at the Zoo.

In 2011, the Zoo awarded $3,000 raised by the Quarters for Conservation program to the Marine Resources Council Northern Right Whale Monitoring Program. The Marine Resources Council (MRC) trains and coordinates with more than 750 local coastal volunteers to report Right whale sightings. The Right whale population is estimated at only 325 individuals, as a result of hunting and collisions with large ships. Sightings are reported to the U.S. Navy, which informs mariners in the area to take action to avoid collisions between ships and the whales.

With the efforts of volunteers to track the whales' movement and behavior patterns along Florida’s Atlantic Coast, the MRC helps determine migration characteristics, prevents ship strikes, and saves these highly endangered marine mammals from extinction. The MRC gives presentations, distributes educational materials and promotes awareness of the program at a variety of events around the state. Training classes are offered for volunteers each winter. For more information visit www.mrcirl.org/

Here are a few photos from recent MRC events:

Want to volunteer for a local conservation project? Join us for a FrogWatch USA training session! FrogWatch USA is the Association of Zoos Aquariums' flagship citizen science program that allows individuals and families to learn about the wetlands in their communities and help conserve amphibians by reporting the calls of local frogs and toads.

The training session will include a background on citizen science programs, the history of FrogWatch USA, wetland information, amphibian biology, and monitoring protocol. The training session will also go over Central Florida frog and toad calls, and will include take-home material, including an audio C.D.

Please don't plan on being a frog and toad call expert after this 4-hour training course, as the training will cover quite a bit of information! The idea is to go over frog and toad calls in the training session and to review more at home.

Please email Amy Reaume at areaume@brevardzoo.org with the training date you will be attending. We hope to see you at one of the training sessions! Please note, participants must be at least 7 years old to participate and must be accompanied by an adult. Participants must be at least 13 years old to attend a training without an adult.

The training sessions will be held at the Brevard Zoo on the following dates from 4:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.:

Wednesday, February 8

Saturday, February 11

Wednesday, April 11

Saturday, April 14

Wednesday, May 23

Wednesday, June 20

Wednesday, July 25

Wednesday, August 22

Saturday, August 25