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Binder Park Zoo and San Diego Zoo Partner on Kids TV

Posted at 11:40 AM, Nov 19, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-19 22:45:08-05
Young patients, their families and invited guests were treated to a visit with some amazing animal ambassadors—including an armadillo, a giant rabbit and  a hedgehog—from the Binder Park Zoo at a gathering at Michigan Medicine C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital (Nov. 15, 2018). This special event was held to announce the arrival of San Diego Zoo Kids, a closed-circuit television channel, at Michigan Medicine C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor.
 
San Diego Zoo Kids is an innovative television channel with programs produced primarily for medical facilities that serve pediatric patients and their families. The creation and development of the channel has been funded by businessman and philanthropist T. Denny Sanford. In 2017, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) awarded San Diego Zoo Global an outstanding Museums for America grant to bring San Diego Zoo Kids to 75 children’s hospitals and Ronald McDonald House Charities facilities across the nation over the next three years. The generous grant from IMLS has made the channel available on TV monitors at Michigan Medicine C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor.
 
San Diego Zoo Kids’ programming offers family friendly, animal-oriented stories that are both entertaining and educational. “We are dedicated to constantly seeking new ways to provide our young patients a diversion from hospital life,” said Paul King, executive director of Mott and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital. “A virtual trip to the zoo through San Diego Zoo Kids offers Mott families a way to spend time together and enjoy something fun and educational during hospital stays. We are pleased to partner with the San Diego Zoo to bring this channel to our patients and families.”  
 
The channel also features animal stories from the Binder Park Zoo. “We are very excited to partner with the San Diego Zoo to share our passion for animal care, education and conservation with kids at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital Ann Arbor,” said Diane Thompson, president and CEO of Binder Park Zoo. “It’s such a unique opportunity to show how zoos connect people with nature—in this case, the youngest generation—and to inspire them to love, respect and to protect all animals and the places where they live.”
 
The service is also making its debut at Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor. "Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor is thrilled to partner with the San Diego Zoo and Michigan Medicine’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital on this very important and educational program,” said Kim Kelly, Executive Director, Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor. “The programming provides a wonderful activity that both children and their families can enjoy, making their stay in our ‘home away from home’ more positive, during what can be a difficult time. “We could not be happier to be the recipient of such a wonderfully produced program from the world-acclaimed San Diego Zoo. Our families thank you."
 
The San Diego Zoo Kids channel offers up-close video encounters with animals, stories about caring for animals, quizzes about animals and habitats, and a wide variety of short video vignettes hosted by San Diego Zoo Global Ambassador Rick Schwartz and San Diego Zoo Kids host Olivia Degn. Viewers can see best-of videos from the San Diego Zoo’s famous Panda Cam and other online cameras, as well as content from other zoos across the world.
 
“We continue to be humbled by the healing properties of San Diego Zoo Kids,” said Debra Erickson, director of communications, San Diego Zoo Global. “Parents and caregivers share that the channel, which has no commercials or inappropriate content, not only calms children but makes them happy.”
 
San Diego Zoo Kids debuted in 2013 at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego. Since then, it has been installed in 181 children’s hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses in 36 states across the U.S. and the District of Columbia, and in facilities in Mexico, Canada, Australia, Pakistan, Qatar and Curaçao.
 
About Michigan Medicine C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital
 
About Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor
The Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor has served more than 26,000 families since opening in 1985. Spearheaded by the Junior Service League (now the Junior League of Ann Arbor), the project jointly involved the JLAA, University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and the local community. Originally able to accommodate 24 families each night, an expansion in 1992 increased that number to 29 families. With the 2011 opening of the Ronald McDonald House within C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, the total number has increased even more serving 41 families per night. For more information, visit rmhcannarbor.org [rmhcannarbor.org].
 
About Binder Park Zoo
Binder Park Zoo is located in southwest Michigan and home to a diverse array of exotic and native animal species. The natural and spacious habitat design that blends animal habitats into the surrounding landscape is a 40-year hallmark of the zoo that respects animals and delights guests. Delivering the message of conservation through engaging programs and fun experiences lies at the heart of the zoo’s mission to Connect. Inspire. Conserve. Connect people with nature. Inspire them to conserve. The Conservation Carousel, vintage Z.O. & O. miniature train and trip to the 50-acre Wild Africa exhibit aboard the Wilderness Tram are but several zoo adventures that entertain while making meaningful connections to nature.
 
About the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s approximately 120,000 libraries and 35,000 museums [imls.gov], and related organizations. Its mission is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement. IMLS grant making, policy development and research help libraries and museums deliver valuable services that make it possible for communities and individuals to thrive.
 
About IMLS Community Anchors Program
IMLS promotes the role of museums as essential partners in addressing the needs of their communities by leveraging their expertise, knowledge, physical space, technology and other resources to identify and implement solutions. By strengthening museums’ capacities for civic engagement, these projects contribute to the creation of livable, sustainable communities. IMLS welcomes applications for projects that empower museums to transform their roles in their communities from being community resources to being community catalysts. Museums have a role to play providing civic and cultural engagement, facilitating lifelong learning, promoting digital inclusion and supporting economic vitality through programming and services. IMLS encourages projects that demonstrate collaboration, adopt co-creating strategies and engage with a wide variety of cross-sector stakeholders to accomplish a sustained collective-impact goal.

 
About San Diego Zoo Global 
Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is the goal of San Diego Zoo Global. As a leader in conservation, the work of San Diego Zoo Global includes on-site wildlife conservation efforts (representing both plants and animals) at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, as well as international field programs on six continents. The work of these entities is made accessible to children through the San Diego Zoo Kids network, reaching out through the internet and in children’s hospitals nationwide. The work of San Diego Zoo Global is made possible by the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy and is supported in part by the Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global.
 
Source: Press Release