Kohl’s Wild Theater

Teacher Packet

The Congo Code

Photo credit: Zoological Society of Milwaukee/Richard Taylor

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Table of Contents

What is Kohl’s Wild Theater? ................................................................................ 1

General Overview of The Congo Code ................................................................... 2

Educational Concepts and Standards .................................................................... 2

Featured Animals and People ................................................................................. 3

Discussion Questions ................................................................................................ 5

Activity 1 – Sabotage the Snares! ........................................................................... 5

Activity 1 Student Pages ...................................................................................... 7-9

Activity 2 – Map it Out ..........................................................................................10

Activity 2 Student Pages .................................................................................. 11-16

Cross Curricular Connections ..............................................................................17

Suggested Conservation Organizations ...............................................................18

About the Artists ....................................................................................................18

What is Kohl’s Wild Theater?

Kohl’s Wild Theater (KWT) is made possible by a partnership among Kohl's Cares, the Milwaukee

County Zoo, and the Zoological Society of Milwaukee. This program provides conservation-themed

theater performances using drama, songs, and puppetry to children and their families both at the

Milwaukee County Zoo and within our community. Since 2011, all performances have been offered

free of charge thanks to a $2.5 million donation to the Zoological Society from Kohl’s Cares.

The KWT outreach program, a division of the Zoological Society’s Conservation Education

Department, offers many different shows about a variety of topics. Our plays and musicals are

approximately 30-45 minutes long, performed by professional actors, and include stories about animals

and environmental conservation. KWT performances are very similar to attending a play at a

traditional theater, but there will be many times when the audience can be a part of the show through

group participation. There will not be time during the performance for the actors to go over curriculum

or to review information. After the performance, if time permits, the actors will take a few minutes to

answer questions from the audience. Please note, there are no live animals in KWT shows.

For more information about all of our outreach shows, please visit www.wildtheater.org.

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The Congo Code

Summary

Virtual reality takes on new meaning in Congo Code, a high-stakes video game that traps Cameron in a

fight for survival. The game has placed Cameron in a virtual rainforest where there is danger at every

turn. To achieve an "epic win" and escape from the game, Cameron must use knowledge and skills in

science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Along the way he encounters a mysterious

primate that could be the key to breaking the code, or perhaps is only a distraction. As the clock ticks

down on this adventure, audiences learn about real-world applications of STEM concepts as well as

wildlife conservation and what it truly means to be "connected."

This play is inspired by and references actual field conservation and research activities managed by the

Zoological Society of Milwaukee in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa.

Target Age Range

The Congo Code is strongly recommended for grades 4-8. Due to dramatic content and references to

poaching, this play is not appropriate for grades K-3.

Theater Etiquette

Before the performance, please review good theater etiquette with your students. It is important that

students are respectful to the actors during the show. It is a good idea to remind students not to talk

during the performance, but encourage them to participate when directed to do so by the actors.

Educational Concepts and Standards The performance incorporates scientific concepts:

Animals need food, water and shelter to survive

Bonobos are endangered great apes found in the Congo River basin

Poachers threaten the survival of bonobos as a species

Conservation scientists and others work to protect endangered species

Wildlife conservation applies technology and knowledge of ecology to solve problems

Concepts presented pertain to the Next Generation Science Standards: MS-LS2-1 - Growth of

Organisms and Population Increases are Limited by Access to Resources

The activities presented in this guide pertain to Next Generation Science Standards:

Activity 1

Middle School Engineering Design: MS-ETS1-1 - Defining and Delimiting Engineering

Problems and MS-ETS1-2 - Developing Possible Solutions

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Middle School Life Science: MS-LS2-5 - Evaluate Competing Design Solutions for

Maintaining Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

Activity 2

Middle School Life Science: MS-LS2-1 - Growth of Organisms and Population Increases are

Limited by Access to Resources

Science and Engineering Practices: Asking Questions and Defining Problems and Analyzing

and Interpreting Data

Featured Animals and People

Bonobo (Pan paniscus)

- Bonobos are great apes that live in part of the Congo River

basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

- They are highly intelligent.

- Bonobos are naturally rare, given that they only live in one part

of one country.

- Bonobos live in social communities that are known for

peacefulness; they do not show strict ranks and territories.

Bonobos show lower levels of aggression and violence

compared to other apes.

- Bonobos are among humankind's closest living relatives.

- Bonobos play a role as seed dispersers in the rainforest, important to forest regrowth.

- Bonobos are endangered. They are declining in number in part because of habitat loss, but their

most serious threat is poaching. Poaching is illegal hunting or trapping. Bonobos are poached

primarily for meat.

- Because bonobos spend most of their time high up in trees, there is no accurate measure of how

many bonobos exist in the wild.

- Protecting bonobos is the focus of the Bonobo & Congo Biodiversity Initiative, a program of

the Zoological Society of Milwaukee that operates in the Salonga National Park in the DRC.

- As of 2013, approximately 80 bonobos live in seven zoological institutions in the U.S.;

approximately 85 bonobos live in European zoos. In contrast, there are more than 2,000

chimpanzees and 300 gorillas in the U.S. alone. One of the largest communities of bonobos

living in a zoo exists at the Milwaukee County Zoo.

Conservation Scientist

- Conservation scientists study biology, ecology,

geography, environmental science and mathematics

to prepare for their careers. It is also helpful for them

to study foreign languages and cultures.

- The work of conservation scientists includes

conducting research in field settings and in labs and

applying knowledge to planning strategies that

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protect biodiversity. They play roles in carrying out the strategies, monitoring the results and

making others aware of the importance of biodiversity.

- Conservation scientists sometimes work in the field, use computer models at other times and

spend much of their time collaborating with others.

- Dr. Gay Reinartz (pictured right) is a conservation scientist who directs the Bonobo & Congo

Biodiversity Initiative (BCBI), through the Zoological Society of Milwaukee. She works with

other BCBI scientists to design data collection procedures and forest surveys needed to monitor

the status of the bonobos and the threats that face them. She trains eco-guards to help carry out

the procedures. She analyzes the data and uses it to help the guards pinpoint their anti-poaching

activities. She builds partnerships with people in nearby communities and with government

leaders. She also coordinates the bonobo Species Survival Plan, which is focused on

management of a small captive population of bonobos in North American zoos.

Congolese Guards

- In The Congo Code, pictures of the guards were shown at the

end of the play.

- Guards are people from the area that makes up the Salonga

National Park who have been hired as law enforcement agents

to patrol the park and combat poaching.

- As they patrol areas of the Salonga National Park, guards

collect data about the bonobos and forest elephants and identify

areas of poaching. They are trained in surveillance and use

global positioning system technology to create precise records.

- Guards confiscate snares and other poaching supplies when

they find them and also destroy poaching camps. It is dangerous work, as the poachers are often

heavily armed. Guards may only use their weapons to defend themselves.

Poachers

- Poachers are people who illegally take wildlife resources

(usually by killing animals but sometimes by capturing animals

alive for the pet trade) such as ivory and meat to sell on the

black market.

- Poachers can sell an elephant's tusks for three times the average

annual income of a Congolese person or about $18,000. They

hope to make their fortunes selling elephant ivory, but will sell

any animals they catch. Much of their trade is in bushmeat -

wild animals sold as food, including bonobos.

Dr. Reinartz looks on as park guards burn

down a poacher camp.

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Post-Performance Discussion Questions

1. In The Congo Code, the characters were in a game that simulated the survival challenges of

bonobos. How do you think the game compares to the real challenges facing bonobos?

2. In the game, Dr. Info said that poachers would rather make money than protect rare animals.

What incentives and disincentives may influence a person's decision to become a poacher?

3. Salonga National Park guards and other conservation workers risk their safety as they work to

protect bonobos, elephants and other wildlife. What makes protecting endangered species so

important?

4. The play made a lot of references to technology. How is technology connected to the goal of

protecting the bonobos?

5. What was the play's message about the real world outside of the game? What did the play ask

the audience to do?

Post-Performance Activity 1 - Sabotage the Snares!

Students consider the design problem of sabotaging poachers' snares, work in small groups to propose

solutions and evaluate the plans.

Next Generation Science Standards: MS-ETS1-1 and MS-ETS1-2

Time Needed: One or two class periods

Materials Needed

Copies of the "Sabotage the Snares!" packet for each small group of students

Snare diagrams for each group

Markers

Paper

Teacher Preparations

Gather the materials

Assign students to pairs or small groups (students may work individually if desired)

Introducing the Task

1. Remind the students that in the play, Cameron's arm was hurt when he became caught in a

poacher's snare and he later avoided another.

2. Let the students know that in the real DRC, the Zoological Society of Milwaukee supports and

trains guards to combat poaching in Salonga National Park. As the play explained, poachers trap

bonobos or anything else that takes the bait and is trapped in their snares to eat or sell as meat.

3. Distribute the packets and refer to the section with the heading, "Your Task". Read the description

as a group and answer any questions students may have about the task.

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Activity Steps

1. Give students time to discuss and write criteria and constraints for the task, following the

instructions in the packet. When students are ready, discuss their ideas. Make a group poster or use

an area of a chalkboard or whiteboard to list criteria and constraints for the project.

2. Distribute the snare diagrams, markers and paper. Encourage the students to list their ideas for

solutions, choose the one they think is best and make a labeled drawing to explain the method they

design. Give the groups time to work (do not discourage simple ideas as they may be effective).

3. Ask each group to present their design to the class. They should explain how the design addressed

the criteria and constraints and why they chose it as their best idea.

4. Display the drawings. Now let the students know that they are going to play the roles of the guards

who will evaluate the designs. Review the first criterion from the list that was made earlier. Ask the

students to identify a design solution that met that criterion well and to explain why. Continue this

process with the other criteria and the constraint list.

5. Remind the students that as guards, they risk their own safety in their work to protect the bonobos.

As guards, which criteria and constraints would be most important?

6. Ask the students to think about what steps the guards would take next to help them choose a

design. How might they combine ideas to make an even better solution? What steps should they

follow to test the proposals?

7. Discuss other ways to approach the problem. One of the things the Bonobo and Congo Biodiversity

Initiative does is to support schools and an agricultural cooperative near Salonga National Park.

How can those things help the bonobos?

Extension

Challenge students to test their design ideas with model snares. Provide twigs (freshly cut twigs

from living trees work best), thread, corrugated cardboard for making the base and hook and small

toy animals. Use lumps of plasticine to fasten the twigs and other parts to a table top. Show

students how to make the noose by tying a loop that slides along a larger ring of thread:

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Names: ____________________________________________

Sabotage the Snares!

Step 1: Criteria and Constraints

To better understand the task, define the criteria (what the design should do or features it should have)

and the constraints (things the design should not do, features it should not have and its limitations).

List your group members' ideas here.

Criteria - the design should:

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Constraints - the design should not:

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Your Task

Poachers set snares in the Salonga National Park to capture bonobos and other animals as

"bushmeat." Bushmeat is sold or eaten by the poachers because it is difficult to get farm-

raised food in the large roadless wilderness where wars disrupt trade and poverty creates

desperation. Illegal hunting is the primary reason bonobos are endangered.

The Zoological Society of Milwaukee supports and trains guards in the Congo to help the

bonobo survive as a species. The guards remove snares they find in the Salonga National

Park, but when poachers realize the snares have been taken, they set new ones.

The guards wonder if it would be better to leave the snares in place, but to do something so

the snares won't work. If the poachers are fooled and think the snares are still properly set,

they might not set new ones.

Your task is to design a way to sabotage a snare that will go undetected by the poachers.

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Step 2: List Ideas

Ask each group member to suggest ways to sabotage the snare. Make a list of ideas here:

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Step 3: Choose your group's favorite idea

Look at the criteria and constraints again and choose the idea your group likes best. If group members

like more than one idea, your group may design two methods.

Step 4: Draw your Design

Use a separate sheet of paper to make a labeled drawing to explain your method for sabotaging the

snare.

This is how our design fits the criteria:

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

This is how our design considers the constraints:

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

What scientific principles explain how your design works? (Words that might be useful: potential

energy, kinetic energy, tension, force, lever, elasticity and Hooke's Law - look it up!)

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

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SET CONDITION

SPRUNG CONDITION

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Post-Performance Activity 2 - Map It Out!

Students pose questions, propose hypotheses, analyze data sets and draw conclusions using maps from

the Bonobo & Congo Biodiversity Initiative.

Next Generation Science Standards: MS-LS2-1 and MS-LS2-4

Time Needed: One class period

Materials Needed

Copies of the "Map It Out!" packet for each student

Copies of Map 1 and Map 2 for each student (or they may share maps with a partner)

Teacher Preparations

Gather the materials

Introducing the Task

1. Let the students know that one of the technologies used by guards and scientists in the Salonga

National Park is GPS and GIS (Geographic Information Systems). The guards patrol the park

and record the locations of actual bonobo sightings and indirect signs such as bonobo nests,

food remains, and footprints. They also look for signs of forest elephants such as dung piles,

scrapes and foot impressions. The other data they record are signs of poachers. They plot this

data on a map that also shows waterways.

2. Distribute the student packets and read the task description as a group.

Activity Steps

1. Give the students time to think of questions and record them. Call on students to share their

question ideas.

2. Direct the students to read “Your Task” and continue following the packet instructions. When

they have finished the hypothesis, distribute copies of Map 1.

3. When students have completed Step 4, engage the class in discussing their findings.

4. Direct students' attention to the Update. Allow them to discuss their ideas for how the data may

change, then distribute Map 2 and allow the group to complete the packets.

Extensions

Students can learn more about Operation Bonobo by reading the USAID Fact Sheet, "Anti-

poaching Operation makes DRC Park Safe for Elephants and People." Discuss their

impressions.

Ask the students to think about all of the kinds of roles people have in helping to protect

bonobos. What jobs are done? What skills are used? What about the people who make the tools

the guards use? Or the actors in the play? What other skills and talent could people apply to the

problem to help the bonobos?

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Student Pages Name: ________________________

Map It Out!

Step 1: Question brainstorming

What questions can we ask about the distribution of bonobos, elephants and poaching activity in the

Salonga National Park?

Add your own questions to the list of example questions.

Example questions:

1. Do the animals spread out evenly across the land or do they cluster together in certain places?

2. Are signs of bonobos, elephants and people found close to water?

Your questions:

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Your Task

Guards in the Salonga National Park seek to protect bonobos, elephants and other

wildlife from illegal hunting, or poaching. Poachers hunt elephants for their valuable

ivory tusks and hunt bonobos and other animals to sell as meat, called bushmeat.

The Guards use GPS and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) to record the coordinates

of all bonobo nests, signs of forest elephants (dung piles) and signs of human hunting.

The data is plotted on a map that also shows waterways.

What can we find out about bonobos, elephants and poachers using this information?

Your task is to ask questions that can be investigated using data collected by the

park guards, form a hypothesis and analyze the data.

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Step 2: Choose a question that you would like to investigate.

Draw a star next to your choice.

Step 3: Write your hypothesis

Predict what you think you will find and give a reason.

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Step 4: Analyze the data

Look at Map 1. Does the map show evidence to support your hypothesis? ______________________

Explain the evidence that does or does not support your hypothesis:

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

What is another thing the map shows you about the distribution of bonobos, elephants and poachers?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

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Step 5: Predicting change

What do you think will be different about the distribution of bonobos, elephants and hunters six

months after Operation Bonobo began?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Step 6: Comparing data

Look at Map 2 and compare it to Map 1. Describe the changes.

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Update!

The Congolese government is concerned about increases in poaching and the illegal

weapons that the poachers have. The government sent 300 soldiers to help the guards

sweep more of the park, arrest poachers and confiscate weapons through "Operation

Bonobo." Bushmeat was confiscated at checkpoints and destroyed in public to show that

hunting in the national park will not be tolerated.

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Cross Curricular Connections

The activities offered in this packet emphasize science, technology and engineering concepts.

The topic of bonobos and the work done to protect them offers a wealth of cross curricular

connections.

English Language Arts and Literacy

Ask the students to re-tell a scene from the The Congo Code using a format other than a

play such as a narrative or a graphic novel style page.

Write reviews of the play, including commentary about characters, setting and plot.

Research tropes found in movies and TV and challenge students to identify any plot

devices or tropes that the The Congo Code used to get the story across to the audience.

Encourage the students to read fiction and non-fiction literature about bonobos or other

great apes, conservation scientists or endangered species.

o For teachers: If suggesting books or other types of research on bonobos,

discretion is advised before endorsing any particular piece. Bonobos exhibit

high levels of sexual behavior which can be discussed in some books that are

intended for adult audiences. One good option for students could be the

fictional novel Endangered by Eliot Schrefer. It features bonobos in the DRC

and is intended for young adult readers. For more information, see

www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/endangered.

Mathematics

Conservation scientists often use correlation studies to analyze data collected in a field

setting where many variables are at play at once. Show students how to interpret

information presented as correlation data.

Search the internet for graphs and charts about populations. How is the information

presented?

Social Studies

Use maps to locate the Salonga National Park and identify geographic features of the area

Consider societal factors that lead people to hunt for bushmeat

Research connections between bushmeat and human disease epidemics like Ebola

Poachers make money selling elephant ivory because it is an expensive status symbol in

China. Investigate status symbols - what is the purpose of status symbols? What are

status symbols in our own culture? Do our own status symbols fuel conflict or threaten

biodiversity in far away places in the world?

The Arts

Reflect on the way the Kohl's Wild Theater used a play to inform people about the threats

facing bonobos. Investigate other ways that artists use their work to make people aware

of important topics. Engage students in creating an artistic work to raise awareness for a

topic they choose.

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Suggested Conservation Organizations

Bonobo & Congo Biodiversity Initiative - Get the real story behind The Congo Code at

www.bonoboconservation.org

World Wildlife Fund - www.worldwildlife.org/species/bonobo

Bonobo Conservation Initiative - www.bonobo.org

Lola Ya Bonobo – www.friendsofthebonobo.org

About the Artists

Ernie Nolan (Playwright) is a writer and director based in Chicago. As a theater-for-young-

audiences playwright, his work has been featured both nationally and internationally. Several of

his works including A Fairy Tale Life, Snow White as Performed by TJ Barker and his Troupe of

Theatricals, and Beasts are published and licensed by Dramatic Publishing. His adaptation of

Eileen Christelow's Five Little Monkeys, which originally premiered at Adventure Theatre in

Glen Echo, MD, and has performed on national tour. His commission for La Jolla Playhouse, A

Lonely Boy's Guide to Survival (And Werewolves) was workshopped at the Kennedy Center's

New Visions New Voices symposium. He is on faculty at The Theatre School at DePaul

University and serves as Producing Artistic Director for Emerald City Theatre in Chicago, IL.

Ernie is a graduate of both the University of Michigan (BFA Musical Theatre) and The Theatre

School at DePaul University (MFA Directing).

Chris Guse (Set, Sound and Projection Designer) most recently designed sound for Laughing

Stock, Ruined, Blood Weddings, Sins of Sor Juana and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. With the

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) he worked on Lend me a Tenor, October, Before I

was Born, Collected Stories, Heroes, Jeeves Intervenes and Duet for One. He's also done sound

and projections for The Detective's Wife with the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre; Neat and

Crumbs From the Table of Joy with Uprooted/Renaissance Theaterworks and The Flu Season

with Youngblood Theatre Company. He's also composed music and provided sound designs for

UWM's productions of Oedipus Rex, 1001, Mr. Melancholy, Einstein's Dreams and From These

Green Heights. Other recent projects include assisting R.H. Graham on the scenic design for

Milwaukee Ballet's La Bohéme and Peter Pan designing the sound systems for the Kohl's Wild

Theater installation at the Milwaukee County Zoo. An associate professor at UWM, Chris is a

certified online instructor, teaching in the areas of sound design/technology, multimedia arts,

computer drafting and technical direction.

Eleanor Cotey (Costume Designer) received her BFA in Costume Production from UWM in

2009. Since graduating, Eleanor has designed for Youngblood Theatre Company, The Fireside

Theatre, Pink Banana Theatre Company, UWM-Dance Department, Wisconsin Lutheran

College, Optimist Theatre, and In Tandem Theatre. She has spent five seasons with the Utah

Shakespeare Festival, and has stitched for the American Players Theatre, The Milwaukee Rep,

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and First Stage. Eleanor currently resides in Chicago and works in the costume department for

the Joffrey Ballet.

Scott Hitz (Puppet Designer) is a co-founder of Monkey Boys Productions and currently serves

as an Associate Artist and Producer. His work with puppets has been seen on television: TV

Funhouse (Comedy Central), The Book of Pooh (The Disney Channel), Mother Goose

Jams (Sprout), and on stage: Avenue Q, (Vineyard Theater, NYC), Bunnicula (The Arden

Theater, Philadelphia), Little Shop of Horrors (Ford’s Theater, Washington DC), Animal

Farm (Synapse Theatre, NYC). Directing and writing credits include: Carnival of the

Animals (Philadelphia Orchestra), Orchestra 2000 (Baltimore Symphony Orchestra), Little Shop

of Horrors (Associate Director, The Hangar Theatre), Spring Interstitial (Sprout Television).

Scott was honored with the position of Artist in Residence at the Eugene O’Neil Theater Center

summer puppetry program, where he began work on his stage adaptation of The Little Prince,

which premiered at Cape May Stage and which eventually played at the New Victory Theatre in

NYC. His work has taken him to Korea as part of the Chunchon International Festival for

Puppetry, and he has also been the recipient of a Henson seed grant for his production Ursa

Major: The Voice of the Bear.

Dave McLellan (Director) joined the Zoological Society in 2010 to begin development of

Kohl’s Wild Theater. Since that time, Dave has directed 13 original plays and musicals for the

Zoo, as well as many short skits and exhibit interactions. Prior to moving to Milwaukee, Dave

spent a year working as a conservation educator for the Walt Disney Company in Orlando, Fla.

Before moving to Florida, he was a company member and assistant director with the Wildlife

Theater, performing regularly at the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo and Queens Zoo in New York

City. Other selected theater credits include the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Ford’s

Theater, Round House Theater, Imagination Stage, Surflight Theater, Capital Repertory Theatre,

Cape Rep Theatre, and Universal Studios Florida. Dave now resides in Wauwatosa with his wife,

Mary, and two children, Angela and Johnny.

The Actors - KWT employs numerous professional actors that perform many different roles in

our various shows. Casting changes with each performance, but if you want to learn more about

each individual actor you can see their bios at www.zoosociety.org/Education/WildTheater/Cast.

For more information on Kohl’s Wild Theater, you can see our website at

www.wildtheater.org or email us at kwt@zoosociety.org.