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What We Eat

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Table of Contents

What is Kohl’s Wild Theater? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

General Overview of “What We Eat” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Animal Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Discussion Questions and Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Suggested Websites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

What is Kohl’s Wild Theater?

Kohl’s Wild Theater (KWT) is made possible by a partnership with 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 Zoo and within our community. Since 2011, all performances have been offered free of charge thanks to $4 million in donations 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.

Most of our performances are developed for an elementary school audience. “What We Eat” is best suited for pre-kindergarten through 1st grade classrooms. For more information about all of our outreach shows, please visit wildtheater.org.

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A Kohl’s Wild Theater cast poses with puppets.

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What We Eat

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SUMMARY

This 30-minute show is a compilation of four different skits, each showcasing animals and how they

interact with food. Some skits show how the animal eats in the wild. Other skits show how our eating

choices as humans can impact animals in the wild.

‰ “What I Eat”This musical duet features a bonobo, which is the rarest of the great apes. Bonobos (along with

chimpanzees) are most genetically similar to humans in the animal kingdom. This skit emphasizes

the importance of healthy eating habits and points out that a healthy bonobo diet of fresh fruits

and green leaves is also healthy for humans.

‰ “The Penguin-lympics”This skit is about competition between penguins that are trying to catch fish. As reported by

a sportscaster, a penguin explains that humans should buy and eat sustainable seafood so that

penguins and other ocean-dwelling creatures can survive. For public festival performances,

sustainable seafood cards will be available after the show. For school performances, all

teachers will receive one sustainable seafood card to show their students.

‰ “City Bee”When a kid wishes treats would arrive in her own backyard, a city bee shows how anyone can

make an urban garden. Creating a garden at home creates healthy food for people and helps bees,

which are important pollinators.

‰ “The Choice”In this singing competition, a tapir and a tiger compete to see who will be the “star of the ecosystem.”

Each sings about how they get energy. The skit emphasizes the food web and introduces the terms

“producer,” “consumer,” “herbivore,” “carnivore,” and “omnivore.”

TARGET AGE RANGEMost appropriate for grades pre-kindergarden through 5 and families with children of all ages.

THEATER ETIQUETTEBefore the performance, please take a moment to 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.

Featured Animals

Bonobo (Pan paniscus):

‰ The bonobo, pronounced “Buh-NO-BO,” is a great ape most closely related to the chimpanzee. It is

the least known of the great apes because it lives in a remote rainforest region within the Democratic

Republic of the Congo (Africa), and was only identified as a species in 1933.

‰ Genetic analysis indicates that bonobos and humans share approximately 98% of the same

genetic identity.

‰ One special feature observed in bonobo

society is the low level of aggression between

individual bonobos. Bonobos are less apt to

engage in physical conflicts and confrontations

with other groups of bonobos. Their generally

peaceful society is attributed to the evolution

of a highly complex social system.

‰ Bonobos are currently endangered and it is

unknown how many bonobos are left in the wild. Wild populations have been reduced greatly by deforestation and human encroach-

ment. The Zoological Society is working to conserve bonobos in their home country.

Tapir (Tapirus):

‰ There are four species of tapirs found in Central

America, South America, and certain regions of South

East Asia.

‰ The tapir’s appearance is somewhat similar to a pig

(with a very short elephant-like snout), but it is closely

related to rhinos and horses.

‰ As herbivores, tapirs eat leaves, plants, berries and

branches from various trees, utilizing their snout to

reach difficult spots.

‰ All four species of tapir are endangered, mainly due

to human development and hunting.

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Tiger (Panthera tigris):

‰ Tigers are the largest feline in the world and the

most powerful of all the big cat species.

‰ Despite their size, they are extremely fast and

silent hunters. Tigers are considered “apex” predators,

which means they are at the top of the food chain and

are essential for a healthy ecosystem.

‰ A tiger’s diet can consist of snakes, tapirs, crocodiles,

and a wide variety of other mammals and reptiles.

‰ Native to Asia, tigers are mainly found in the

grasslands and jungles of India and China.

‰ Many tiger subspecies are critically endangered

due to poaching and human development.

Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti):

‰ Humboldt penguins are “warm weather” penguins found along the Pacific coast of Chile and Peru in

South America. Their name comes from the “Humboldt Current,” which runs from Antarctica up the South American coast.

‰ They nest on islands and

rocky coasts, burrowing

holes into large cliffs of

guano (bird feces).

‰ Humboldt penguins are

currently threatened due to

unsustainable fishing, oil

spills, and over-exploitation

of their nesting habitat for

guano (fertilizer) mining.

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Bees (Apinae):

‰ There are over 20,000 species of known bees across the globe and they can be found on every

continent except Antarctica.

‰ Honey bee (below right) and bumble bee (below left).The common honey bee (Apis mellifera) is

a European species that was brought to North America by European settlers. Many honey bees are

now moved around the country by commercial beekeepers that rent bee hives to farmers to assist

in crop pollination.

‰ Honey bees live in colonies. A colony

of bees consists of a queen bee, worker

bees (female) and drones (male). When a

hive becomes too crowded, the queen will

leave the hive with some of the other bees

to create a new colony. Others will stay

behind and a new queen will be instated.

Most honey bees in a colony will hibernate

during the winter.

‰ Bumble bees are different from honey

bees. Bumble bees store pollen, but not

as much as honey bees. Bumble bees are

larger than honey bees and are particularly

good at pollinating crops because of

“buzz pollination.”

‰ Buzz pollination occurs when a bumble

bee attaches its jaws to a flower and

vibrates its wings. This action is an

effective way to release pollen from

many different kinds of plants.

Honey bee Stock photo

Bumble bee Stock photo

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Post-Performance Discussion Questions

1. In the skit, “What I Eat,” the person and the bonobo started by eating different things. Think of all the

different foods that we humans eat. Which foods are similar to the foods that other animals eat? Which

animals eat in a similar way as humans? Which animals eat different foods? At the end of that skit, we

learned that a bonobo’s diet of fruits and green leaves is also good for humans. What other foods are

great for people to eat?

2. In the skit, “The Penguin-lympics,” we learned about the importance of fish for penguins. How many

animals can you think of that eat fish? (Hint: Don’t forget land animals such as grizzly bears and jaguars,

or birds such as pelicans or bald eagles.)

3. In “The Choice,” we saw three different roles within the food web – producers, prey, and predators.

What would happen if all the plants disappeared in a habitat? Prey? Predators?

Activities

1. Break down the food web and the transfer of energy between organisms with this worksheet

https://www.superteacherworksheets.com/food-chains/food-web-worksheet_WQRQM.pdf?up=1466611200

2. Play a sustainable fishing game. Fill a large bucket or other container with water. Cut different types

of fish out of construction paper and laminate them. Place the fish in the water and have your class fish

them out. Once the fish are caught, students can use a sustainable fishing guide to see if it is a fish they

should eat or not. Sustainable fishing guides for the Midwest can be found at

https://www.seafoodwatch.org/-/m/sfw/pdf/guides/mba-seafoodwatch-central-guide.pdf?la=en

3. Demonstrate pollination with a simple activity. Give each child a picture of a flower, or have the

children draw a picture of their favorite flower on a sheet of construction paper. Allow the children

to color the center of their flower with a piece of chalk. Take a cotton ball and tell the children you

are the bee. Stop by each flower and rub the cotton ball in the center of the flower. Show the children

the cotton ball when you finish. They should notice that the pollen (chalk) transferred from the flower

onto the bee (cotton ball).

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Suggested Websites

‰ Tiger Information and Conservation: tigers-world.com

‰ Tapir Research, Conservation, and Outreach: tapirs.org

‰ Ocean Conservancy: oceanconservancy.org

‰ The World Wildlife Fund: worldwildlife.org

‰ The Zoological Society of Milwaukee: zoosociety.org/conservation

For more information on Kohl’s Wild Theater,

see our website at wildtheater.org or email us at kwt@zoosociety.org.

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