AbstractsEducation Research & Administration

Encounters with live animals are found throughout modern society in the form of zoos, aquariums, petting zoos, class pets, and wildlife education programs. These live animal encounters had only begun to be studied for the impact they might have on learners. This quasi- experimental mixed-methods study investigated the impact live animals had on biology knowledge gain in fourth- and fifth-grade students utilizing a pre- and post-program, self- designed, survey. The programs included a live animal program and an animal artifact program. The results indicated that live animals did have a slight impact on knowledge gain, but the impact was not statistically significant. Past experience with wildlife education programs had a much bigger impact on knowledge gain than the presence/absence of live animals.