In honour of International Polar Bear Day the Assiniboine Park Zoo is hosting an entire weekend dedicated to learning about polar bears, polar bear research and conservation, and what people can do in their daily lives to help polar bears in the wild by reducing their impact on the environment.
Weekend activities will kick off on Saturday morning with Breakfast with the Bears at the Tundra Grill from 9:00 am – 11:00 am. Visitors are invited to enjoy a delicious breakfast, a polar bear Zoo Chat (10:30 am), and views of the Zoo’s largest polar bear habitat. The polar bears will be presented with some breakfast treats of their own right outside the floor to ceiling viewing windows. Breakfast must be purchased separately.
In addition, the following activities will be offered on both Saturday, February 23 and Sunday, February 24:
Tundra Grill
· 10:30 am – Polar Bear Zoo Chat – learn about the bears, polar bear behaviour, and how they are perfectly adapted to thrive in our Winnipeg winters.
· 10:00 am to 3:00 pm – Chocolate Glitter Poop Sale.
Gateway to the Arctic | 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
· Kids Craft Station – create a polar bear friendship bracelet and learn about the environmental impact of the textile industry.
· Photo Station – take a polar bear selfie with some fun props.
· Research Station – meet members of our Conservation and Research team, check out research artifacts (polar bear tags, lab samples, glitter poop, and a footprint cast from a polar bear) and learn all about our Zoo research projects.
· Bear Buttons – with a donation, make or take a button featuring one of our polar bears. Proceeds support the Polar Bear Rescue & Care Team.
· Enrichment Station – learn how our Animal Care team keeps our bears busy. Play with puzzle feeders, polar bear toys, and see how much a bucket of polar bear food weighs.
There’s more!
· Visit the Seasonal Exhibit Area between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm and have some wintery fun with jam pail curling, snow sculpture carving, smooshing skis and toboggan pulls.
· Stop in at Wild Things Unique Gifts and bid on a one-of-a-kind painting by Baffin the polar bear. Auction closes February 28. Proceeds support the Polar Bear Rescue & Care Team.
The Zoo is open daily from 9 am to 4 pm all weekend.