KEEPER KIDS AT DISCOVERY CENTER

"KEEPER KIDS" HIDE FOOD FOR THE BEARS

The Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone has a unique and exciting program available for children ages 5 to 12. This program is referred to as the "Keeper Kids" program. The program is designed to allow children to see how bears learn how bears search for food.

This 30 minute program is presented twice a day during the summer season and is available for a maximum of  30 children per session. Children must register at least 15 minutes before the beginning time of the program. There is a nominal two dollar fee per child for this program. This fee is used to directly benefit the  animals as well as for educational programs at the Center.

The program begins with the Keeper explaining to the children how bears search for food.  Then all the bears are removed from the enclosure and put back in their dens. The children are then given frozen food and taken into the bear enclosure by one of the Keepers at the Discovery Center. The Keepers assist the children in hiding the food. The food is hidden under rocks, under logs, in the water, or anyplace else in the enclosure that seems appropriate. Once all of the food is been hidden, the Keepers then remove the children from the enclosure and take them back to their parents. Once all of the children have been removed from the enclosures the bears are once again returned to the enclosure to hunt for the food that the kids have hidden.

If you are interested in your children participating in this program, you need to check with the office at the Discovery Center to obtain the different times of day that the program goes on. Be sure to register your children at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time of the program.