Learning together at zoo

Pediatric patients of St. Mary’s Hospital for Children in Bayside and kids from nearby Elmcor youth and adult center in East Elmhurst got a chance to enjoy the animals at the Queens Zoo in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park recently - to learn about science, the environment and each other.
The final session of this year’s “It’s Easy Being Green” program on Friday, August 24 brought together about 50 “differently-abled” 6-to-17-year-olds, thanks to a grant from the Roslyn Savings Foundation, the city’s Summer Parks program, and some creative leg work by zoo staffers.
“We first worked with St. Mary’s on one of their events this spring,” said Stefanie Lindeman, a grant developer with the zoo. “When I was working on a joint effort to promote our ‘Playground for All Children’ and Elmcor’s use of the park, it was a no-brainer to bring them all together,” she said.
The “Playground for All Children” is the only “fully-accessible” play space for kids in the borough and “one of just a handful in the city,” according to Lindeman.
“It’s just great,” said Jan Mittan, vice-president of development for St. Mary’s. “We provide intensive rehabilitation and specialized care to nearly 4,000 children a day throughout our system,” she continued, adding, “It’s so wonderful that our patients can play with fully-abled kids in a relaxed and supportive setting.”
The Wildlife Theater is actually three young zoo staffers who engage the children in thought-provoking audience response to their tale of dragonflies, frogs and bluegill fish, a mean old developer and a pond, where the treasure is hidden.
“This was a pilot program,” Mittan said, as she looked over the crowd of kids paying rapt attention to the performers. “We want to expand it next year, and make this opportunity available to our home-care as well as our inpatient children.”