Would you like more information about the lions, the alligators or another one of our residents? Docents will be on hand in front of select exhibits throughout the zoo every Tuesday, September through May. Join us during these displayed times to speak with our knowledgeable staff about our animal ambassadors.

April 23, 2024-Flamingoes

April 30,2024-Alligator

May 7 ,2024-Barred Owl

May 14, 2024-Lions

May 21, 2024-Giraffes

May 28, 2024-Orangutans

Congratulation to the class of 2024 on your graduation from Converse University!

The 2024 Converse Commencement ceremony will be held on May 18, 2024 at 9:30 AM in Twichell Auditorium on the Campus of Converse University.

This is the ticketing site for qualified graduates for undergraduate degrees only.  (The Graduate degree Ceremony at 2 PM does not require ticketing.)  You will be asked to enter your student ID # after ordering your free tickets (up to 6) for admission to Twichell Auditorium for your family and friends.  Tickets must be sent to your email or as a text message to your phone.  There is no Will Call for these tickets.

Tickets may be ordered from May 14, 2024 at 11AM until Friday May 17, 2024 at 12 PM.

Please ask your family and friends to be in the auditorium and seated by 9:15 AM.  The graduates procession starts at 9:30 am, and no one will be admitted until the procession ends and all faculty and graduates are seated.

Classes are designed to inspire the next generation of zookeepers! Students ages 8 – 11 will experience what it is like to work at the zoo through games, activities, experiments, chats with zookeepers, and up-close animal encounters. Program length is 2 hours from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm.

Prices:

Member Price: $20 per class

Non-member Price: $30 per class 

Know Before You Go!

• Please send students to class with a water bottle and a snack that does not contain nut products.
• Please dress students in weather appropriate attire with close-toed shoes.
• Classes will only be cancelled if the zoo is required to close to the public.

Let’s discover the world of Ologies! This month we will investigate insects and learn what makes these animals so incredible.

Would you like more information about the lions, the alligators or another one of our residents? Docents will be on hand in front of select exhibits throughout the zoo every Tuesday, September through May. Join us during these displayed times to speak with our knowledgeable staff about our animal ambassadors.

April 23, 2024-Flamingoes

April 30,2024-Alligator

May 7 ,2024-Barred Owl

May 14, 2024-Lions

May 21, 2024-Giraffes

May 28, 2024-Orangutans

Part of the event series: Chautauqua Talk Series

This event is a discussion, not an in-character performance. Hughes Main Library or Join Us Online. FREE.

Want to get to know other parents who homeschool? Have questions about teaching? Join us at the community center for Getting Started With Confidence.

Greg Lobas will lead a virtual writer’s workshop titled: “Writing Your Life into Poetry.”

“Write what you know” is one of the first and best maxims for the aspiring writer. But what if “what you know” is ordinary, even mundane? This workshop will look at ways to mine the gold that is in everyone’s life and turn it into poetry. It may take some digging. It may take a little change in perspective. But it is there, and it is material only you can use. We will focus on the narrative poem as a means of story-telling but will consider the lyric poem as well.

This workshop is open to writers of all skill levels and is a fun way to find inspiration from a new prompt or revise current work. It is hosted by the Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara and will Zoom for the virtual connection. Sign up to attend the workshop at workshop here:

Greg Lobas has been published extensively as both an outdoor writer and a poet. His debut book, Left of Center, won the 2022 Dogfish Head Poetry Prize, and placed second in the Delaware State Press Association awards. The book deals with his real life experiences as a fire captain and paramedic. His poems have been published in many journals. He is an experienced poetry workshop facilitator at Isothermal Community College.
Greg lives with his wife Meg and his dog Sophie in Polk County North Carolina.