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All About Animals! 5 Fun Facts About Wildlife Warrior Robert Irwin
- EI Editor Posted On Nov 10, 2020 | Learning Through Play
Son of legendary wildlife lover Steve Irwin and sister to media darling and wildlife activist Bindi Irwin, Robert Irwin is already a star in his own right! Our friend Robert is a passionate conservationist and wildlife photographer, Robert is also a frequent TV host and guest, an acclaimed children’s author and illustrator, and an ambassador at the Australia Zoo, all at age 16!
Read on for some fun facts about the accomplished little brother the world has watched grow up!
1. Robert and his sister, Bindi, grew up at the zoo that his grandfather (and namesake!) founded and that his family still runs. The zoo is located in a remote area in Beerwah, Australia, about an hour away from Brisbane and too far to commute to school, so the brother and sister were taught by both their father, Steve and their mother Terri at the zoo!
2. He’s no stranger to television! Robert appeared on the big screen at the age of five, with a cameo in Free Willy: Escape from Pirate’s Cove. He went on to appear on Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors with his mom and sister, to co-host Discovery Kids Channel’s Wild But True at the age of 11, and to star in Animal Planet’s Crikey! It’s the Irwins, recently renewed for a third season, as well as Crikey! It’s the Irwins’ Life in Lockdown. Robert has also made more than 10 guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
3. Robert is a star BEHIND the camera! Robert is passionate about photography, winning several awards for his work which has appeared in countless magazines and wildlife publications around the world. Check out his photos on his photography website or click through some of his most amazing wildlife shots in the GeoSafari® Jr. Talking Camera, which also features fun facts and quiz questions voiced by Robert!
4. He authored – and illustrated! – a series of chapter books! Robert co-wrote a series of six chapter books called Robert Irwin: Dinosaur Hunter. In the books, written for kids ages 7-9, a fictional Robert travels through time to take prehistoric adventures with different dinosaurs. The real Robert also created each illustration in each of the books himself.
5. Robert is a Wildlife Warrior! Robert is a global ambassador with Wildlife Warriors Worldwide, an organization founded by his parents in 2002. The group is committed to protecting wildlife and wild places. Donations, including from the Australia Zoo, support the group’s conservation projects, wildlife hospital, rescue unit, research, and more. Consider donating today!
Photo credit: wildlifewarriors.org/au
Inspire New Interests with Holiday Gifts for 5- and 6-Year-Olds
Your just-starting-school aged kiddo is doing some pretty amazing growing up! Before your very eyes, your little one is probably becoming more independent; getting better at drawing and coloring; discovering new hobbies (daily?); and getting really curious about the world around them. This holiday season, surprise your 5- or 6-year-old with super fun toys and games that also help them discover new interests and build their kid-confidence. The Experts at Play are here to help with this list of our favorite holiday gifts for 5- and 6-year-olds, including:
PaperCraft Fashion Parade – Your little fashionista will LOVE this oversized paper doll set featuring 24 dolls and 160 outfits to color, mix and match and you’ll love to see them building fine motor skills and expressing their creativity and individuality! Dolls and outfits come in a travel-ready, spiral-round book for fun on the go and easily stick (and unstick) to tables, walls, doors, and floors for a real-life fashion parade.
Design & Drill Bolt Buddies Fire Truck – Great for fans of first responders! Busy builders use a real, working, kid-safe drill to build their very own firetruck, complete with a hinged ladder and fire and water toppers, at the same time building critical fine motor skills! An included Bolt Buddy firefighter, fire chief, and Dalmatian dog pal are perfect for hours of imaginative pretend play fun.
Design & Drill Adventure Circuits – Inspire an interest in engineering, engage your kiddo’s natural curiosity, and encourage problem solving with a DIY circuit set designed specifically for 5-year-olds! Kids use a real, working power drill to drill, bolt, and connect circuits and complete 20 different missions. Kids will not only be totally engaged in STEM learning, they will also feel proud of their problem-solving skills after completing the missions!
Circuit Explorer Rover – Light up the learning this holiday season with a 3-in-1 circuit building, construction play, imagination building set! Kids follow the symbols to assemble the vehicle and connect its circuits all by themselves, then blast into STEM learning and pretend play fun with a Communication Station, rotating Radar Dish, Powered Space Rover, and free-wheeling Space Rover, both with light-up headlights.
The Playfoam Game – Family game night just got squishier! Encourage those social skills, foster creativity, and build fine motor skills and hand strength with The Playfoam Game! Fun for the whole family, players take turns racing against the clock to sculpt or guess a clue using squishy, squashy, non-toxic Playfoam.
GeoSafari Jr. Kidscope – Help your curious kiddo answer some of their most pressing questions about the world around them with this kid-tough microscope featuring 15 slides with 60 amazing images, 200 fun facts, 3x magnification, extra-large eyepieces, and an easy-focus knob. This introductory microscope was designed specifically with kids in mind and is the perfect gift to support STEM learning and scientific discovery.
GeoSafari Jr. Talking Globe –Expose your tiny traveler to the wonders of the world and introduce them to exciting, new places without ever leaving home! With this talking globe, featuring the voice of Wildlife Warrior Bindi Irwin, touch the smart stylus to any spot on the globe to hear a cool fact, measure the distance between two locations, or just explore
GeoSafari Jr. Talking Wildlife Camera – Is your child an animal lover who can’t get enough of furry, scaly, and feathered creatures? Take a photo safari with Wildlife Warrior Robert Irwin! Kids can view 130 built-in high-def images and listen to more than 200 fun facts and quiz questions designed to engage curious kids in the amazing wildlife of the world.
Design & Drill Toolbox – Busy builders can experience the thrill of the drill, using a real, working, kid-safe drill and five manual tools to build patterns and pictures out of colorful bolts. They’ll also be building fine motor skills, practicing early STEM skills, and gaining an understanding of how tools work! When they’re ready for a break, all parts and pieces pack easily into the included tool kit ‘til next time.
This holiday season, help the little ones on your list develop their interests, find new passions, and ignite the spark that keeps them coming back for more!
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Fun Ways to Stay Connected to Nature – Outdoors and At Home!
The leaves are changing and crisp fall air is upon us…the perfect time to head out into nature! Not only does time spent in nature promote exercise and fresh air (duh), but it has also been shown to build confidence, promote creativity and imagination, and reduce stress and fatigue (we’re all feeling a bit of both these days, no?). Since we’re all spending more time indoors now, getting out into nature is more important than ever before. (Not to panic you, but Nature Deficit Disorder is actually a real thing.)Fall is the perfect time to get outside and explore! The weather is brisk and cool and there are so many amazing things to discover and do, both on your walk and after, like:Count the Colors!
On your walk: Colorful leaves are one of the most amazing things about fall. See if you can spot brown, yellow, orange, red, and multicolored leaves. Take a few of your favorites home with you and…At home: Try printing them in paper clay and painting them, turning them into autumn suncatchers, making crayon rubbings, and more. While your kids are creating, you can share this simple explanation for color-changing leaves (and find other awesome fall leaf activities), from the EI blog. Don’t forget the apple cider!
Photo credit: artfulparent.comEI Tip: Leaf peeping is even more fun with the GeoSafari® Jr. Kidnoculars® Extreme™! Kids can magnify what they see AND hear with this set of kid-friendly binoculars featuring 3x magnification and built-in audio amplification.
Watch for Critters!
On your walk: Stop, stand still (a challenge, we know), stay quiet, and look around. The critters you could see depend on where you’re walking, but you just might spot furry friends like rabbits, groundhogs, and chipmunks. Turn your gaze toward the ground and you see if you can spy any ants (look for the mounded dirt that marks their colonies), stinkbugs, ladybugs, or beetles. Check the trees for woodpeckers, hawks, jays, and squirrels. Watch your heads though – squirrels are scavenging for nuts in the fall!To add to the fun try a scavenger hunt that allows you and your little ones to soak up the sights, sounds and smells of fall! You'll love these free scavenger hunt printables from teachingmama.org. Get out and explore!
At home: Check your hunt list and talk about all the things you found, and what you'll be on the lookout for next time. This may help inspire more curious questions and learning fun! Here are 5 Random Fall Facts facts you can add to the mix!EI Tip: If your kids can’t get enough of the amazing, organized activity of ants, bring home the GeoSafari® Ant Factory, an escape-proof ant habitat perfect for observing ants in action. Comes complete with mail-in ant certificate.
Scope Out the Spiders!
On your walk: Get out into nature early enough on a cool, fall day, and you’ll be rewarded with a spooky spattering of silky spiderwebs! Covered in morning dew, they’re easy to spot in the trees, on the bushes, and suspended between upright objects. With more than 45,000 different species of spiders found around the world, you’re bound to see something pretty cool. (Interesting note – only about a dozen types of spiders can harm humans!) Take the time to inspect their webs and point out the different weaving patterns and…At home: Make your own spider web, using a paper plate, hole punch, kid-safe plastic needle, and yarn, following these simple instructions from JugglingWithKids.com.
Photo Credit: jugglingwithkids.comEI Tip: If you find a special spider you’d like to see a little closer, use the GeoSafari® Jr. Critter Habitat to take an up-close look! Built-in magnifiers reveal amazing details, while built-in air holes keep creepy crawlies safe until it’s time to release them back where they were caught.
No matter where you walk or what you see, a trip into nature never disappoints! If your kids can’t get enough of nature, check out the brand new GeoSafari® Jr. Talking Wildlife Camera. The camera features 130 amazing wildlife images and speaks 200 fun animal facts in the voice of Robert Irwin. Kids choose between Fact and Quiz mode to test their memories and make nature even more fun. The perfect present for your little nature lover!
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