The One and Only Ivan Google Hangout with Zoo Atlanta

What an exciting day! The Atlanta Zoo hosted a Google Hangout this afternoon with the caregiver for Ivan the Gorilla, the main character in this year's Newbery Award winning book from Katherine Applegate, The One and Only Ivan.

Mr. Clark's 5th grade class was in the library when the Google Hangout was scheduled to take place, so after some fast technology help from Mr. Clark, we were able to watch live from Atlanta. During the hangout--which included more than 70 classrooms from all across the United States--students were encouraged to ask questions via Twitter or Google. Our question is below:

And our question was selected during the live hangout! How exciting to hear your own question read and answered during the broadcast! We learned that Katherine Applegate did indeed visit Zoo Atlanta during the writing process. The weather was rainy and cold, which Ivan did not like, so Applegate did not actually "meet"Ivan, but she spoke with his handler to learn about him and his past. After Ivan's death, she even attended the memorial service for him at the zoo.

Below are some images from the hangout, as well as the archived video. Enjoy! We sure did!