AN AMAZING LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Safety of course is our priority, and we’ve put lots of measures in place to ensure there’s social distancing around the zoo, but that doesn’t mean that a school visit can’t bring learning to life, be playful, and support everyone’s wellbeing.

Whether it’s watching the elephants playing in the water, hearing the lion ROAR, or finding out which animal is the smelliest (tapirs are pretty stinky!)…nothing brings learning about animals to life as much as seeing them here at Chester Zoo.

Students will learn lots by watching animals and reading some of the signs around the zoo. There’s so much to learn about! Here are our top tips for turning a school visit to the zoo into a learning adventure. 

There are some fascinating creatures that are active at night. Enter the world of nocturnal animals to discover how they find their way around their environment, hunt and evade predators. 

For all animals, there are three common necessities of life: finding food, finding a mate and avoiding being eaten. But some face the extra challenge of having to do all of that in the dark! 

As humans we rely heavily upon our sense of sight, so we are going to explore the ways other animals have become adapted to life where there is a lot less light!  Follow our step by step guide to investigate the world of nocturnal animals and find out how these amazing creatures use their super senses to navigate life in the dark.

Safety of course has to come first and we’ve put lots in place to ensure social distancing around the zoo, but that doesn’t mean that a family visit can’t also be playful, help children learn and support everyone’s wellbeing.

In fact, we believe these things are more important now than ever, so we’ve put together some top tips and special resources to help you get the most out of a visit.

All over Indonesia the forests are falling silent because the songbirds that  once lived there are THREATENED BY EXTINCTION. We’re facing a crisis because these beautiful, remarkable and rare birds are being captured and trapped by local people to be used either in singing competitions or kept in cages as a status symbol. 

Throughout Indonesia millions of birds are kept in captivity, a tradition deeply embedded in Indonesian culture. It is believed that over 1.3 million songbirds are caught ever year! 

Understanding problems for species which are happening on the other side of the world can be a little tricky so we’ve put together this guide about the illegal bird trade. Take your learners through a journey through the bird markets of Indonesia using our resources to discover why songbirds face these threats and how you can help. 

UK wildlife is in trouble. 56% of UK species are in decline. In the UK we have lost 97% of the wildflower meadows we had in the 1930s and hedgehog numbers have fallen from 30 million in 1950 to just 1 million now. 

There are hundreds of UK species that need our help so we’ve created this guide to help learners explore native species, their threats and ways that you can help to make small changes to your garden that will help UK wildlife. 

We’ve lost nearly 1/2 of the world’s wildlife in the last 50 years due to habitat loss, pollution and poaching.  Many of the threats to wildlife are caused by humans, so it’s our responsibility to protect them in any way possible.  At Chester Zoo, we work in a number of different ways to prevent the extinction of endangered animals. 

Use our step by step guide to inspire your learners about some amazing endangered animals that we’re fighting to protect, show them ways in which the zoo is doing this and give them some actions to help in our mission of preventing extinction!

Did you know that over 50% of store cupboard products contain palm oil? The unsustainable production of palm oil is one of the BIGGEST threats facing the forests and wildlife of Borneo and Sumatra right now. That’s why, at Chester Zoo, we support the production of SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL.

We’re working together with partners in South East Asia to protect the incredible rainforests that are being threatened by deforestation for agriculture – mainly oil palm production.  By supporting sustainable palm oil plantations, who make a commitment to be deforestation free and create wildlife corridors, we can all make a huge difference to wildlife and our mission of preventing extinction!