Outreach Zoo Education Visit Workshop

At WILD Zoological Park, we use our outreach sessions to inspire students to explore a wide range of careers linked to biology, animals, and conservation. Through our curriculum-aligned workshops, particularly at KS3 and KS4, we introduce students to real career pathways within zoology, animal care, conservation, education, and animal training. We help students understand how the biology they learn in the classroom connects directly to real-world roles and future opportunities.

Our sessions are delivered by passionate educators who work closely with animals and conservation projects, allowing us to share first-hand experiences of working in the zoological and environmental sectors. By discussing animal adaptations, evolution, life cycles, and human impacts, we demonstrate how biological knowledge underpins careers in science, wildlife management, and conservation.

We also emphasise the importance of global conservation work, showing students how careers in biology can contribute to protecting biodiversity and supporting conservation projects worldwide. Our interactive approach encourages students to ask questions, explore their interests, and see themselves in future scientific or animal-related roles.

By bringing these experiences directly into schools, we remove barriers to access and give students meaningful insight into careers they may not otherwise encounter. Our outreach sessions aim to motivate learners, broaden career aspirations, and highlight the practical value of studying biology beyond the classroom.

At WILD Zoological Park, we place biology at the heart of our outreach sessions by delivering curriculum-linked workshops that bring real biological learning directly into the classroom. Our outreach packages are designed to support students from EYFS through to KS4, ensuring that biological concepts are taught in an age-appropriate and engaging way. We cover key areas of biology including animal classification, adaptations, habitats, life cycles, evolution, fossils, reproduction, and the impact humans have on the natural world.

We tailor each session to specific year groups so students can build their biological understanding progressively, from identifying animal groups in the early years to exploring evolution and career pathways in animal science at secondary level. Our sessions are highly interactive, encouraging students to actively engage with biology, ask questions, and develop scientific thinking skills.

Our workshops are delivered by passionate educators with strong biological knowledge, helping us present accurate science in an exciting and accessible way. Every outreach visit also supports global conservation projects, allowing us to connect classroom biology with real-world conservation efforts. By bringing the zoo directly into schools with no need for travel, we make biology meaningful, memorable, and closely linked to living animals and real ecosystems.

At WILD Zoological Park, we incorporate environmental geography into our outreach sessions by helping students understand how natural environments shape life on Earth and how humans interact with these systems. Our curriculum-linked workshops explore key geographical themes such as ecosystems, biomes, climate, habitats, and the distribution of species across the world. We use real-world examples to show how geographical factors influence animal adaptations and survival.

We teach students how physical geography, including climate, landforms, and natural resources, affects where animals live and how ecosystems function. Through interactive discussion and enquiry-based learning, we encourage students to consider the impact of human activity on environments, including habitat loss, climate change, pollution, and deforestation. This helps students develop a clear understanding of sustainability and environmental responsibility.

Our outreach sessions also highlight global conservation projects, allowing us to link environmental geography to real conservation challenges in different regions of the world. By examining case studies, students learn how geographical knowledge supports conservation planning and environmental management.

Delivered by knowledgeable educators, our workshops are adapted for different key stages, ensuring complex geographical concepts are accessible and engaging. By bringing environmental geography into the classroom, we help students connect geography with biology and conservation, making learning relevant, meaningful, and rooted in real-world environmental issues.

At WILD Zoological Park, we use the theme of explorers within our outreach sessions to engage students in learning about discovery, geography, and the natural world. A key part of this learning is role play with Explorer Ferg, who helps bring exploration to life in a fun, memorable, and interactive way. Through this character-led approach, we encourage students to step into the role of explorers themselves and actively participate in the learning process.

Using Explorer Ferg, we teach students about historical and modern explorers and how their journeys have contributed to scientific knowledge, biology, and environmental geography. Students learn why explorers travelled, what they discovered, and how their findings helped scientists understand animal habitats, ecosystems, and global biodiversity. The role play element supports imaginative learning while reinforcing key skills such as observation, mapping, and recording discoveries.

Explorer Ferg also helps us introduce the idea of modern exploration, showing students that today's explorers include conservationists, field researchers, and biologists working to protect wildlife and environments around the world. Our sessions encourage teamwork, questioning, and curiosity, while building confidence and communication skills.

Delivered by enthusiastic educators, our outreach workshops are adapted for different age groups and linked directly to the curriculum. By combining role play with Explorer Ferg and real-world learning, we make exploration engaging, meaningful, and relevant to science and geography today.

At WILD Zoological Park, we teach about dinosaurs and real fossils within our outreach sessions to help students understand prehistoric life and the development of biology over time. Through curriculum-linked workshops, we introduce students to genuine fossils, allowing them to explore real evidence of organisms that lived millions of years ago. This hands-on experience supports learning about how fossils are formed and how they are used by scientists to study extinct species.

By teaching about dinosaurs, we use them as a powerful example to explain key biological concepts such as classification, adaptations, habitats, and evolution. Students learn how scientists use fossil evidence to make informed conclusions about how dinosaurs lived, what they ate, and how they are connected to modern animals. This helps reinforce evolutionary theory and shows how life on Earth has changed over time.

At WILD Zoological Park, we teach students about animal diets and classification during our outreach sessions, helping them understand how what animals eat relates to their biology and behaviour. We explore the three main dietary groups: carnivores, which eat meat; herbivores, which eat plants; and omnivores, which eat both plants and animals. By learning to classify animals based on their diet, students begin to understand animal adaptations, habitats, and survival strategies.

Our workshops are interactive and hands-on, encouraging students to observe examples, ask questions, and think critically about why different species eat different foods. We use real-life examples from our zoo collection to show how diet affects teeth structure, digestive systems, hunting or foraging behaviour, and energy needs. Students also learn how classification helps scientists organise knowledge about species and ecosystems.

We link diet and classification to broader biological concepts, such as food chains, predator-prey relationships, and energy flow within ecosystems. By connecting classroom learning to real animals, we make the concepts memorable and relevant.

Delivered by passionate educators, our sessions are adapted for different key stages and designed to engage all learners. By teaching about animal diets and classification, we help students build a solid understanding of biology while fostering curiosity about the natural world.

At WILD Zoological Park, our outreach sessions include real animal encounters to give students a hands-on and memorable way to learn about biology, behaviour, and conservation. By meeting live animals safely in the classroom or learning space, students can observe physical features, adaptations, and behaviours up close, making the concepts they study in lessons tangible and engaging.

During these encounters, we teach about classification, diet, habitats, and predator-prey relationships, linking each animal to broader biological and ecological concepts. Students learn how adaptations help animals survive in their natural environments and why each species plays a unique role in its ecosystem.

We also use these encounters to highlight conservation, explaining how the work of zoos and field conservation projects protects animals in the wild. Students hear about real-life examples from our partner charities, such as Vulpro, The Horstmann Trust, The Macaw Recovery Network, and ABConservation, connecting classroom learning to global efforts to safeguard wildlife.

Delivered by experienced educators and keepers, our sessions are interactive, allowing students to ask questions, handle safe animals where appropriate, and develop confidence in exploring the natural world. By combining education with real-life animal experiences, we inspire curiosity, respect for wildlife, and a lifelong interest in biology and conservation.

At WILD Zoological Park, we incorporate physical geography into our outreach sessions to help students understand the natural features of the Earth and how they influence life and ecosystems. We teach about topics such as landforms, rivers, mountains, coasts, climates, weather patterns, and biomes, showing how these physical processes shape the environments in which animals live.

Through interactive lessons, students explore how geography affects species distribution, adaptations, and habitats. For example, they learn why certain animals are found in tropical rainforests, deserts, or savannahs, and how climate and terrain influence survival strategies. We also connect physical geography to real-world environmental issues, such as flooding, deforestation, soil erosion, and climate change, helping students understand the link between natural processes and human impact.

Our sessions include engaging activities that encourage observation, analysis, and discussion. Students may map ecosystems, compare different biomes, or investigate how geographic features support conservation efforts. We also highlight the work of our zoo's conservation partners, showing how knowledge of physical geography is vital for protecting habitats and planning wildlife conservation projects worldwide.

At WILD Zoological Park, we incorporate field studies into our outreach sessions by educating students about real conservation work taking place around the world through our partner charities. Rather than conducting fieldwork directly, we teach students how field studies are used by conservation organisations to monitor wildlife, protect habitats, and support endangered species.

We introduce students to our zoo's partner charities, including Vulpro, The Horstmann Trust, The Macaw Recovery Network, and ABConservation, using them as real-life case studies. Through these examples, students learn how field studies such as population surveys, habitat monitoring, tracking, and behavioural observations provide vital data for conservation decision-making. We explain how scientists and conservationists collect and use this information to protect species and ecosystems.

Our sessions link field studies to both biology and geography, helping students understand species distribution, adaptations, ecosystems, and the impact of human activity on the natural world. We also explore the challenges faced by conservation teams working in different environments, from tropical rainforests to savannahs, highlighting the importance of ethical and sustainable research.

Delivered by knowledgeable educators, our outreach workshops are interactive and age-appropriate, encouraging enquiry, critical thinking, and environmental responsibility. By learning about field studies through our partner charities, students gain a realistic understanding of conservation in action and see how scientific research directly contributes to protecting wildlife globally.