Primary schools programme

All activities are for single classes only. Sessions are booked to begin at 10.30, 11.15, 12.00 and 1.00.

For Foundation stage

Elephant story
Learn about one of the Zoo’s most popular families, the elephants, through the story of the newest arrival. Using photographs and related objects this session invites the children to compare the baby elephant with themselves.
To complement the session an escorted visit to the elephant house can be arranged for your class: please enquire at time of booking.

Touch and talk
Small groups are offered an opportunity to touch and talk about skins, bones and stuffed animals. A general “hands on” session featuring animals that can also be seen in the Zoo or one that reflects current study at school can be arranged: please discuss this at the time of booking.

For Key Stage 1

Hairy and Scaly
Explore different body coverings in this hands-on session in which small groups are invited to consider the qualities of mammals’ hair and reptiles’ scales.

Hair Detectives
Who will complete the challenge and name the animals that provided the clues? Children will be asked to explore a number of different hair samples and identify the animals to which they belong.

What is Alive?
What is the difference between a cuddly toy and a live animal? Using an example of each, along with biofacts and images, this session leads the children to identify the processes that mean an animal is alive.

Touch and talk
Would you like the children to spend some time touching and looking more closely at animal-related objects? A general “hands on” session or one that reflects current study at school can be arranged: please discuss this at the time of booking.

For Key Stage 2

Teeth and Diets: an introduction
Using close observation of a variety of skulls, this session introduces children to the different functions of teeth and how an animal’s teeth indicate the sort of diet it consumes.

Teeth and Diets: investigate!
Building on completed study of teeth at school, this session is an opportunity for children to apply their learning through investigation. Who will meet the challenge and allocate all the examples to the right feeding groups?

Habitats and Adaptations: an introduction
There are animals in environments that seem barren or uninviting to us: how do they survive where we could not? For those who are new to the subject, this session asks children to consider the preparations that we would have to make for a trip to such places as well as the adaptations shown by other animals. It includes a hands-on activity in which the children study skulls, skins and other biofacts to collect information for further study at school.

Habitats and Adaptations: investigate!
For classes that have completed a study of habitats and adaptations at school, the hands-on/observation activity part of this session can be booked separately.

Investigate Vertebrates
This session introduces the concept of classification before the children explore a variety of skins, bones and other biofacts in small groups. They will be asked to draw conclusions from what they see, touch and read in order to establish the characteristics of the five vertebrate classes.

Touch and talk
Do you have a particular theme in school at the time of your visit? Would you like the children to spend some time touching and looking more closely at biofacts like skulls and skins? A general “hands on” session or one that reflects current study at school can be arranged: please discuss this at the time of booking.