EYFS wildlife education workshop

African Animal Storytime is a lively and interactive workshop where children are transported to the African savannah through immersive story-telling. Along their journey, students learn more about a range of the zoo's animals and their natural habitats. Adults are encouraged to join in too!  

Age: EYFS Duration: 30 minutes Capacity: 35 students Location: inside

Intended learning outcomes:

Children will be able to:

  • Identify common animals they will see at the zoo.
  • Join in with appropriate noises and movements while listening to a story

Early Years Framework Links:

Communication and Language Listen to stories, accurately anticipate key events and respond to what they hear with relevant comments, questions and actions
Understanding the World Make observations of animals and plants, and talk about changes  

Additional Teaching Resources:

Our African animals

  • African lion Khari lying in the grass at Whipsnade Zoo
    Panthera leo

    African lion

    Lions claws can be retracted in sheaths to prevent them getting blunted when walking across the savannah, which they can do almost noiselessly on soft pads.

  • Two Marabou storks 'the undertaker bird' at Whipsnade Zoo
    Leptoptilos crumenifer

    Marabou stork

    Known as the 'undertaker bird', these storks gained their unfortunate nickname because of their huge, dark, cloak-like wingspan and diet of rotten carcasses.

  • Grevy's Zebra foal with mum at Whipsnade Zoo field
    Equus grevyi

    Grevy's zebra

    Grevy's zebra are most threatened species of zebra, with only 2000 remaining in the wild.

  • Chimps eating at Whipsnade Zoo
    Pan troglodytes

    Chimps

    Chimps are more closely related to humans than gorillas, and you can watch our chimps regularly use tools at the Zoo.

  • Reticulated giraffe Khari at Whipsnade Zoo
    Giraffa reticulata

    Reticulated giraffe

    Giraffes have the same number of neck bones as people, their heart beats twice as fast as human's and they stand at 2 metres tall as new a new born giraffe.

  • Aardvark in Africa
    Orycteropus afer

    Aardvarks

    Aardvarks are nocturnal and solitary animals, and their burrows provide vital homes for many endangered species.

  • A cheetah at Whipsnade Zoo
    Acinonyx jubatus

    Cheetah

    Cheetahs can reach speeds of up to 100km per hour (70mph) and are the world's fastest land mammal.

  • African dwarf crocodile at Whipsnade Zoo
    Osteolaemus tetraspis

    African dwarf crocodile

    The world's smallest crocodile, they guard their young after they've hatched to protect them from predators.

  • Our animals