Learning Sessions

The Welsh Mountain Zoo Education Programme has been revised and updated for this years sessions. It aims to accommodate all ages and abilities from nursery to KS4 and college students to OAP's.

A visit to the Welsh Mountain Zoo is not complete without the chance to look closely at a giant cockroach or touch a snake.

We offer any group visiting the Zoo the chance to get close to some of our animals, in carefully supervised learning sessions. The learning sessions have been devised by educators to cover the Life and Living Processes attainment target of the National Curriculum.

Learning sessions are free and cover a range of subjects all designed around the National Curriculum. The sessions are available for any age group and level and can be catered to particular subjects.

Nursery Groups

• Animal Story Time: Followed by an animal encounter. Topics include bears, snakes, penguins etc.
• Fur, Feather and Scales: A chance to have an encounter with some of the specimens and animals in the Education Centre.
• Looking after Animals: Learn about caring for animals and an opportunity to meet some of the animals in the Education Centre.

Key Stage 1

• General Hands On (classification)- An introduction to basic classification and a chance to meet some of the animals in the Education Centre and find out which groups they belong to.
• Looking after Animals: A chance to meet some of the animals in the Education Centre and find out what they need to keep them healthy and how Zoos care for animals. Covers feeding and exercise.
• Differences between Humans and Other Animals: A chance to meet some of the animals and to investigate the external similarities and differences between humans and animals. Emphasis can be given to specific topics e.g. movement, nutrition, growth and reproduction.
• Special Topic Sessions: Taylor made sessions to cover specific topics such as nocturnal animals or minibeasts.
• Literacy/ Numeracy Workshops: Opportunities to meet some of the animals in the Education Centre and see how they can be used to develop language and number skills.

Key Stage 2

• Classification: Covers vertibrates and invertebrates with a chance to meet some of the animals in the Education Centre and find out to which animal group they belong.
• Habitats and Adaptations: Find out about different types of habitats in the world and where the animals in the Zoo come from and a chance to meet some live animals.
• Looking after Animals: Find out what animals need to keep them healthy and happy. A chance to meet some of the animals in the Education Centre and find out how Zoos care for animals. Includes animal welfare, accommodation, diets and exercise.
• Life Processes: A chance to explore life processes in a number of different animals. Includes animal senses, movement, feeding, excretion, respiration, growth and reproduction.
• Attack and Defence: (Living things in their environment). A session covering food chains. Achance to investigate the ways in which some animals find food and avoid becoming food for others.
• Literacy / Numeracy Workshops: Opportunities to meet some of the animals in the Education Centre and see how they can inspire descriptive writing and poetry. Or an opportunity to investigate the importance of and use of numbers in zoos, such as weight, height, population size etc.
• Special Topic Sessions: Taylor made sessions to cover specific topics e.g. nocturnal animals, minibeasts, reptiles, rainforests etc.

Key Stage 3 or 4

• General Hands On (classification):A chance to meet some of the animals in the Education Centre and explore their differences.
• General Hands On (habitats):A chance to meet some of the animals and find out how they have adapted to their specific environment.
• Feeding Relationships: A chance to see how the different animals in the Education Centre fit into the food chain. A brief look at how chemicals affect our wildlife.
• Competition/Predation: A look at some ecological factors affecting the habitats in which animals live.
• Biodiversity and Sustainability
• Why Zoos?:The role of zoos in conservation. How zoos help save endangered species (useful as part of a conservation project)
• Introduction to Animal Behaviour: Why animals behave in certain ways and a chance to do some observations on animal behaviour. Also covers animal welfare and behaviour enrichment in zoos.
• Responsibility and Respect (Citizenship):A chance to explore and analyse attitudes towards animals and some legislation covering responsibilities towards animals.
• EnterpriseEducation: The Zoo offers excellent opportunities to undertake project work covering many different subjects such as Business, Marketing, Foreign Languages and Retail. Please contact the Education Officer to discuss this.
• Applied Science: Please inquire about opportunities to visit the Zoo as part of course requirements.