Here’s what a WILD school trip to Chester Zoo has to offer your students…
30 Second BriefingChester Zoo is a conservation charity that welcomes over 130,000 young people on educational visits each year.
The zoo is passionate about conservation education and wants to inspire as many educators and learners as possible about the importance of valuing our planet, understanding the impact our actions have on protecting nature, and creating a future where nature can survive and thrive.
1. Animals
Aiming to inspire a connection with nature and wildlife and empower the next generation of conservationists, a visit to Chester Zoo is like no other school trip.
Surrounded by 37,000 animals, your students will be immersed in nature, including some of the world’s most threatened species, such as Snow leopards, Sumatran orangutans, Asian songbirds, and the Eastern black rhino.
2. Workshops
Take advantage of the zoo’s curriculum-linked workshops, which span Key Stage 1–5 and cover a broad range of subjects, including science, geography and business studies.
Workshops take place in the NEW Conservation Education Hub, the immersive projection space Sumba House Digital Theatre, and out and about around the site as educational tours.
With something to suit all groups, the education bookings team are always on hand to help advise which sessions are most appropriate for your students.
3. Resources
To really make the most of your trip, you can take advantage of Chester Zoo’s extensive platform of free learning resources, which are available before, during, and after your visit.
Resources include videos, infographics, fact files, images and games, and you can search by age, subject, resource type and topic.
There are also activities your group can take part in at the zoo, back at school, and even at home.
“With something to suit all groups, the education bookings team are always on hand to help advise which sessions are most appropriate for your students. ”
4. CPD
Learning at Chester Zoo doesn’t just involve students. The zoo is committed to supporting teachers to empower the young people they work with to live more sustainably with a programme of CPD workshops.
These CPD sessions cover everything from top tips on how to make the most of a zoo visit to how to embed messages around climate and sustainability across the curriculum.
5. Projects
Chester Zoo’s outreach projects are the perfect way to get a whole school involved in a conservation initiative and really make the most of a trip to the zoo.
Through a series of workshops in schools and a zoo visit, you can introduce your learners to one of the zoo’s key conservation campaigns.
Class workshops and staff training sessions, supported by curriculum toolkits, will help your school embark on its own conservation curriculum journey.
Visit chesterzoo.org/schools or email learning@chesterzoo.org to find out more about how Chester Zoo can work with you.
- > Chester Zoo is home to over 37,000 animals, including some of the world’s most threatened species. It is striving to protect wildlife for generations to come
- > In 2024, Chester Zoo was rated the best in the UK by TripAdvisor
- > Chester Zoo has recently welcomed a pair of snow leopards to their new Himalayan-inspired habitat, and the birth of a rare baby Rothschild’s giraffe
- > A new state-of-the-art Conservation Hub was opened on-site in 2023. Fully equipped for learning, it’s fitted with large classrooms, a recording studio, and a spacious outdoor area
