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Zoo and Aquarium Educational Resources
Updated: 25/05/2020
Many parents have suddenly found themselves at home with children to entertain and keep busy. Luckily, a number of WAZA members have online educational resources which are free to use and are aimed at a variety of ages.
South African Association for Marine Biological Research, South Africa
The South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR) has just launched a new page called Ocean Activities at Home. The webpage has a fantastic selection of fun and educational marine books and activities for kids to help them learn more about South African marine life. The page also contains links to other useful educational resources from around the internet.
Twycross Zoo, UK
With schools around the UK closed, the award-winning Education Team at Twycross Zoo have put together a wide range of free resources for students of all abilities to download from home. The lesson plans are directly linked to the UK’s national curriculum and are designed to best engage all age groups.
Oregon Zoo, USA
Would you like to learn more about animals. The education team at Oregon Zoo has put together profiles of nearly every animal at the Oregon zoo, from Asian elephants to millipedes. Animal pages include facts about animal behaviour, life history and conservation.There are also compelling videos about animals, conservation activities and happenings at the Oregon Zoo as well as animal-based learning activities.
Two Oceans Aquarium, South Africa
Learn about the ocean’s wonders with Two Oceans Aquarium’s educational resources. The aquarium’s resource page is crammed with blogs that delve deep into fascinating subjects. There is bound to be something that you will find fascinating, intriguing, and in some cases hilariously funny. Stuck for information about sharks? They’ve got it. Want to learn about the penguins of the world? You’ll find it there. Uncertain about the actual facts around plastic in the ocean? They have all the info.
Budapest Zoo, Hungary
Budapest Zoo educators have created fun learning packs for teachers and parents to engage children with learning at home. The zoo’s goal is primarily to assist teachers using examples from the zoo and recalling popular zoo study programmes. The digital packs cover a variety of topics from animal rescues, pets, eco-conscious practices to birds, trees, water and more. New study themes will be shared on Budapest Zoo’s website every Friday.
Marwell Zoo, UK
Marwell Zoo’s Education Team has put together a wide range of free resources for students of all abilities, covering Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) to Post 16. All of the zoo’s printable support materials are linked to the UK’s national curriculum and are specifically designed for a variety of ages. The resources include colouring books, activity packs, quizzes, worksheets, games and teaching packs.
Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), UK
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s (RZSS) Beyond the Panda Education Outreach Programme provides free resources which have been designed and developed to enable learners and learning providers to investigate, study and explore a variety of topics within the overall context of giant pandas and China. The resources include a range of interdisciplinary learning activities aimed at providing relevant, challenging and enjoyable learning experiences for children and young people from early years onwards.
Toronto Zoo, Canada
The Toronto Zoo is bringing the zoo to you, with daily educational livestreams on Facebook. The zoo takes you behind the scenes with fascinating keeper talks and introduces you to some of the animals at the zoo. Toronto Zoo also offers free parent resources that include fun lesson plans, activities, and worksheets to further your child’s understanding and connection to the animal kingdom.
Dublin Zoo, Ireland
Dublin Zoo has begun a #dublinzoofun activity series in which they will release a new activity workbook themed around one of the animals at Dublin Zoo each weekday. These activity workbooks can be downloaded from the below list, printed and easily completed using the facts and information which can be found on the www.dublinzoo.ie website and their social media pages.
Zooparc de Beauval, France
Zooparc de Beauval has a variety of educational resources in French which will allow youngsters to approach or deepen their understanding of the animal kingdom and species conservation. The materials are linked to France’s national education curriculum and allows for a fun approach to the topics discussed in class.
Chester Zoo, UK
Chester Zoo has over 50 fun and educational things to do with the kids, such as learn new songs, write stories, conduct science experiments, follow recipes, games and make wildlife friendly habitats.
Perth Zoo, Australia
The Perth Zoo has a mountain of free information to create an engaging and inspiring set of learning activities, including a fauna-friendly garden guide to help you introduce native fauna into your garden, or species colouring-in and activity sheets.
Phoenix Zoo, USA
Phoenix Zoo, offers a Digital Safari with ed-zoo-cational activities, which include quizzes, craft activities and animal-themed exercises
Wildlife Reserves Singapore, Singapore
Wildlife Reserves Singapore has a range of educational worksheets which can be used in conjunction with zoo and aquarium webcam streams. There are also some fun games and nature activity ideas.
Ocean Park, Hong Kong
Ocean Park offers a series of educational, fun learning activities and reading books in both English and Chinese. To support local education outside the Park, and train the next generation of conservation advocates, Ocean Park has partnered with Ocean Park Conservation Foundation (OPCFHK) and Modern Education Research Society to publish the “Whiskers & Friends” Kindergarten Education Kit about nature conservation.
San Diego Zoo Global, USA
San Diego Global has recently launched #WereHereTogether, so parents, educators and fans from around the world can stay connected to their favorite animals and species through a wealth of free online content, entertainment and educational tools provided by San Diego Zoo Global. #WereHereTogether provides a wealth of supplemental curriculum on wildlife, plants and animals, and habitats, with engaging content for students K–12, animal care professionals, educators, parents and fans alike.
The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) is the global alliance of regional associations, national federations, zoos and aquariums, dedicated to the care and conservation of animals and their habitats around the world.
WAZA is a member of the following organisations:
