The pupils experienced, hands-on and up close, a range of species from red pandas, to Komodo dragons, elephants, baboons and rhinoceros. There were train rides, underwater tunnels with seals swimming over us and a picnic in the sunshine.

In the education workshop pupils discovered that in the past when zoos were menageries, like the Tower of London the cost to enter was three ha’pennies or if you couldn’t afford that you could trade a stray kitten for entry to the zoo. These stray animals would then be fed to the lions as your fee! The children were able to see animals for themselves and consider whether zoos were good or bad. They learnt about different sides of the argument and facts to support why zoos were a good thing based on Colchester‘s conservation program. You may not know that they own a giant nature reserve for land conservation in South Africa called UmPhafa.

A fantastic experience for all our Year 4s and parent volunteers.