Zoo School Rules!
28 January 2014
by Visit Blackpool
A new two-day educational course for 12-14 year olds who are a working towards a career with animals has been devised and launched by Blackpool Zoo.
Designed to reinforce and complement current Science GCSE coursework with hands on experience Zoo School will help students make informed choices on the next steps to their dream job.
The two-day course, which takes place during selected school holidays offers exciting activities such as behind the scenes access and close encounters with some of the zoo’s best-loved characters.
Day one includes making lots of feathery friends by learning to look after bird species including owls, ducks and parrots as well as snake handling and lessons in lizard care. The day concludes with a trip to the Active Oceans Arena to meet and feed the penguins.
Day two is jam packed with meeting the many mammals that reside at Blackpool Zoo and students will get to tickle a tapir, learn about and see red river hogs and prepare delicious fruit kebabs for primates. The final treat of the course is an exclusive audience with the lively lemurs in Lemur Wood.
Natalie Garratt, Head of Education at Blackpool Zoo, said: “This course is the latest educational programme to be introduced after huge demand for our Keeper Kids and Zoo Keeper Academy courses.
“By the age of 12 young people are forming a real understanding of their future career path, and if that involves working with animals Zoo School is a great place to start.
“We put these courses together to ensure that students get a real understanding of caring for animals, which involves a lot more work than people think, so it really is a taste of the real world of work with a whole host of species.”
Zoo School will run on Thursday and Friday 20th and 21st February, Thursday and Friday the 29th and 30th May and on Saturday and Sunday 16th and 17th August.
The cost is £185 per child and includes a Zoo School T-shirt, an academic folder and a disc of all the images taken throughout the course.
Other benefits include one free adult admission each day, a free two day car parking pass as well as 10 per cent discount in the shop and a 20 per cent discount in the restaurant and coffee shop.