Teacher’s Guide - Visiting the Zoo
The Ultimate Teacher’s Guide to a Perfect Zoo Visit
A successful zoo trip requires preparation, clear communication, and follow-through. You can use these steps to turn an outing into an enriching educational experience.
A zoo trip is a unique opportunity to connect classroom learning with real-world observation. The success of the visit depends on clear planning, safe execution, and thoughtful follow-up. This guide offers a practical, comprehensive structure explicitly designed for UK teachers, including risk-assessment support and curriculum integration.
Before beginning, note that this website provides an online, auto-fillable risk-assessment form that can be printed for school records, along with a curated list of risk-assessment links for the top thirty zoos in the UK.
Older students (14+) may also benefit from a free pre-visit reading resource, written in the voice of Jamie Strauss from the YA novel Good Zoo, Bad Zoo, Dead Dad, which includes discussion prompts ideal for PSHE, English, Geography, or Science.
Read the first Chapter of the Free Book For Students
Links to both the free book and information about the novel are included on this site.
Pre-Visit Planning
A successful zoo visit begins with clear preparation. This involves understanding the zoo’s layout, matching exhibits to learning objectives, and making full use of the zoo's educational materials. Most UK zoos, especially those affiliated with BIAZA, publish teacher guides that include worksheets, curriculum-linked tasks, fact sheets, and pre-designed student activities. Reviewing these early allows you to position the trip as part of a sequence of lessons rather than a stand-alone event.
It is also useful to look beyond the zoo map and identify where your key teaching points naturally fit. Teachers planning units on biomes can map out routes that move logically from rainforest to desert to tundra environments, while those teaching adaptations can prepare lists of exemplar species — camels, giraffes, sloths, big cats — and plan to pause long enough at each to allow meaningful observation. Keeper talks, feeding sessions, and educational presentations should be built into the timetable wherever possible, as they often serve as structured, high-quality learning moments that anchor the day.
Practical logistics must be finalised early. Teachers should confirm the arrival point for coaches, identify indoor lunch spaces in case of rain, note the location of toilets and first-aid posts, and assess whether the terrain is step-free enough for students who require mobility support. It is also helpful to identify places where the group can pause if a student becomes overwhelmed, especially in busy walkthrough areas or hot indoor houses. Communicating all costs, timings, and expectations to families well in advance helps reduce confusion and ensures consent and medical information are returned promptly.
Risk Assessment, Safety, and Communication
Every school trip requires a legally sound risk assessment. The zoo’s own risk-assessment documents should be your starting point, as they outline known environmental hazards such as uneven paths, proximity to water, hand-feeding zones, and areas where crowds naturally gather. However, the zoo’s documents are not a substitute for your own assessment. You must complete a school-specific risk assessment that accounts for your group's needs, including allergies, mobility concerns, behavioural needs, medical conditions, and supervision ratios. Our online risk-assessment tool simplifies this process by guiding you through typical hazards and helping you record the control measures you will use.
Your supervision plan should be agreed upon before travel. Younger pupils may require ratios such as 1:4 or 1:6, while older students may be managed at 1:10 or 1:15, depending on the school’s policy. Each adult helper should receive a simple “chaperone pack” that includes the day’s schedule, a map with circled meeting points, notes on individual student needs, and a clear description of their responsibilities. Emergency procedures must be rehearsed, including what to do if a student becomes separated from the group. Many schools adopt a simple protocol: report immediately to the nearest zoo staff member, gather at the pre-arranged meeting point, and follow the zoo’s communication system.
Students also need a concise briefing. Framing the trip as a scientific mission usually improves behaviour; students understand why they must keep their voices low inside houses, avoid tapping on glass, and move calmly through crowded spaces. Explicitly explaining the purpose of observation tasks helps them focus and gives them a sense of purpose throughout the day.
On-line Risk Assessment Designer - Risk Assessment Links
On-Site Execution
The trip itself should balance structure with curiosity. Many teachers distribute a “challenge pack” at the start of the day, containing a small number of tasks designed to keep students thinking. A student exploring adaptations might be asked to spend three minutes observing a single animal and noting how its body or behaviour helps it survive, while another might be directed to identify an animal in a conservation breeding programme and record one threat faced by that species in the wild. Ethogram tasks — short behavioural tallies carried out at thirty-second intervals — help students practise scientific methods and provide data you can use in post-visit lessons.
Keeper talks should be treated as live, interactive lessons. Encourage students to prepare questions in advance, listen for key facts, and record anything that surprises them. These structured stops give the group natural moments to regroup and refocus. At other times, flexibility is useful: if students are deeply engaged by an unexpected moment — a feeding session, a troop of primates interacting, or a dramatic display by a large carnivore — it is usually worth allowing them a few extra minutes. These spontaneous experiences often form the memories students retain long after the visit.
Movement through the zoo should feel steady and calm. Positioning one adult at the front and one at the back of the group helps prevent scattering, and choosing predictable pause points makes transitions smoother. Teachers should remain mindful of sensory needs; some students may require brief retreats from noise or heat, especially in tropical houses or inside reptile halls.
Post-Visit Learning
The most effective zoo visits continue in the classroom. Begin with a debrief the following day, inviting students to share observations, questions, and moments that surprised them. From here, you can guide them into more structured reflection. Students might write short reports linking observed behaviours to vocabulary from the science curriculum, produce persuasive writing about conservation issues, create posters, film short informational videos, or graph their ethogram data to identify patterns.
Teachers can also link the visit back to geography, PSHE, or English. Discussions on the ethics of captivity, the role of zoos in conservation, and the impact of human activity on species survival encourage students to think critically about the role zoos play in society. For older students, the free companion guide written by Jamie Strauss provides a ready-made framework for deeper ethical debate and offers a narrative connection to the themes explored in Good Zoo, Bad Zoo, Dead Dad.
Conclusion
A well-organised zoo visit can be a highlight of the academic year, offering students a chance to apply scientific thinking, practise observation skills, and encounter the natural world in a vivid, memorable way. With thoughtful planning, clear communication, and intentional follow-up, your trip will be safe, purposeful, and genuinely enriching.
Free Book For Teachers - What Does a Zoo Mean To You?
We're delighted to offer "Good Zoo, Bad Zoo: The Truth Behind the Bars" as a free resource designed to transform a familiar school trip topic into a powerful ethical debate.
This companion guide, written in a clear, accessible voice for students aged 12–16, addresses the central paradox of modern zoos: the tension between conservation claims and the reality of captivity.
Enhance Your Zoo Trip - Help Your Students Think About Zoos
While most young people experience zoos through the lens of family fun and feel-good marketing, this book provides the essential, often-hidden context. It challenges students to move past surface-level observations—like seeing an elephant "smile" —to grapple with systemic issues such as zoochosis , surplus animal euthanasia , and the true effectiveness of breeding programs.
This resource includes structured chapters, Fast Facts, and critical discussion questions (pages 15-18) that are ready to be used in the classroom, fostering vital conversations about ethics, empathy, and what it truly means to protect wildlife.
Please send the free book to me…..click here
The First Chapter
Good Zoo, Bad Zoo: The Truth Behind the Bars
Introduction: This companion guide is designed to accompany the novel Good Zoo, Bad Zoo, Dead Dad. It offers structured, critical analysis of the modern zoo industry, providing students aged 12-16 with facts and ethical questions to challenge common perceptions of conservation, education, and animal welfare.
In a unique twist, the guide is written from the perspective of Jamie Strauss, son of the man sent in to the zoo to save it from closure and financial ruin. This character is taken from the best selling book : Good Zoo, Bad Zoo, Dead Dad.
Chapter One: The First Time I Saw an Elephant
The first time I saw an elephant, I thought it was smiling at me. I was six. I remember the sun bouncing off the railings, the smell of popcorn and hot dogs, and Mum warning me not to lean too far over the fence. The elephant stood under a fake tree, slowly swaying from side to side, its trunk tracing shapes in the air. I waved. It swayed back. I thought we understood each other. Later, Dad told me elephants do not smile. They just have faces that look like they might.
He worked at the zoo back then in Animal Care. It was his whole life: the animals, the routines, the quiet pride of doing something that mattered. When he talked about them, his voice changed. He said things like “these creatures trust us” and “every animal has a story”. I believed him. I believed in zoos. It is strange how long a belief like that lasts, even when the truth starts to chip away at it. Because years later, in the same zoo, that same elephant trampled my Dad to death. They called it an accident. I do not think it was.
When you grow up inside a zoo, and I did in a way , you learn there are two versions of every story. There is the one told through signs: Conservation. Education. Animal Welfare. And then there is the one whispered behind staff doors, written in feeding logs and hidden reports. Visitors see animals. Keepers see systems. The first system I ever noticed was how the day ran like clockwork. Feeding, cleaning, training, repeat. The animals had routines, but they did not get to make them. It was comforting at first, seeing order instead of chaos. But then I wondered what order feels like when you never get to choose it.
I am not saying all zoos are bad. That is not the point of this book. Zoos are complicated, a mix of care and captivity, kindness and control. They save animals sometimes. They also break them. And if we really love animals, we have to ask hard questions about the things we build to “protect” them. Like: Why do elephants sway when they are supposed to be calm? Why do some lions stop roaring? Why do keepers have to hide what happens behind the scenes? This book is not about guilt. It is about curiosity, the same curiosity that first made me love the zoo.
When I think back to that first elephant, I still see its eyes. They were not blank. They were not happy either. They were waiting. Waiting for something to change. Maybe that is what this book is for: to make sure it does not have to wait forever.
Fast Facts
A wild elephant can walk up to 30 miles a day.
The average zoo enclosure gives it space to walk less than a quarter of a mile.
Think About
If an animal has everything it needs to live—food, water, shelter—but not what it needs to be itself, is it still safe?
Glossary
Captivity: When an animal is kept by humans and cannot choose where to go.
Chapter Two: From Kings to Conservation
When I was a kid, I thought zoos had always existed like shops or schools. But zoos have not always been about caring for animals. In the beginning, they were about power. The first “zoos” were menageries, private collections kept by kings and queens. They wanted rare creatures to show off their wealth. Lions, tigers
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The Essential Mobile Phone Policy for Your School Zoo Trip
A field trip to the zoo is a fantastic opportunity for experiential learning, but the prevalence of student mobile phones can present a significant challenge. Unlike a standard school day, you're navigating a public space with unique animal welfare and safeguarding considerations.
A common question we hear at GoodZooBadZoo.com is: "What is the zoo's mobile phone policy for schools?"
The answer might surprise you.
The Reality: There Usually Isn't a Specific Zoo Policy
Officially, most UK zoos do not have a dedicated "mobile phone policy" for school visits. You will rarely find one available for download on their websites.
So, who is responsible? You are.
Practically, zoos expect visiting schools to enforce their own safeguarding and behaviour rules. However, zoo policies in other areas indirectly govern phone use. Understanding these will help you build a robust policy for your trip.
What Zoos Do Provide That Covers Phone Use:
Photography and Filming Policies: These universally state:
No flash photography (which applies to phones).
No filming or photographing other guests without consent.
No photos of staff without permission.
Restrictions on filming in certain behind-the-scenes areas.
Safeguarding & Visitor Conduct Rules: Many zoos specify:
No climbing on barriers to "get the shot."
No holding cameras or phones over railings.
No banging phones on enclosure glass.
No feeding animals while filming.
Animal Welfare Restrictions: Specific exhibits, especially for primates, nocturnal animals, and large cats, may have:
"Phones away" or "silence" signs.
"No bright screens" requests to prevent animal stress.
The School's Responsibility: A Clear and Enforceable Policy
Since the zoo will rely on you to manage this, your school needs a clear, communicated, and enforced policy. This should align with standard UK safeguarding expectations:
Phones should remain in bags or pockets unless authorised for a learning task.
Students must not photograph other children without permission.
No posting on social media during the trip.
No photographing zoo staff, keepers, or members of the public.
Your Ready-to-Use Policy Framework
To save you time, we've developed these ready-to-use resources. Simply copy, adapt for your school, and distribute.
1. For Parents: Model Mobile-Phone Policy
(To be included in your pre-trip parent communication/consent form)
Mobile Phone & Photography Policy for Our Zoo Visit
To ensure the safety, wellbeing, and privacy of all students during our zoo trip, our school will be following a clear mobile phone and photography policy.
Students must keep phones in their bags or pockets unless a teacher specifically authorises their use for a supervised learning activity.
Flash photography is not permitted anywhere in the zoo.
Students must not take photographs or videos of other visitors, zoo staff, or members of the public.
Mobile phones must not be used inside walkthrough enclosures, nocturnal houses, or in any area where the zoo requests that screens be put away.
Phones must never be held over barriers or used to tap on glass.
Students are not allowed to upload photos or videos to social media during the visit.
These rules are in place to support safeguarding, animal welfare, and responsible digital conduct. Thank you for your support in reinforcing these expectations with your child.
2. For Students: Student-Friendly Version
(Perfect for inclusion in student challenge packs or trip briefings)
Your Phone Rules for the Zoo: Be a Scientist, Not a Spectator!
Keep it away: Your phone stays in your pocket or bag unless a teacher says you can use it for a task.
No flash, ever: Flash photography scares the animals.
Respect barriers: Never hold your phone over a fence or rail, and don't tap it on the glass.
Be kind to animals: In some houses (like the nocturnal or primate areas), bright screens stress the animals. Follow the signs and put your phone away.
Privacy matters: Don't take photos of people you don't know.
Focus on the day: No social media posts until you get home.
Lost? Don't panic! Go straight to a zoo staff member. You can use your phone only to call your teacher, not your friends or parents. Stay where you are told.
3. For Chaperones: Briefing Paragraph
(Include this in your chaperone information pack)
Chaperone Guidance: Mobile Phones & Photography
Please help us maintain a calm, safe environment by ensuring students follow our phone policy. Phones should stay in pockets/bags unless a teacher has authorised use for a structured activity. Flash photography is prohibited. Students must not photograph other visitors or staff. Phones are not to be used in walkthrough enclosures, nocturnal houses, or anywhere zoo signage requests devices be put away. Never allow phones over railings or tapping on glass. Students may not post to social media during the visit.
If a student is lost: Instruct them to find a zoo staff member immediately. They may use their phone only to call a teacher. Please alert a teacher straight away if this happens.
If you notice unsafe or inappropriate phone use, intervene immediately and notify a teacher.
4. Critical Emergency Protocol: If a Student Gets Lost
This is the one exception to a "no phones" rule that must be clearly communicated.
Formal Policy (for Teachers/Parents): If a student becomes separated from the group, they may use their phone only to contact a teacher, provided it is safe. Their primary instruction is to go immediately to the nearest zoo staff member or information point. Zoo staff are trained in lost-child procedures. Students should not wander to "get a signal" or try to find the group alone. Phone use is strictly for reconnecting with a supervisor, not for messaging friends.
Student-Friendly Version: "If you get lost, don't panic. Go straight to a zoo staff member — they know exactly what to do. You can use your phone only to call your teacher. Stay where the staff member tells you, and your group will come to you."
Conclusion: Preparation is Key
A clear mobile phone policy is not about restricting students; it's about creating a safe, respectful, and educational environment for everyone—your students, the zoo's animals, and other visitors.
By adopting and communicating this framework, you can prevent problems before they arise and ensure your zoo trip is remembered for all the right reasons.
For more essential resources on planning a successful educational zoo visit, explore our full library of guides at GoodZooBadZoo.com.