Home education days

Home education days

Our home education days are designed for children from 3 to 16 years old who are being home educated. With a different focus on each day, your ticket includes access to our curriculum linked sessions, where our experienced education team will be hosting different activity stations to cater for all age ranges as well as full access to the Zoo for the day.

Monday 24th February 2025 – Animal Behaviour Study Day

Spend the day at Whipsnade Zoo and discover how our keepers, scientists and researchers investigate and record animal behaviour.

There will be activities aimed at different age groups, where children can develop their science skills and knowledge of animal behaviour, guided by our experienced education team.

What does the day involve?

You can enter the Zoo from 10am.

For children aged 4-6, meet us at the penguin enclosure. There will be a five-minute introduction to an activity designed to develop counting and observation skills as well as recognising different types of basic animal behaviour. Families can then complete the activity at their own pace. A member of our Learning Team will be on hand to support your learning for 40 minutes following the activity introduction.

For children aged 7-10, meet us at the giraffe enclosure for a five-to–ten minute introduction to giraffe behaviour and how we use science skills to record what our giraffes do. Children will then complete their own giraffe behaviour study with further activities to continue learning at home. A member of our Learning Team will be on hand to support your learning for 40 minutes following the activity introduction.

For children aged 11-16, meet us at the elephant enclosure to discover how we monitor the behaviour of our elephant group. Children will be given a five-to –ten minute introduction to the skills and knowledge required and will be supported to complete a time budget for our elephants. We will discuss how we use behaviour studies to enhance the welfare of our animals. There will also be follow up activities for you to complete at home using the results of your behaviour study. A member of our Learning Team will be on hand to support your learning for 40 minutes following the activity introduction.

You can meet a member of our Learning Team at each animal enclosure (penguin, giraffe or elephant) at the following times for an introduction to the activities:

• 11.00
• 11.45
• 13.30
• 14.15

You do not need to register for a particular time, however please note that if one time slot is particularly busy we may ask you to come to the next time slot instead.

Our popular ‘Vets in Action’ public event will also be running on this day, so children aged 4-11 can also enjoy learning about and practicing the skills required to be a zoo vet. Please note this event does not use live animals.

What to bring with you

We recommend bringing clipboards and pencils if possible.

How to Book

If you are a ZSL member please can you register your attendance here. 

Members Register Here

If you are not a ZSL member, to book your tickets for the Home Educators Day on Monday 24th February please call our Supporter Contact team on 0344 225 1826. Regular education ticket prices apply and there is no additional charge for activities.

Additional general information

• ZSL Members, Patrons and Fellows are entitled to discounted child tickets. All members will need to show a valid membership card on the day to be allowed entrance to the Zoo. Anyone who does not hold a valid membership on the day of the event will be required to pay for a full priced admission ticket to be allowed entry to the Zoo.
• To ensure good supervision, one adult is admitted free for every 5 paying children. Any adults above this ratio are required to pay the additional adult price. Essential carers will be admitted free of charge, however the team may ask you to provide reasonable evidence such as PIP or DLA documents.
• The sessions are divided into age groups to give parents a guide to the level of language and detail we will be covering but if you feel a station in a different age bracket is more appropriate please book the one that would be more appropriate for your child. 
• Younger / older siblings are welcome to observe sessions that they are not booked in for and must have a ticket, but for the benefit of all participants we request that they do not disrupt the activities, or they may be asked to leave. 
• Parents must remain with their children at all times during sessions.  
• Booking is required for every home educators day you wish to attend and tickets must be shown to gain entry to the sessions. 
• Payment must be made at the time of booking.
• Full terms and conditions here. 
• ZSL reserves the right cancel sessions if fewer than 5 people are booked into a single session. ZSL will notify all participants with no less than 3 days’ notice. 

Do you wish to visit on a day other than one of our event days?

Members of the home educator community are also welcome to visit the zoo on other term time week days for the same price as our schools groups.  

Education visit prices 

To book your tickets please call our team on 0344 225 1826. They will be able to book you in and take payment over the phone for your tickets.  Education Terms and conditions apply for these tickets.