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The Gower School pupils meet a porcupine |
Junior zookeepers visit their home for animals
SCHOOLchildren got a preview of an extraordinary animal habitat they designed themselves on Monday.
The youngsters, from Gower School in Cynthia Street, were the first to cross a bridge between pandas and coatis into the interactive Animal Adventure at London Zoo.
Pupils aged four to nine got to climb through the bespoke viewing tunnels they helped to create and meet the animals ahead of the official opening today (Friday).
They popped out of the tunnels into glass domes in the aardvark and meerkat enclosures and then headed through water fountains to a teepee where they had a storytelling session.
Annabel Dixon, a key stage 2 teacher at the Barnsbury school, said: “It was a fantastic day, everything was child height with big glass windows so they could get really close to the animals. The fact that they had helped design it made it really exciting for them. We could easily have spent longer there and we’ll definitely be back soon.”
Zookeeper Mark Habben said: “The kids’ experiences help us see the new exhibit through children’s eyes.
“We want children to experience all aspects of the animal kingdom, from petting to poo.”
Brainstorming sessions were held with primary schools last summer to plan the layout of the exhibit, which includes a treetop play area and a root zone, connected by multicoloured paths.
Pupils told zoo bosses that their top priority was to get close to the animals.
In the “touch zone” they were able to pet and feed kune kune pigs, sheep, goats and the yellow mongoose.
Three weeks ago, the primary school group cemented their takeover by becoming zookeepers for the day.
They cleaned the penguin pool, fed the lemurs, prepared pigs’ dinners, and swept the giraffe paddock.
Animal Adventure is London Zoo’s flagship exhibit for 2009, providing children with the chance to immerse themselves in the sights, sounds, smells and experiences of life in the animal kingdom. |
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