Zoo Club

On the day

Arriving at 9.30am your presenter for the day will meet you at the admissions kiosk and then head to the discovery room to get to know each other in the group and to meet some of the reptiles and invertebrates we have in there. Zoo club attendees will need to wear a high visibility vest that we provide to ensure we can keep them safe and see where they are at all times.

After meeting some of our reptiles your presenter will then take you on a tour of the zoo meeting and greeting some of the animals while feeding some of them on the way around.

We use the tour as a guide to see what the club members are interested in that day so we can then plan activities around their interests.

These activities can include more feeding, making enrichment for some of the animals, handling some of our friendlier animals and helping muck out and clean along with grooming and health checking. Each day will be different depending on what jobs need to be carried out and what interests the group has. 

The day ends at 4pm so please arrive just before to collect your child please.

Pricing

Pricing is £40 per child per day booked.

Lunchtime

Lunchtime - please bring your own food and drink to last the day please. The zoo kiosk will be open if anyone wants to purchase any drinks, packaged snacks and ice-cream. 

What to bring along and wear

Feel free to bring a camera or tablet to take pictures. Sunscreen and a sun hat are advisable if it’s going to be hot as well as wet weather clothing if it’s not looking too great that day. Footwear needs to be suitable to get a little mucky and wet as some of the jobs that the Zoo Club will carry out will include working in the enclosures.

Supervision

The Zoo Club will be supervised at all times during the day by one of our presenter/keeper team which are all DBS checked.

Behaviour

Before you visit Northumberland College Zoo, please make your child is aware of the following:

• In order to see the animals and watch them behaving naturally, visitors must be quiet. Banging on the windows, shouting or imitating animal sounds will frighten and scare the animals away.
• Be aware that there are other visitors in the zoo at the same time as you. Respect their needs so everyone has an enjoyable day out.
• Children must not stray into areas that are not open to the public. These areas are off limits to the public for a reason and it may not be safe for the students to enter.
• If a child is disruptive and will not behave then we will contact you to discuss and come and collect so not to ruin the rest of the members day.

First Aid and Allergies

We have qualified first aiders on site. All staff are first aid qualified so can administer first aid quickly if required. We will contact you as soon as we can if we need to.  We cannot guarantee that our animal feed has not come into contact with nut products. Please ensure you complete the form fully so we can plan our day to minimise any risks.

Children Requiring Medication

Please ensure that you bring all of the necessary medication for your child. If this is the case please discuss this with the presenter at arrival on the day along with adding this info to the booking form please.

Booking and further info

To book your chosen date, click the 'Zoo Club' button below.