ZooLab's 'The Cacophony Chaos' is a magical hands-on animal story workshop for EYFS and primary, exploring sound and music. Perfect for schools and nurseries! Next The Cacophony Chaos EYFS, KS1. Early Years, First Stage. Ages 1 - 7 DURATION: 45 mins - 55 mins OVERVIEW: Packed with body percussion, laughter, and interactive fun, this workshop celebrates the power of reading, teamwork, and that every story has its own unique groove. Join a wildly lovable crew of animals as taps, claps, swishes, clicks, and stomps collide in one giant cacophony of chaos. But when the group learns to listen, work together, and find the beat, something magical happens: the noise transforms into a joyful rhythm all of its own. This is a high-energy, rhythm-filled reading adventure where stories don’t just come alive - they make noise! Learning Outcomes The ZooLab characters work together to make music! Themes of music, teamwork, friendship and education. BOOK NOW You'll get to meet some of these animals: To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Free pre-lesson resources and teaching packs! “Kieran was personable and clearly passionate about the animals in his care. It was a great session, and he kept everyone really involved. The families that came along really enjoyed having something new and exciting in the library.” Baldock Library Why learn through storytelling? Using storytelling as a teaching mechanism involves structuring learning around a narrative. It helps children (and adults) make sense of issues and topics by engaging them in a story, making facts easier to remember and participants more open to learning. The benefits of learning through storytelling do not stop at increasing knowledge of the subject area - storytelling encourages creativity, expands vocabulary, increases attention span and helps to reinforce morals. Meet the gang! Our ZooLab characters are excited to meet you! Meet the animals Get in the know before getting up-close and hands-on Check out our workshops Our educational workshops hit curriculum outcomes Meet the Rangers We've got the best bunch! Which Ranger will visit you?

ZooLab's 'Zola The Kindhearted Elf' is a magical hands-on animal story workshop for early years, exploring Christmas and animals from different continents. Perfect for schools and nurseries! Next Zola The Kindhearted Elf EYFS, KS1. Early Years, First Stage. Ages 1 - 5 DURATION: 45 mins - 55 mins OVERVIEW: Join Zola the Elf on a wonderful Christmas adventure as we help her deliver presents to children all over the world. Perfect for an end-of-term treat. From Africa to India and through America via Australia, we encounter a variety of fascinating creatures along the way! This is a special, festive workshop that focuses on the themes of selflessness, kindness, friendship and fun. Learning Outcomes Zola travels across all the continents delivering presents to all the animals. Themes of selflessness, kindness, and friendship. BOOK NOW You'll get to meet some of these animals: To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Free pre-lesson resources and teaching packs! "We were absolutely delighted to have Emily visit us with her amazing creatures! The children, parents and staff all look forward to her sessions and always enjoy a fun-filled afternoon. Emily is wonderfully animated and engaging, with a natural child-friendly approach that captivates the children's attention throughout. She brings the stories to life, making the experience exciting, educational, and truly memorable for everyone involved.” Newquay Pre-school Why learn through storytelling? Using storytelling as a teaching mechanism involves structuring learning around a narrative. It helps children (and adults) make sense of issues and topics by engaging them in a story, making facts easier to remember and participants more open to learning. The benefits of learning through storytelling do not stop at increasing knowledge of the subject area - storytelling encourages creativity, expands vocabulary, increases attention span and helps to reinforce morals. Meet the gang! Our ZooLab characters are excited to meet you! Meet the animals Get in the know before getting up-close and hands-on Check out our workshops Our educational workshops hit curriculum outcomes Meet the Rangers We've got the best bunch! Which Ranger will visit you?

ZooLab's 'Zoo On The Broom' is a magical hands-on animal story workshop for EYFS, exploring kindness and teamwork. Perfect for schools and nurseries! Next Zoo On The Broom EYFS, KS1. Early Years, First Stage. Ages 1 - 5 DURATION: 45 mins - 55 mins OVERVIEW: This rhyming story follows our friendly witch Zog on her broomstick ride through towns, forests and bogs. Soon, her broom starts to resemble a zoo! Our helpful and kind witch offers a ride to a selection of amazing animal hitchhikers, who the children will get to meet! However, it’s not all plain sailing. Will Zog’s journey end with a bump?! Learning Outcomes Themes of helping others, selflessness, and working together. BOOK NOW You'll get to meet some of these animals: To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Free pre-lesson resources and teaching packs! “We had a fantastic ZooLab experience and couldn’t have asked for a better ranger than David. He was amazing and incredibly accommodating for our SEND learners, making sure every child felt comfortable, included, and able to take part. David was so engaging with the children, explaining things in a way they could understand and keeping their interest throughout the session. The students absolutely loved having him visit, and his enthusiasm really made the experience special for them. A truly memorable and positive session for everyone involved!” George Carey Church of England Primary School Why learn through storytelling? Using storytelling as a teaching mechanism involves structuring learning around a narrative. It helps children (and adults) make sense of issues and topics by engaging them in a story, making facts easier to remember and participants more open to learning. The benefits of learning through storytelling do not stop at increasing knowledge of the subject area - storytelling encourages creativity, expands vocabulary, increases attention span and helps to reinforce morals. Meet the gang! Our ZooLab characters are excited to meet you! Meet the animals Get in the know before getting up-close and hands-on Check out our workshops Our educational workshops hit curriculum outcomes Meet the Rangers We've got the best bunch! Which Ranger will visit you?

What if one lesson could inspire someone to protect a rhino, clean up their local park, or help save a rainforest? At ZooLab, we believe that connecting people with animals should be about more than simply learning facts. That’s why, alongside our work inspiring the next generation of animal lovers, we’re committed to making a real difference to wildlife, habitats and the planet we all share. This National Day of Charity, we're looking at some of the ways ZooLab, our team, and our customers have been helping animals and the environment, one mission at a time. ZooLab's Charity Work Mission: Poaching Rhino conservation in South Africa Sadly, since the beginning of the 20th Century, rhino population numbers have dropped dramatically. Mostly down to habitat loss and poaching, this has led to rhino species being put on the endangered species list or even classed as extinct. We have been working with Mankwe Wildlife Reserve in South Africa to help protect this wonderful species. They patrol the reserve on the lookout for poachers and work to deter them by humanely dehorning the rhino. To date, we have raised over £5,000 for the reserve, helping upgrade their equipment and keep the rhinos safe! Mission: Net Zero Here come the off-setters! It's clear that climate change is an important and pressing issue for the world. As well as teaching the next generation about human impacts on the environment, we are also striving to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Last year ZooLab offset 67.96 tonnes of CO2e in our efforts to become a more environmentally conscious business. We also track our carbon emissions and energy use across all areas of the business, as well as trying where we can to use sustainable and recyclable materials. Mission: Clean Up ZooLab cleans up! We're passionate about all animals, including wild ones! Litter is a big issue in today's world, with rubbish clogging our waterways and affecting the habitats of countless animals and ecosystems. That's why each year, we take part in World Clean Up Day, which joins together people from all over the world on one day to clean up their local environment. ZooLab staff have cleared over 150 bags of rubbish from our local communities across the UK for World Clean Up Day. Mission: Ukraine Homeless and displaced animals After the war on Ukraine started, thousands of animals were affected. Whether displaced, caught up in the crossfire, or abandoned after their owner's evacuated. We wanted to help in any way we could. We raised £500 in support during this time. This money was used to provide food, shelter and medical assistance to animals affected by the ongoing conflict. Mission: Operation Ocelot Saving the rainforest for the ocelot Operation Ocelot is an initiative run by the World Land Trust and their patron Steve Backshall to help raise funds for Rainforest habitats in Brazil! The project supports the expansion of the Atlantic Forest Reserve by encouraging children (and adults) to measure their garden, playgroups or local greenspace and fundraise to protect the same amount of area in the Atlantic Forest. We donated £5 per customer who books a Rainforest workshop between January - March 2022 to Operation Ocelot. We raised over £500! Mission: Citizen Science Citizens unite for science! Citizen Science encourages the public to participate voluntarily in gathering environmental data to be analysed by scientists. We've been taking part in these citizen science activities for many years, including counting the number and species of birds that come to our open spaces, doing woodlice counts to identify blue woodlice, and counting insects in quadrats of flowers! We're also encouraging our customers to take part too! So there you go! Got some ideas of more ways we can support the world around us? Leave a comment or get in touch!

Ranger Jack is back from his travels around the world! He sat down with us to answer some of our burning questions about what animals he met and all of the amazing sights that he saw! So read on and hear some of his best travel tales! Ranger Jack's Travel Tales What inspired you to take time out and go travelling? "I’d always wanted to see more of the world, and I realised that if I kept waiting for the 'right time', I might never do it. With climate change and the natural world changing so rapidly, I felt that now was the time to experience some of these places and animals while I still could. I also felt I was at a point in my career where I had built up enough knowledge and experience with animals to really appreciate what I was seeing. Rather than just travelling to tick countries off a list, I wanted to see wildlife in its natural environment and learn from the people and places along the way." By Budzak2 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71958846 Which destination surprised you the most? Which was your favourite? "Bosnia was probably the biggest surprise. I think a lot of people still associate Bosnia with its history of war, but arriving there, I found a completely different side of the country. The people were incredibly friendly, the landscapes were stunning, and huge areas were still wild and relatively untouched by tourism. It became one of my favourite places because I was able to spend time rescuing wolves and bears there. Being surrounded by that much nature while working with animals that I had always wanted to see was an experience I’ll never forget." By Thomas Fuhrmann - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=118676119 What was the most memorable animal encounter you had on your travels? "That’s a difficult one because two experiences really stand out for completely different reasons. In Ecuador, I hiked up cliffs to see Andean condors. There are thought to be only around 150 left in Ecuador, so seeing them soaring above me was pretty incredible. You’re standing there looking up at these enormous birds flying effortlessly through the mountains, and it really puts into perspective how small you are. Then there was swimming with hammerhead sharks in the Galápagos. Being in the water with them and watching these bizarre-looking sharks move around you was completely surreal. I honestly couldn’t pick between the two." By Charles J. Sharp - Own work, from Sharp Photography, sharpphotography, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44247573 Which species had been on your "must-see" list, and did you get to see it? "Without a doubt, the jaguar. It was probably the animal I wanted to see more than anything else. I spent around six months travelling through South America looking for one, going into rainforests and following leads, but unfortunately I never got a confirmed sighting. I did have one moment on a night tour where we thought we could see a pair of eyes watching us from the darkness. It could have been a jaguar, but without being able to properly identify it, I can’t honestly say that it was. So, after six months of searching, the jaguar remains firmly on my list. I suppose that just gives me another reason to go back." Were there any animals that completely changed your perception after seeing them in the wild? "I wouldn’t say any particular animal completely changed my perception of them, because spending so much time working with animals had already given me a huge appreciation for them. If anything, travelling reinforced just how incredible they are. Spending time in rainforests and seeing how many completely different species can exist within one ecosystem was amazing. Some animals that initially looked frightening or aggressive were actually displaying behaviours designed purely for defence. Seeing that in the wild gives you a much better understanding of why animals behave the way they do." What's the rarest or most unusual creature you came across? "One of the most unusual was definitely the Irrawaddy dolphins in Cambodia there is only 89 left in the wild. I went kayaking specifically hoping to see them, and getting out onto the river knowing that there were only small populations of these unusual-looking dolphins around was pretty special. They don't look quite like the dolphins most people imagine, which made seeing them in their natural environment even more memorable." Did you capture a favourite wildlife photograph? What's the story behind it? "I actually took surprisingly few wildlife photographs while travelling. I was much more interested in experiencing things while I was there rather than constantly trying to get the perfect picture. Quite often, by the time I'd reached for my camera, the animal had already disappeared! One set of photos I did manage to get that I really like was in Cambodia, showing millions of bats pouring out of a cave. Watching them emerge in huge numbers and fill the sky was an incredible sight, and luckily I was actually quick enough to get the camera out that time." By Charles J. Sharp - Own work, from Sharp Photography, sharpphotography, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44250734 Which animal proved the hardest to spot? "The obvious answer is the jaguar, after spending six months looking for one! But tapirs were also surprisingly difficult. You can be walking through rainforest knowing that they're somewhere in the area, but the vegetation is so dense that they can disappear completely. That's one of the frustrating—and exciting—parts of wildlife watching. You can spend hours searching and see absolutely nothing, then suddenly an animal appears for a few seconds and vanishes again." What's one thing you learnt from watching animals in the wild? "Patience. A lot of patience. You can't just walk into a rainforest and expect animals to appear on command. Sometimes you can spend hours searching and see nothing. I also learnt how important local knowledge is. Speaking to local people, guides and communities and asking where animals had recently been seen could make the difference between seeing something incredible and coming away empty-handed. Wildlife watching is often as much about listening and asking questions as it is about looking." Has travelling changed how you appreciate the natural world back home? "Definitely. Since coming home, I've found myself appreciating the countryside around me much more. When you've spent months seeing completely different ecosystems and wildlife, you start to notice how unique our own natural world is. Our wildlife might not include jaguars, condors or hammerhead sharks, but that doesn't make it any less interesting. Seeing so many different parts of the world has made me appreciate just how different wildlife can be from one country to another—and how important it is to protect what we have on our own doorstep as well." By original image by Jan Roletto, uploaded 18:58, Feb 26, 2004 - de:Wikipedia by de:User:Baldhur, edited by Matthew Field - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (http://www.noaa.gov), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3440642 And now time for some quick-fire questions! Favourite animal spotted? Elephant Seals in Argentina. Most surprising wildlife encounter? Orcas in the Galapagos island swimming near our boat One species everyone should see in the wild? Condors as there the largest flying bird One place you'd return to? Peru So there you go! Let us know your favourite fact in the comments and learn more about Ranger Jack here.

Where to see ZooLab in September Below is a selection of locations that we are visiting in September. Please check with each venue for times and ticket information. 6th - York Racecourse, York 12th - Natural History Museum, London - Dinosnores for Kids 15th - 18th, & 20th - BMW PGA Championship, Surrey 19th - Bang Goes the Borders, Melrose 19th - Eggleston Show, Durham 27th - The Thistles Shopping Centre, Stirling Come back in a few weeks' time to see where you can see ZooLab in the summer, or contact us if you would like ZooLab to visit your setting.