Have you got any animal lovers in the family? Rooms full of animal teddies, fluffy animal onesies, all the Disney movies with animals….the list goes on! Do they beg to visit the best zoos too, every school holiday, so they can be up close and personal with their favourite wild animal? Well, some zoos, now offer incredible zoo experience days!
Where you can feed, hold and even spend time with some of the cutest and most amazing zoo animals. It may not be zoo experiences with tigers or lions, but your kids can get real close to strong rhinos, the tallest giraffes, the endangered species of a cautious red panda and plenty more! We know this is exciting, so we’ve made a list of the best zoo experience days you can enjoy!
The 10 Best Zoo Experience Days
Chester Zoo
Kids are always curious about animals and also wonder what kind of life they might live. What is their daily routine like? What do they eat? Well, at Chester Zoo, you are offered a whole wide selection of zoo experience days where they can find this out! From feeding red pandas, being social with the meerkat family, delivering lunch to the King and Queens of the Savannah (lions!), witnessing the largest lizard in the world right before your eyes and even immersing yourself with some of the endangered sea life where you can feed and interact with the fishes.
You’ll enter with amazement and leave with the most incredible lifetime memories.
Info & Pricing
Dudley Zoo and Castle
Give the gift of a zoo animal day experience to your kiddies who would love more than anything to feed a fascinating animal. Whether its the lemurs, cheeky spider monkeys, the playful sea lions, a BIG cat, chimpanzees or even the intelligent orangutans! At Dudley Zoo and Castle you are spoilt for choice, you’ll find it difficult to pick which animal experience to take your child on! They’ll be able to groom, feed or receive behind the scenes access to their chosen animal and if their curiosity peaks, they can ask their zookeeper all the questions in the world that they’ll have about their new furry friends.
Make an unforgettable experience for your family!
Info & Pricing
Colchester Zoo
Step into the world of your favourite animals with a special zoo experience encounter that will blow your socks off. Bringing you closer than ever to the animals that have sparked your kiddie’s love for wildlife. At Colchester Zoo, you’ll be taken behind the scenes with a dedicated animal care team, just to find out what’s involved in taking care of the most amazing creatures and to get up close and personal. With loads of options to choose from, you’ll be spoilt for choice.
There are 3 schemes to choose from for a Keeper for the Day, so you have a range of experiences to choose from!
Scheme A includes: Elephants, Cheetahs, Mandrills, Hyenes, Komodo Dragons and Stingrays
Scheme B includes: Meerkats, Gelada Baboons, Otters, Lemurs and Sun Bears
And Scheme C includes: Sealions, Amur tigers, Giraffes, Pygmy Hippos and Red river Hogs!
A truly incredible experience where you’ll be lucky to spend nearly a whole day with an array of animals!
Info & Pricing
The Monkey Sanctuary
Become a keeper for a day at the Monkey Sanctuary! Meet the dedicated primate care staff who know everything there is to their cheeky monkeys. Round up and help them clean the monkey enclosures (yes that means cleaning up poop!) and then spend the rest of the day meeting their rescued monkeys (no hands-on contact). Listen to amazing stories and help forage for wild leaves for the monkeys to gobble on!
A once in a lifetime opportunity to get close to the unique and cheeky monkeys that your kids adore. The experience is only suitable for those 18+.
Info & Pricing
The Big Cat Sanctuary
Do you want to be a ranger for the day and have a purr-fect time? Then come along to The Big Cat Sanctuary where you can meet some of the big cats that are totally roarsome! You’ll be able to prepare and deliver the cat’s food to them, and have a go at cleaning their enclosures, ensuring they remain in pristine condition. AND the opportunity to hand feed one of their cats! An amazing zoo experience that will leave you in total awe. Snap plenty of photos to commemorate this wonderful day too! Participants must be 18+.
Info & Pricing
Paradise Wildlife Park
Ever wondered what it’s like to work with animals? Then here is your chance to shadow a zookeeper for a day! At Paradise Wildlife Park you can immerse yourself in a zookeeper experience and meet one of your favourite animals with a zoo experience!
Meet and greet a sleepy sloth as it hangs from the tree and observe their sleepy demeanour and cheeky grins! Starting with a trip through the Rainforest and entering the home of the sloths…then you’ll be lucky enough to serve them their main course! You’ll be in for a treat if they venture down from their sleeping box, but cannot be guaranteed as they could still be sleepy! Learn all about the sloths with interesting tidbits from your zookeeper and have ample time for some incredible photos. Don’t forget to say cheeeeese!
And if you don’t fancy seeing the sloths, you can have a zoo experience with meerkats, a big cat, wolf encounters, red pandas and plenty more!
Info & Pricing
Woburn Safari Park
Gift something magical this year…with a fantastic zoo experience! A truly unforgettable experience would be with the Asian elephants at Woburn Safari Park. With no barriers between you, you can get up close and personal with the loving creature, the only place in the UK where this is possible! Starting with a VIP safari off-road adventure, a guided tour through the animal reserves, to where the elephants will be located. Watch them as they graze the grass in the wild and maybe even get to pat them!
There are plenty of opportunities for photos too, to capture the remarkable memories that will last a lifetime!
Info & Pricing
ZSL London Zoo
Are you lovers of the towering giraffe, with their long necks and spotty skin? Well, this is your lucky day because you can be within arms reach of them! Starting off before the zoo opens, you’ll be helping to clean out their dens with rakes and brooms (maybe bring a peg for your nose too…) and you’ll even have a chance to make some tasty browse bundles for them to munch on. Then you’ll head on down to the herb garden to pick some tasty treats and you’ll be introduced to their giraffe residents, Maggie and Molly.
How big are giraffes really? This is your chance to find out!
Info & Pricing
RZSS Edinburgh Zoo
Enjoy a Magic Moment zoo experience at Edinburgh Zoo. The Rhino Magic Moment is a truly incredible opportunity for anyone who loves animals. With a 30 minute experience, you can meet their Greater One-Horned Rhino, Qabid and Sanjay! Help the zookeepers to feed them a special treat and give them a tickle too. Not only that but you’ll be taught interesting tidbits and facts about these humble creatures and how the zoo is helping to conserve their species.
And there are other Magic Moments to be had too, with meerkats, armadillos, and more. You can even become a zookeeper for a day too!
Info & Pricing
SEA LIFE Brighton
If you or your kids have a deep love for underwater aquatic life, then this is the animal experience for you. At SEA LIFE Brighton (the world’s oldest aquarium) you can get closer than ever to aquatic life, like the Green Sea Turtles!
Experience feeding time with the animal care team and glide over the water on a private glass-bottom boat for your chance to see some sea turtles. Listen and learn all the fascinating facts about the incredible sea turtles and witness feeding time!
An immersive experience that will have you falling in love with sea turtles.
Info & Pricing
With all these amazing zoo experiences in the UK, you now have ideas for their next birthday, Christmas or even just a special treat present! Your animal lover kids (or adults) will be blown away at an intimate once in a lifetime experience that will leave them with magical memories. Who can really say they’ve fed red pandas? I can’t…but maybe you can!