Wild Science at Chester Zoo
Shekina Rose, Families Editor
This February half term it’s time to try your hand at being a scientist and discover the really wild side of science at Chester Zoo. This is an expedition like no other exploring the fascinating world of some of your favourite animal friends.
Dr Sue and her team need help with a very important research project, and it’s budding scientists like you that can make all the difference. You’ll be recording beautiful bird songs in the aviaries, and looking really closely at elephant poo…well, no one ever said being a scientist at the zoo was glamorous.
Discover and learn as you set off on an adventure through five wild and wondrous locations dotted around the zoo. As you journey around the zoo, you’ll find four ‘wonderlabs’, each teaching you different facts about animals – helping you to discover all there is to know about extinction and the role of a zoo conservationist in helping to prevent extinction.
What will you find at the ‘wonderlabs’?
Wonderlab 1: ‘Asian Elephants’ is where you’ll go for the hands-on smelly sort of fun as you learn some remarkable facts about poo.
Wonderlab 2: ‘Dragons in Danger’ will give you a chance to listen to state-of-the-art audio technology to track songbirds in Indonesia…Will you find all the hidden Javan green magpies just by listening to their call?
Wonderlab 3: ‘Giant Anteaters’ will show you how to use social science to help save the anteaters. Count the number of anteaters you can see on an imaginative journey through Brazil.
Wonderlab 4: ‘Sun Bears’ – Find out how Chester Zoo uses science to create the ideal habitat for their sun bears. You’ll find out all about habitats and hidden camera traps.
As well as these fantastic ‘wonderlabs’ (open from 18 February – 5 March), Chester Zoo is excited to welcome another very special guest for two incredible shows. Wildlife cameraman and presenter (and more recently, Strictly Come Dancing 2022 winner), Hamza Yassin, will visit the zoo for a wild science special where he’ll share some of his adventures from across the globe in his show, ‘My life behind the lens’.
The Wild Science Safari trail is included in the zoo entry price. And to help super keen budding scientists get started on their journey, free science journals are being offered on entry to the zoo. Happy adventuring.
