Edinburgh Zoo Live Cam
The king penguin is the largest of the penguin species kept
Set in over 82 acres of wooded hillside
Royal Zoological Society has over 200 species of animals, many are endangered species. The scimitar-horned oryx, an animal classed as extinct in the wild, is Royal’s symbol and is being successfully reintroduced to reserves in Africa. You can see the largest collection of hoofed animals in the United Kingdom including Przewalski’s horses, zebra, white rhino, pudu, tapir, bongo and kudu. Some, such as dorcas gazelle and Somali wild ass can only be seen in the UK at Royal.
Cats are also one of Royal’s specialities – nine species are represented in the zoo. The largest of the tigers – the Amur – can be seen as well as snow leopards, jaguar, cheetah and Amur leopard. At the other end of the scale are the sand cats. There are many other carnivores from meerkats to fossa and red panda. There is a wide variety of primates – from tiny tamarins to the Siamang gibbon with its extraordinary arm-span and stunning jungle call. Rodents and marsupials also have their place. Royal has a growing collection of birds from tiny lovebirds to cranes, storks, owls, ducks, pheasants and penguins. Invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians and fish are mainly to be found in Tropical World in a beautiful rainforest environment.
The Education Service provides a range of facilities and courses tailored to the educational needs of schools, colleges and universities. Royal is an ideal site for an educational visit with children of all ages and key stages. It has all the facilities you might need and a team of Education Staff who offer short educational sessions at the zoo, which you can take part in during your day. The teachers at the zoo also run courses tailored to meet requirements of many post 16 and post 18 qualifications. The education staff aim to help you make the most of your visit in any way that they can and have a wide range of information and resources available to educational groups.
Close Encounters - The centre houses a selection of small animals. They often assist us in our talks, and all children will be given the chance to meet – and touch – at least one of these animals during an Education Centre session.
Hands On - Besides touching live animals, the children are usually able to examine a selection of skins, tusks and other animal products. These have been confiscated by HM Customs and Excise under the regulations governing trade in Endangered Species, and are on loan to Royal. They are used as teaching aids in most sessions.
Guided Walks - You may request a short guided walk of 20 minutes around the part of the zoo to follow your Education Centre Session. We regret that we are unable to provide this service for classes over 30 in number.
Topic Booklets - All children visiting the centre receive a topic booklet or other literature suitable to their age and chosen topic.
Special Needs Groups - We can provide sensory sessions or themed sessions for students covering P levels upwards. Use of basic Makaton and Rebus symbols available on request. At each key stage we run a minimum of 10 different topic sessions which relate specifically to the curriculum of the children in question. These are a selection of the topics: Animal movement, Fur, feathers and scales/classification, Colour and markings, Homes and habitats/adaptation, Conservation and Rainforest.
Observational Drawing - Close contact with rare and beautiful animal skins (Customs confiscates) provides the opportunity for exciting art work which complements topics such as Conservation or Colours and can lead on to creative writing but would also be suitable for students taking GCSE textiles or art qualifications. With sufficient notice, sessions can be prepared on other topics to suit your needs ie.Animal behaviour, Zoo design and animal management. All our educational programmes are related to the National Curriculum, mostly to Science, but also to Geography, Art, English, Technology, Maths, Drama etc. We have trails specifically designed to tackle numeracy and literacy in this fun environment.
Extras for teachers - Free recce visit. All teachers booking a school visit to Royal are offered a free preliminary visit to familiarise themselves with the zoo’s layout and facilities, and/or discuss their visit with the education staff. We are currently exploring the use of set sessions for teacher recces when more than one school will attend.
All teachers and adult helpers are strongly advised to attend, as this will be an invaluable insight into your visit. The issues of health and safety relevant to schools and information needed to produce risk assessment forms will be covered during these group sessions, and the opportunity to look at resources available during your visit. Any recce visit MUST be booked by telephone a week in advance.
