Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm Bristol

Set in one hundred acres of beautiful Somerset countryside, Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm offers everything you need for an unforgettable school trip. We have over 100 different animal species, from farm animals to Big Zoo animals such as Bears, Elephants, Lions and Rhinos. Educational field trips are a great way to learn, and a day out at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm can provide fantastic learning opportunities for all ages and abilities.

Our ‘Learning Outside the Classroom’ accredited Education Programme offers an extensive variety of teaching sessions and learning resources to help you communicate the National Curriculum in a fun, exciting environment. We offer a comprehensive range of workshops, all delivered with a hands-on focus which offer the opportunity to meet exciting live animals up close! Animal artefacts such as skulls, teeth and skins are often used to support learning. As well as our standard curriculum-based topics, we can also create bespoke workshops on a topic of your choice.

We offer education sessions to any group, from early years to degree level, including groups with special educational needs. There is a maximum class size of 30. Education sessions are available weekdays throughout the year. Please note, these sessions must be booked in advance.

Our keepers are animal experts – make sure you catch a fascinating daily talk or feed. The amazing animal talks feature our animals demonstrating their remarkable skills and adaptations. Talks and feeds are all free of charge. Come along and learn about our mob of Meerkats from our experienced animal keepers, find out more about our Elephants and watch in awe as they show off their target training skills or watch our Birds of Prey circle the sky and fly from post to post in the Bird of Prey display – there is something for everyone!

We have plenty of indoor and outdoor areas for students to have their lunch and there is a room onsite where lunch bags can be stored throughout the duration of the visit. If students still have energy to burn, we have plenty of indoor and outdoor play areas for all ages to enjoy.

We have a teacher resources page on our website to help you plan your trip. This includes guidance notes, a general risk assessment, workshop details and national curriculum links. If you are interested in an educational visit to Noah’s Ark, you can arrange a free teacher pre-visit where you can look around the site and see all the facilities on offer.

If you can’t make it to the zoo, then let us bring the zoo to you! Our Education Team can provide outreach visits at a venue of your choice, delivering workshops, assemblies and fun animal meet and greet sessions for all ages. Another option is making use of our virtual workshops. Our standard online session is fun, interactive and involves videos of our amazing zoo animals and real-life animals on screen.

Our highly qualified and knowledgeable Education Team are dedicated to ensuring you get the most out of your visit. Whether you’re interested in our curriculum linked workshops or prefer to lead your own self-guided visit, we have all the information you need to plan a trip to remember.

We have a range of exciting workshops, all securely rooted in the national curriculum. All of our sessions at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm use the National Curriculum objectives as their foundation. From consulting with many teachers about their specific topic aims (and from our own wealth of experience) we have transformed these objectives into fun and interactive learning experiences. Although we strive to be curriculum linked and curriculum relevant, we believe learning outside the classroom is about so much more than just lesson objectives. To this end, we endeavour to adapt our sessions to meet the needs of our learners on the day rather than being bound by a rigid structure.

All of our workshops have been carefully designed to provide students with hands-on learning opportunities and an experience to remember. What’s more, the learning doesn’t stop! A core aim of our sessions is to inspire students and send them away wanting to continue their learning adventure, either around the rest of the site or at home.

One of our Education Team can personally discuss the learning goals for the visit with the trip organiser. We can then provide recommendations of how they can make the most of our facilities. This may include, but is not limited to, organising itineraries, suggesting ‘must see’ keeper talks, providing zoo trails to use during the day or creating bespoke workshops. Trip organisers are given clear details on what their workshop will entail and the opportunity to suggest alterations.

Yes, we have the LOtC Quality Badge. We were re-awarded the quality badge in August 2023.

Our greatest accreditation is the feedback we receive from teachers and pupils alike. Read what they have to say about their fantastic school trip experience in our testimonials section.

• Farmyard animals as well as the Big Zoo animals: Elephants, Rhino, Zebra, Bears, Lions, Lemurs, Meerkats, Birds of Prey, Tapir, Camels and many more…
• Keeper talks including a Bird of Prey display and an Elephant Talk
• Hands-on approach to the animals; opportunity to buy bird and animal food to feed a number of our farm animals.
• Selection of workshops linked to the National Curriculum in the indoor classroom
• Huge adventure playgrounds, indoor and outdoor
• Large indoor and outdoor picnic areas
• Free familiarisation pre-visit for teachers
• Free teachers at a ratio of 1:6
• Use of our lunchbox storage room
• Free Coach Parking, free entry and complimentary cafe voucher for the driver
• Health and Safety Guidance Notes
• First Aiders onsite
• Downloadable Risk Assessment and teaching resources
• Comprehensive downloadable resources including visit guidelines, workshop details, curriculum links and teaching idea sheets.

We can tailor each visit specifically to the needs of the group.

Due to having such a large site (over 100 acres), we cater for groups of all sizes. If you would like to book an educational workshop we are limited to 30 students in each session.

The Education Team can help with planning itineraries if this is something you would like. We also have a number of zoo trails/activities that we can send over for you to use during the day.

We welcome cameras on site (for personal use), so long as you have the subject’s consent.

Our general risk assessment for schools can be found on our website. If you are interested in an educational trip to Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm, we offer a free teacher pre-visit where you’ll have the chance to explore the site before your trip.  Please note that pre-booking is essential.

We have a small but highly qualified and experienced team. Our Education Coordinator holds a masters in Zoo Conservation Biology and a teaching qualification. Our Education Officer holds a degree in Biology and Animal Behaviour and a PGCE in secondary Science. The team are highly experienced in leading education sessions with students from Nursery age to Higher Education level and are happy to adapt sessions to suit your requirements.

Email: educationteam@noahsarkzoofarm.co.uk

Telephone number: 01275 852606

We offer a highly discounted rate for educational groups.

2024 Education Group Admission Rate (effective from 1st January 2024):

• £8.00 per child.

• One free teacher for every 6 children.
• Any additional adults will be charged at £8.00pp.
• If any child requires 1:1 care, then the carers will come in for free.

2024 Post-16 Group Admission Rate (effective from 1st January 2024):

• £11.00 per student.
• One free tutor for every 6 students.

• Any additional staff members will be charged at £11.00pp.

Please note that pre-booking is essential to receive the education group rates.

Education workshops for up to 30 students are charged at an additional rate.  Please see website for details: School Prices | Zoo School | Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm (noahsarkzoofarm.co.uk)

We recommend suitable outdoor clothing according to the time of year (wellies recommended in wet weather). Long cotton trousers are best for the slides. If you wish to take the children into the walk-through aviary, you must expect the usual hazards under foot.

We recommend that every group comes prepared for all weathers as our outside areas are exposed to the elements. Warm and waterproof clothing in the winter and hats and sunscreen in the summer. We also recommend sensible footwear.

First aiders are always on site. If you have any first aid issues please visit the First Aid room, opposite the gift shop.

There is a café on site for those who would like to use it. However, it is not a large enough area for educational groups to eat their lunch. Animal-free picnic areas are available for picnics both inside and outside. We have several marquees around the site that can be used for lunch during your visit. There are hand-washing facilities and toilets at regular intervals around the site.

We have a gift shop that provides a variety of gifts (to suit all ages and budgets) and goodie bags are available to pre-order. Animal and/or bird food for our animal contact zones is also available to purchase for only £1.50 per bag. It you require a large quantity this must be preordered.

We are working to ensure access for everyone and although Noah’s Ark is built on a working farm, most areas are wheelchair accessible.

Noah’s Ark is working on a long term ‘Ark for All’ project. Our current facilities include a Changing Places toilet, complete with hoist and changing bed, accessible play equipment including a wheelchair accessible roundabout and child-friendly accessible signage.

We are open 7 days a week from 10.30am to 5pm. In December and January we close at 4pm. If you are planning to arrive a little earlier, then please let us know and we will see if we can accommodate this.

Read what others have to say about their fantastic trip experience below:

“The children had such an amazing time and enjoyed every single second. All the adults came away buzzing too! I really want to emphasis how utterly amazing all the staff have been for us, everybody on site today was so smiley, positive, and enthusiastic.”

“The talks around the zoo were outstanding – some of the best I have ever heard.”

“The education session was pitched perfectly for what I asked for in the specification. All children (some with SEN) were able to handle the animals, the staff were very informative.”

“Thank you for embracing our school and adapting for us, you have been so helpful and kind, I can’t express how grateful I am to you. All the teacher and parents talked about how valuable and engaging the sessions were, looking at the children’s faces in the photos really says it all so thank you.”

COVID-19 measures are in place at the zoo including: Hand washing facilities with soap and water, extra hand sanitisation points at all high contact areas using SAFE4 disinfectant, frequent cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces that are touched, particularly in high use areas (door handles, toilet facilities, hand washing facilities, play areas), play areas sanitised regularly and extra toilet facilities on site to allow for social distancing in toilets.