School programmes

Daily School Programmes

The NZG’s daily lessons are facilitated to school groups visiting the zoo from Mondays to Fridays. Schools are encouraged to book for these lessons, but many schools arrive unannounced. Lessons for learners in the Foundation and Intermediate Phases are conducted at different stations scattered throughout the zoo. Teachers are thus encouraged to guide learners through the zoo, making use of the educational lessons at the stations. As these lessons are relatively short and interactive (15 – 20 minutes) and are interspersed with viewing animals in enclosures, they are within younger learners’ attention span.

Lessons for the Senior and FET Phases are more structured. These start in the NZG’s Education Centre and are followed by further activities in the zoo. The vast majority of learners visiting the NZG are in the Foundation Phase, while the numbers of FET learners are relatively low.

The following Daily Lessons are facilitated:

Phase	Theme	Length	Venue
Foundation	Don’t Litter	15 – 20 min	Main picnic area
Foundation	National Symbols	15 – 20 min	Sammy Marks fountain
Foundation	The Majestic Elephant	15 – 20 min	Elephant enclosure
Intermediate	Discovering Reptiles	20 min	Reptile Park lapa
Intermediate & Senior	The Microscopic World	20 min	Aquarium
Senior	Micro-Zooming	20 min	Aquarium
FET	Understanding Biodiversity	120 min	Education Centre & Zoo
FET	The Application of Genetics	120 min	Education Centre & Zoo

Themed Lessons

Themed lessons are facilitated during a certain time of the year only. These last for about one hour, leaving schools enough time to view the rest of the zoo, aquarium and reptile park. Most of the lessons consist of a number of stations (usually five or six) where different aspects of the lesson are dealt with. The learners from a particular school are thus divided into smaller groups, which then rotate from station to station. Themed lessons are usually linked to a national or international focus event, such as National Water Week or National Marine Week, and explore the theme in depth.

These Themed Lessons are facilitated:

Phase	Theme	Month	Venue
Intermediate	National Water Week	March	Picnic area
Intermediate	The Magic of Owls	May	Owl enclosures
Intermediate	National Science Week	August	Dispersed throughout zoo
Intermediate & Senior	Ecosystems	September	Apies River bridge
Intermediate	Seas and Oceans Alive	September	Aquarium

Science Festivals

As relatively few high schools visit the National Zoo, science festivals are attended to reach this target group. The NZG usually participates in science festivals which are within easy travelling distance in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and the Free State, but even SciFest in the Eastern Cape may be attended. The NZG’s participation consists both of an informal display which is visited by learners at random, and formal lessons which are facilitated in an auditorium. These are:

Phase	Theme	Length	Venue
Senior & FET	Micro-Zooming	Informal	NZG display
Senior & FET	Understanding Biodiversity	Informal	NZG display
Senior & FET	The Applications of Genetics	60 min	Auditorium