What we offer
Our community offering is very flexible. We offer a self-led ticket option as well as variety of themed walking tours, online talks, additional support needs programmes and so much more with our Discovery and Learning team!
Whether you are visiting Edinburgh Zoo or having the zoo come to you, we promise a memorable experience that will connect you with the wild, natural world.
Explore some of our offerings below!
Book a session
Zoo tours
One of our RZSS Discovery Ranger's can share the zoo with your group in a unique themed tour! As the zoo has varied and sometimes difficult terrain, let us know when booking if you group has any mobility difficulties. All tours have a maximum capacity of 30 individuals per tour, regardless of age. Larger groups will be divided into separate tours.
Rain and rainforests
Living together can be difficult, but space sharing is what makes rainforests so important! In this one-hour tour, visitors will learn all about what makes rainforests critically essential to the world’s biodiversity and why the animals and plants that live in them are so vital. Our animals, such as cassowaries and sun bears, help us tell the unique stories of the world’s rainforests and what you can do to make a difference!
Life as a zookeeper
Our zookeepers have a rewarding and varied job caring for our animals 365 days a year! In this one-hour tour you will find out what our keepers do day-to-day to ensure all our animals receive the best possible care. With your support we can continue to provide expert care for our animals and continue our conservation work around the world.
Best for ages: 12+
Fan favourites
Learn about the zoo’s most popular animals in this shorter tour. Starting at the majestic giraffes and winding past big cats and koalas, this whirlwind expedition will dash through everyone’s favourite furry and feathered friends!
Best for ages: 12+
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Endangered animals
What makes an animal endangered and what can we all do to save them? This one-hour tour explores some of the world’s most endangered animals living right here at Edinburgh Zoo and why their loss to the world would be devastating! Learn what RZSS and partners are doing to protect these important species here and in the wild.
Best for ages: 5+
Poo at the zoo
Join us for a tour through the wonders of animal poo and how it can help our wildlife conservation charity protect the animals you love. Learn which animal visits the bathroom up to 40 times a day, all about the sloths toilet dance, the poo that’s worth its weight in gold and much much more!
Best for ages: 5+
Conservation tales
As a global wildlife conservation charity, RZSS is not afraid to go off the beaten track! In this two-hour tour, discover how tiger poo here at the zoo is helping to solve human-wildlife conflict on the other side of the world, why the ugliest animals may be the most important for all life on Earth, and why following giant armadillos around the Brazilian rainforest helps protect at least 57 other species! Journey through some of our most exciting, world-changing conservation projects, and meet some of the animals RZSS is helping to save throughout this amazing, one-of-a-kind planet we all call home.
Best for ages: 12+
Around the world
Even though there are so many unique species around the globe, they are all interconnected through human actions! Learn about ways you can help animals worldwide as you travel around the world with RZSS, visiting koalas from Australia, wildcats from Scotland, and every continent in between. This two-hour guided globetrotting tour is sure to be a journey you will never forget!
Best for ages: 5+
Workshops
These themed sessions are a fun and engaging way to explore a subject. Led by an amazing RZSS Discovery Ranger, your group will have a PAWsome time! Workshops are held mostly indoors and seated unless otherwise indicated.
Enrichment workshop
Groups will learn about the way we use behavioural enrichment to care for animals and have the opportunity to build an enrichment item for one of our animals!
Length: 45 minutes
Appropriate for all ages
Skull discovery
This hands-on exploration uses animal skulls to teach animal adaptations. Groups will use their own observation and will be shocked at how much can be learned from just a skull!
Length: 60 minutes
Best for ages: 10+
Purrfect Matches: Dating & Mating for Conservation
Understanding zoo breeding is a delicate balance of science and history. As populations of wild animals edge towards extinction, zoos and conservation scientists are trying to recover populations. Find out about recovery breeding programs and the importance of maintaining genetic diversity amongst endangered populations in this investigation and inquiry workshop.
Length: 90 minutes
Best for ages: 12+
Animals in Action: Studying animal behaviour
By researching the behaviour of animals, zoo staff gain valuable information which contributes to keeping animals healthy and furthers conservation of wild populations of their species. Behaviour is anything that animals do in response to their environment. In this workshop, participants will hone their observation and data collection skills by conducting research in the zoo.
Length: 60 minutes
Best for ages: 10+
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Building a Zoo: Enclosure Design
Budding zoo architects look no further! This exciting workshop is all about how the zoo creates unique exhibit homes for each kind of animal. From feeding animals to giving them the proper spaces and toys, participants will learn the importance of the perfect animal habitat and do a little creating of their own!
Length: 90 minutes
Best for ages: 8+
Virtual tours
All one-hour tours are available as a virtual tour. For additional costs, RZSS can also do specialised virtual tours specific to the interests of your group.
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Polar bears to penguins
Take a polar journey from one end of the world to the other in this joint session. Learn about penguins and other Antarctic species from experts at Edinburgh Zoo and the Arctic animals that call Highland Wildlife Park home from rangers up north.
Best for ages: 5+
Cat tails
Cats come in all shapes and sizes and can be found all over the world. Explore the many different adaptations of our feline friends in this hybrid session between Highland Wildlife Park and Edinburgh Zoo. From wildcats to snow leopards learn why cats make of some of the most important species in their habitats!
Animal Meet and Greets
Animal meet and greets have a maximum capacity of 20 individuals per session. Larger groups will be divided into separate sessions.
Get up close to some of the zoo’s friendliest residents! Your group will be introduced to some of our more unusual animals which could include a small mammal, reptiles, and invertebrates.
Zoo socials
At our socials, we offer a friendly environment where everyone is welcome and all contributions are valued. They are suitable for first-time visitors and for those who might not regularly come to the zoo, as well as people who have always loved visiting. The sessions are relaxed and informal, start with tea and biscuits, and feature a range of activities inspired by our animals and conservation work.
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Dementia socials
Our Dementia Socials are created for anyone affected by Dementia and their relatives, friends and supporters. Dementia Socials happen the first Friday of every month from January through June. Each month focuses on a different animal or conservation issue and often involves zoo experts, Q&A sessions, and other opportunities to learn more about the amazing work happening at RZSS and around the world!
New parent socials
New parent socials are created for brand new parents and their babies, taking place on the third Friday of each month from September through June. Each month focuses on a different animal or conservation issue and often involves zoo experts, Q&A sessions, and other opportunities to learn more about the amazing work happening at RZSS and around the world!
