More about Life Cycles
What is a life cycle
Understanding the life cycle of animals is one of the most exciting ways for children to explore the natural world. From birth to adulthood, every animal goes through unique stages of growth and survival. Only a small percentage around 3-5% of all animals on this planet give birth to live young.
An animal needs to eat, stay safe, and reproduce to grow. From birth, animals develop the skills they need to survive in their environment.
Some animals, such as amphibians and insects, undergo metamorphosis, which is a complete transformation during their life cycle.
Amphibians spend the first part of their childhood developing in water, breathing through gills. Once they reach adulthood, they develop lungs to allow them to live on land.
Some insects, like butterflies, start life as eggs, hatching into their larva stage (which looks very worm-like) and passing into the pupa stage. At this stage, the animal cleverly camouflages itself to hide and does not eat at all. Lastly, the insect emerges from the pupa stage, having evolved into its final adult stage.
Did you know? Humans have a much slower life cycle compared to many other animals.
In this workshop, we discuss and display animals with a wide variety of varying life cycles while giving the students the chance to touch, hold, and interact with them.
Note: We don’t bring eggs, tadpoles or early-stage animals to workshops. These stages require specific environments and special care to keep the animals safe. Instead, we bring more mature animals and provide detailed explanations and visuals to show their full life cycle.
To ensure a hands on and interactive experience we recommend smaller group sizes. This way each participant can touch, hold and observe the animals up close. In larger groups while the learning experience will still be interactive, physical contact with animals may be limited for practical and welfare reasons.
Download our Activity Worksheet:
👉 Click here for a free download of the Life Cycle Activity Sheet
What is the Core Focus?
- What is a life cycle?
- What is metamorphosis?
- Animals that metamorphose
- What do animals do to grow?
What animals are used?
We use a mix of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates for this topic. Exact animals may vary depending on the day, but we always provide a diverse mix.
Recommended Session Duration & Ages:
Our Life Cycle Workshop is suitable for children of all ages. This is a common subject taught in schools and is well-suited to the topic.
To create the most engaging experience, we suggest a workshop length of 45 minutes to 1 hour. However, if you're eager for more, we're thrilled to extend the duration! We also offer full-day options with 6 1-hour sessions, perfect for students across all years or for your large events.
