More about Primary School Workshops
Live Animals Encounter and Hands-On Science
Wild Science brings primary school workshops to your hall or classroom with live animals and hands-on science. Our animal expert and our Nutty Professor visit schools across the UK. Every session links to the curriculum for EYFS, KS1 and KS2. All staff are DBS checked. Request a quote or call 03301131136 to check availability for your school.
What Our Primary School Workshops Include
Each primary school workshop is a live, interactive session for one class. Children meet real animals, learn how to hold them gently and ask the questions they have been saving up. Our science sessions add experiments that pupils watch and join in with. A typical workshop mixes a live demonstration, hands-on time and discussion. Our handlers bring consistent enthusiasm and excitement to every class.
Sessions run for 45 minutes to 2 hours, and 1 hour is the standard. One session can include up to 30 children. We bring the animals and the equipment for the session, so teachers can join in rather than prepare.
Our animals come from a mix of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. We confirm the line-up when you book. We cannot promise that a particular animal will attend on the day.
Why Schools Book Our Workshops
Children remember what they see, touch and talk about. A live workshop gives pupils an experience to refer back to in later lessons. Real animals can make abstract topics such as classification and life cycles easier to picture. A school workshop is a perfect way to introduce a new topic or to revisit one.
Our school workshops also provide students with a calm way to build confidence around animals. They enable students to explore topics through questions rather than worksheets. Pupils who find written work hard can often join in more easily with a hands-on workshop.
A workshop can launch a new topic or finish one. It can also anchor an enrichment week or British Science Week. Whichever you choose, the workshops fit around your timetable.
We offer a diverse range of curriculum based workshops in animals and science. Each school workshop is adaptable, engaging and interesting for the year group in front of us. The excitement from the children is easy to see. Students develop critical thinking as they ask questions, compare animals and test ideas.
Animal Workshops for Primary Schools by Year Group
Our animal workshops for primary schools follow what pupils are learning in class. The national curriculum science programmes of study set out those topics for England. Tell us your year group and your topic, and we will shape the session around it.
EYFS and Key Stage 1 (Reception to Year 2)
Younger children learn to name animals and sort them into groups. Our animals and facts workshop covers fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. The minibeasts workshop lets pupils meet insects and spiders in a calm, safe way. The nocturnal animals workshop introduces animals that are active at night. For Year 2, our habitats workshop explores where animals live and what they need.
Lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4)
Year 3 pupils study skeletons and muscles. Our skeletons and teeth workshop lets them compare real animals. Year 4 pupils study teeth, food chains and how to group living things. Sorting animals into groups is good practice in problem solving. Our food chains and food webs workshop and classification workshop fit these topics well.
Upper Key Stage 2 (Years 5 and 6)
Year 5 pupils compare the life cycles of a mammal, an amphibian, an insect and a bird. Year 6 pupils classify living things and study how animals adapt to their surroundings. Our adaptations workshop and our classification workshop suit this work. Habitat workshops are also a good way of promoting environmental awareness. Young people can see why habitats matter to wildlife.
Science Workshops for Primary Schools
Our science workshops for primary schools are led by our Nutty Professor. Pupils see reactions happen, test ideas and ask why. The engaging activities help students learn through problem solving and teamwork. Our science workshops provide students with safe, hands-on experiments they can see up close.
The Fizz Bang Pop workshop explores acids, alkalis and reactions. The states of matter workshop fits Year 4 work on solids, liquids and gases. Our materials workshop suits Year 5 work on the properties and changes of materials.
Older pupils can also try the electricity, forces and magnets or sound workshops. Other workshops cover bubbles, slime, flight and the science of nature. Our dinosaur workshop suits dinosaur topic weeks. The science experiment mix workshop combines several experiments in one session.
Group discussion also helps pupils develop communication skills. Each school workshop gives young people a reason to ask questions, share ideas and listen to their classmates.
Primary and Secondary School Workshops
Planning for a whole school? We run primary and secondary school workshops. Older year groups can explore our workshops for secondary schools instead. We can help you plan a day where every year group has a workshop that suits it.
How a School Workshop Day Works
- Contact us with your dates, year groups and preferred workshop topics.
- We confirm the workshop and send a risk assessment with your booking.
- Our team arrives, sets up and meets your staff before the first class.
- Each class takes part in a workshop of 45 minutes to 2 hours.
- We pack away after the final workshop.
Your school needs sockets, a parking space and a quiet room for the animals. Some experiments also need running water.
Free Posters and Invites for Parents
Posters and invites to share with parents are available from our documents to download page.
Safe, Welfare-First Animal Handling
All our staff are DBS checked and arrive with their certificate and photo ID. We hold public liability insurance of at least £5 million. We follow RSPCA guidelines and hold the licences our animals need. Handlers show children how to hold each animal gently. They also watch both the children and the animals throughout every workshop.
School Workshop Coverage Across the UK
We travel to schools across the UK, except Northern Ireland. Our range is 250 miles for the round trip. Extra travel charges apply beyond 130 miles. Send us your postcode and we will confirm that we can reach you.
We prefer 4 to 8 weeks' notice for a booking. We can sometimes help at 1 to 2 days' notice, so call us if your date is close.
Related Workshops for Schools
Looking for other workshops for schools? Our infant and junior school workshops suit infant and junior classes. Our nursery and pre-school science workshops suit the youngest children. We also run SEN school workshops for children who need extra support.
For more ideas, read our guide to science workshops for schools. Our article on animal visits to schools near you covers local visits. You can also see how animals and minibeasts workshops work in school halls. For March, read about British Science Week activities.
Book Primary School Workshops
Ready to book primary school workshops for your pupils? Our team can plan a school workshop around your timetable. Call 03301131136 or email [email protected]. Our lines are open Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 16:30 and Saturday from 9:00 to 15:00. You can also request a quote online and tell us your dates, year groups and topics.
