Junior Zoo Keeper Experience, Oxfordshire

We bought this experience for my daughter who is animal crazy. The day was good and well run, the centre was lovely and the staff were very knowledgeable but unfortunately I do however have a few gripes. The majority of the group were nearer the 8 years old range, it was clear to see that the talking about the animals was a little too in-depth and it was a long time for the children to stay focused without much hands on experience with them all getting fidgety and losing interest. The Meerkat room that the children could sit in was perfect as there was room for them all but everywhere else seemed so cramped for the amount of children plus parents. The reptile area was a thin corridor with a beaded dragon coming out for them to hold one at a time to hold and then a snake. It was such a shame that we couldn’t see our children enjoy their experience as we all had to stand against the wall plus the public were also trying to squeeze through too. Some sort of room would be much better as they’d be able to sit down and all see clearly. The falconry part was fun but this was the show to the general public that we sat on and they briefly got to stand in a circle at the end. I personally think smaller groups would work a lot better with more hands on time rather than just listening as at times it felt more like school lesson rather than a hands on experience. We have done similar things before in small groups and the children preferred helping clean the cages and getting more involved as well as listening to facts about them and how to care for them. Maybe it is better for older children?