The new African Forest at Bristol Zoo Project will welcome school groups from April 2026, offering curriculum-linked workshops while students observe western lowland gorillas and other endangered African species.
Schools are now able to book onto the Jungle Discovery (early years), Rainforests (KS1-2) and Primate Evolution (KS3) workshops for visits from 21st April, 2026.
African Forest will be the new home for the troop of western lowland gorillas, who will be joined by a new group of endangered cherry-crowned mangabeys for the first time in a UK zoo. The habitat will include areas for the animals to nest and trees to climb, with the aim of providing a natural environment for the species to live in.
Other threatened species will also be housed in the habitat, including critically endangered slender-snouted crocodiles, African grey parrots and several species of rare African fish.
Like the zoo’s award-winning Bear Wood, the new area will have integrated learning spaces, enabling students, visitors and school children to observe, record and appreciate animals in a natural scene.
About Bristol Zoo Project
Located just off J17 of the M5 in south Gloucestershire, Bristol Zoo Project provides outdoor adventures where school groups can see and learn about animals from around the world, including giraffes, cheetahs, red pandas, zebras, ostriches, gelada baboons, lemurs and more.
Bristol Zoo Project is run by conservation and education charity Bristol Zoological Society and 85% of the animals it cares for are threatened and part of targeted conservation programmes.
The zoo is home to Bear Wood, the only area of its kind in the UK where British species, lost in the wild over time, including bears, wolves, lynxes and wolverines, share a habitat, living in ancient woodland which can be explored by visitors on a treetop walkway.
School visits
There are a range of curriculum-linked worksheets and activities to support educational visits with learning linked to habitats, food chains, animal adaptations and more.
School groups can also plan to attend one of the child-focused animal talks during their visit which run daily alongside animal talks.
For more information about school trips to Bristol Zoo Project, visit www.bristolzoo.org.
