Y3 visit Chester Zoo to study rainforests

On Thursday 21st November, Year 3 went on a geography trip to Chester Zoo to develop their understanding of rainforests. They experienced a humid tropical atmosphere in the Butterfly House and explored plant adaptations and camouflage.  They met rainforest creatures such as a sleepy jaguar, an unusually active sloth, noisy hornbills, jewel-like poison arrow frogs, well-camouflaged caimans and many, many more.

In workshops they explored a fascinating range of artefacts to deduce answers to questions about the significance of rainforests and the problems facing them.  The girls returned stimulated and happy and the teachers returned full of pride at appreciative comments on the quality of our pupils’ behaviour and engagement with learning.  Well done Year 3!

Aarya (looking through binoculars in the picture at the bottom of this article), wrote,

“On our trip to Chester Zoo I saw beautiful butterflies, all different colours, in the Butterfly House. There were also rainforest leaves, very silky because they need water to dribble down them otherwise they will become rotten.  Next, we went to a workshop and a lady called Jo taught us all about rainforests.  We got a list of things to investigate and on the table we found the answers ourselves.  Then we ate lunch, played games, went to toilet trips and then we went to the Jaguar House.  There we saw a real life jaguar!  I thought it was a model because it was very still but I saw it twitch and only then I knew it was real.  After that we saw sloths, elephants and lots of other animals.”

Olivia  (pictured in the butterfly house in the picture at the top of the article), wrote,

“Yesterday I went to Chester Zoo.  I was so excited!  I could not sleep because I was so excited.  When we got there we went under a tunnel that lit up.  I could just see an elephant.  Then we went to the butterfly house.  I thought it was my favourite part.  One of the butterflies landed on Mrs Waters’ hand!  Then we had lunch.  I had a sandwich and a cookie.  Then I went to the spirit of the jaguars.  There was a sloth and fish.  My favourite fish was the rainbow fish: on the side of them it was rainbow light. Then we saw some apes.  At the end we saw the elephants, but then it was time to go.”

(And many thanks to Olivia’s mummy for helping with the trip!)