Zoo Activities for Preschoolers

Organized zoo activities for preschoolers can be both fun and educational. Try these activities on your next field trip. Zoo learning is easy when you plan fun activities that allow kids to use their imaginations and reasoning powers.

What Kind of Animal Is It?
Before your field trip to the zoo, make up a booklet for your child. Designate pages for different types of animals: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. Explain briefly what makes each type of animal different. Find stickers or print out pictures of an example of each animal type, and have your preschooler paste the picture on the appropriate page so your child has an example to study.

As you walk through the zoo, have your child open the booklet and find the appropriate page for the animal in front of you. Help your child understand the characteristics of different animal types; for example, a bird has feathers, not fur; wings, not arms, a beak, not lips. See if your child can draw a picture of the animals you see at the zoo on the appropriate page. Aim to get a picture of at least one of each kind of animal in the booklet while doing this zoo activity.

What Does this Animal Eat?
Another great zoo activity for preschoolers is to find out what animals eat. On your way to the zoo, initiate a conversation about what your preschool child likes to eat. Explain that humans are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and animals. Describe the terms omnivore, herbivore and carnivore. As you walk through the zoo, read aloud to your child the information provided about each animal, focusing on what the animal in question likes to eat. Help your child determine if the animal is an omnivore, herbivore or a carnivore. To make it even more fun, keep a tally of animals who like to eat the same things your child likes to eat.

How Does this Animal Defend Itself?
Kids are fascinated by the concept of surviving in the wild. On your way to the zoo, explain the concepts of self-defense: camouflage, poison, scare tactics, ways to flee from a predator, etc. As you see animals in the zoo, talk to the child about how that particular animal could survive in the wild. Does the animal have special coloring to hide itself or to warn animals that it might be poisonous? Is the animal equipped with speedy legs or fast wings? Does the animal have special features that make it look more ominous or unpleasant to eat? Ask your preschool child what she would do if she were that animal and a predator came by. Let your child enjoy role playing as she thinks through the answers.