Topic outline
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- Welcome to Joeys, Roos and Big Roos!
Welcome to Joeys, Roos and Big Roos!
You can find out more about our programmes for babies, toddlers and their parents and carers, find activities from the sessions to use again at home and book your next blocks all through this Zoodle page.
- Joeys
Joeys
Nurture your baby’s lifelong love of animals and nature with us at Edinburgh Zoo today!
Based in our world-class exhibits and our fantastic spaces around the zoo, you and your baby can connect and develop together surrounded by sensory experiences, songs and discoveries linked to animals from around the world.
Specially designed for 3-18 month-old babies, you can promote their early learning development and enjoy the zoo weekly over an eight week block. This includes free entry to the zoo and the chance to explore and socialise with other parents and carers after each session.
Each session begins with a song and everyone gathers together to explore the week's theme through sensory items in their provided Zoo Bag with their babies. Bit by bit, new items and experiences are introduced to the circle by the session leader and these include instruments, biofacts, stories, songs and other exciting elements linked to animals. All sessions end with a guided visit to our 'animal of the week'. Joeys has a flexible, no-pressure approach so that you can drop in and out to meet your baby's needs and you can also feed and change within the room or in our quiet space - whichever suits you best!
Dates
Wednesdays - 10.00am starting 22/02/2023
Find out more and book now - Joeys
Find sensory activities you can use at home to match Joeys sessions right here!
Songs and stories will be uploaded here so that you can match at home too!
- Roos
Roos
Nurture your toddler’s lifelong love of animals and nature with us at Edinburgh Zoo today!
Based in our world-class exhibits and our fantastic spaces around the zoo, you and your toddler can connect and discover the world together through STEM adventures, stories and songs linked to animals from around the world.
Specially designed for 18 month - 3 year-olds, you can promote their early learning and STEM development and enjoy the zoo weekly over an eight week block. This includes free entry to the zoo and the chance to explore and socialise with other parents and carers after each session.
At Roos, each session begins with a song and everyone gathers together to introduce the week's theme through sensory and STEM-based play items in their provided Zoo Bag with their toddlers. Then, the session leader will introduce adventures for the toddlers, connecting your little ones to animals through instruments, biofacts and other STEM-based challenges. There will even be a chance to explore a few messier sensory and STEM experiences and you and your toddler can choose any of these middle activities to play together and with others. Towards the end, the group comes back together for a calming last activity. Roos has a flexible, no-pressure approach so that you can drop in and out to meet your toddler's needs and you can also feed and change within the room or in our quiet space - whichever suits you best!
Dates
Wednesdays 11.30am - 12.15am starting 22/02/2023
Find out more and book now - Roos
Songs and stories will be uploaded here so that you can match at home too!
- Big Roos
Big Roos
Does your pre-school child crave active learning and connecting to animals and nature? Specially designed for 3 to 5 year-olds, Big Roos will help you and your child to connect with and discover the animal kingdom together while developing their confidence, speech and language, numeracy and social skills through active games and adventures.
At Big Roos, each session starts with a warm-up with everyone gathering together to introduce the week's theme. Then, the session leader will introduce a series of fun activities to keep your child both engaged and developing. Each game is designed to appropriately challenge to your child to boost their confidence and is accompanied with storytelling that will open their eyes to the natural world around them. There may even be a chance to explore a few bonus experiences along the way! Towards the end, the group comes back together for a calming last activity, after which you are free to explore all that the rest of zoo has to offer alone or with other members of the group you will meet. Big Roos has a flexible, no-pressure approach so that you can drop in and out to meet your child's needs and you can also feed and change within the room or in our quiet space - whichever suits you best!
Dates
Wednesdays 1.00pm - 1.45pm starting 22/02/2023
Find out more and book now - Big Roos
- FAQs
FAQs
Who can attend Joeys and Roos?
Joeys is for parents and carers with babies aged 3 - 18 months on the start date of the block. Roos is for parents and carers with toddlers aged 18 months to 3 years on the start date of the block. Big Roos is for parents and carers with little ones aged 3 years to 5 years on the start date of the block. One parent can attend per child and please contact us if you'd like to enquire about multiple adults per child.
What are the benefits of Joeys, Roos and Big Roos?
All of our sessions have been tailored to early development needs and are based on the latest early years research to help you nurture your family's life-long love of nature, conservation and the world around us.
What are the sessions like?
Joeys sessions are all about helping you and your baby connect together and to nature. Each session is designed with a great balance of repetition, progression and sensory elements to help your little one thrive. Roos and Big Roos sessions are more self-led, involve lots of discovering and exploring with your toddler, and STEM development. Joeys, Roos and Big Roos include new focus animals each week, songs and instruments linked to animals from around the world, and across each block, there are a mixture of indoor and outdoor sessions.
How long are the sessions?
Each session is 45 minutes long and we have a flexible, no-pressure atmosphere at Joeys, Roos and Big Roos which allows you to enjoy, develop and connect together at your own pace.
How do I book?
You can use the links above to book your chosen block straight away or you can use the 'Find out more' link to go to our Eventbrite pages first.
Why can't I see tickets?
Joeys and Roos tickets will be live in the weeks running up to a new block, and the links to tickets will appear then. If tickets have sold out, you can sign up to the Eventbrite waiting list to be informed of new dates and times. More sessions may be added depending on waiting list numbers.
What do I need to bring?
There's a flexible, no-pressure atmosphere at Joeys and Roos which allows you to enjoy, develop and connect together at your own pace. We have all the facilities on hand if you need to pop out for a feed or a change and then just jump back in! Please bring anything you and your baby or toddler would need for this, including nut-free snacks if desired. Some of our sessions involve painting, getting messy and discovering lots! All activities are optional and cleaning wipes etc will be available. You don't need to bring anything else.
Will we get messy?
We love to embrace 'mess' and some of our sessions involve painting, getting messy, playing with water, ice and mud, and discovering lots! All activities are optional and cleaning wipes etc will be available.
Where do we go for Joeys or Roos?
One of our team will meet you up to 10 minutes before the start of each session at the Members Gate (which is in the top corner of the zoo car park). After each session, your family can then explore the zoo and carry on discovering!
I'm a member!
Thanks for being a member and supporting conservation projects around the world! To thank you, we have exclusive members' discounts for Joeys and Roos. If you'd like to know more, please email membership@rzss.org.uk or education@rzss.org.uk.
Oh no! Tickets have sold out!
Don't worry - new dates for Pouches, Joeys and Roos will be added to the Eventbrite pages regularly and you can sign up to the waiting list for updates if an event is currently sold out. Signing up to the waiting list will mean you can be informed of new dates and times and more sessions may be added depending on waiting list numbers.
When will the next block be?
You can find our latest and planned block dates on this page and on our Eventbrite pages. If you'd like to know dates further in advance, please get in touch with education@rzss.org.uk
Will I be able to book onto the next block with others from my group?
As soon as the tickets are available, yes! We'll give the current group early access to the next block so that everyone can continue developing their connections together. If you'd like access to a different group or time, just let us know at education@rzss.org.uk!
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Stay in the loop!
Sign up to our RZSS Education Programmes Newsletterto be the first to find out about family learning and educational projects from Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park.
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