New ZooSchool at Mandai Wildlife Reserve to offer children immersive learning programmes

Key Concepts:

• Immersive learning programs
• Nature, wildlife, and conservation education
• Purposeful play
• Animal empathy
• Habitat and adaptation
• Affordable education

Mandai Wildlife Reserve Zoo School Overview:

The Mandai Wildlife Reserve has launched a new zoo school in partnership with NTU First Campus, aiming to provide immersive learning programs focused on nature, wildlife, and conservation for children aged 3 to 12. The goal is to welcome 50,000 children annually by 2030.

Learning Through Purposeful Play:

The zoo school utilizes nature as a classroom, employing purposeful play to teach children about animal care. An example is the "Wild Architect" station where preschoolers are challenged to design and build suitable housing for animals, considering their comfort and needs. This involves selecting appropriate materials and understanding animal requirements.

Fostering Empathy and Curiosity:

Mandai Wildlife Group emphasizes that direct interaction and immersion in nature and wildlife are crucial for building empathy towards animals. The programs are designed to spark curiosity about the natural world from a young age.

Hands-on Animal Encounters:

The programs offer children close and personal experiences with animals across all five wildlife parks. For instance, children participate in preparing mealworms for fennec foxes alongside zookeepers. These treats are hidden to encourage the animals to forage, mimicking their natural behavior.

Learning About Adaptation and Habitat:

While preparing food for the animals, children also learn about animal adaptations and habitats. They understand how animals forage for food in their natural environments.

Accessibility and Affordability:

NTU First Campus aims to make the programs accessible to all children in Singapore, not just those within their network. Introductory programs for preschoolers are priced below $50 to ensure affordability. Programs range from 45 minutes to 3-day camps. Subsidies for children from low-income families are being planned.

Notable Quotes:

• Mandai Wildlife Group: "We truly believe that um the power of interacting uh and immersing in nature and wildlife is quite different uh when you are able to build empathy for animals right so a lot of our programming actually centers around uh discovering the natures of uh of the world."
• NTU First Campus: "We aim to have uh all our children within our network uh attend this program at some point in time and all of this uh will be priced affordably...so that more children will be able to take advantage of that."

Synthesis/Conclusion:

The Mandai Wildlife Reserve Zoo School, in collaboration with NTU First Campus, offers a unique educational experience that combines hands-on animal encounters with purposeful play to foster empathy, curiosity, and a deeper understanding of nature and conservation in young children. The focus on affordability and accessibility ensures that a wide range of children can benefit from these immersive learning programs.