BIAZA is the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums. We are the professional body representing the best zoos and aquariums in Britain and Ireland.
We have over 100 zoo and aquarium members who pride themselves on their excellent animal welfare, education and conservation work. BIAZA leads and supports its members and helps promote the work of good zoos and aquariums.
Education
More than 24 million people (one in three) visit BIAZA collections every year and 1.2 million of those are on an organized education trip. This puts our zoos and aquariums in a unique position to teach and inspire a wide and diverse audience.
For many people, zoos are the only places where they are likely to see and learn about a wide range of animals from around the globe. Amongst an increasing choice of leisure activities, the fact that so many people visit zoos during their spare time shows a widespread interest in seeing living wild animals and a strong curiosity about the natural world.
Nothing can replace the experience of closeness with living animals; they are a zoo’s greatest attraction and its strongest educational resource. We understand that in order to want to protect the natural world we have to understand and care about what it is we’re being asked to protect. Zoos and aquariums offer the opportunity for the general public to form a more personal connection with wildlife, and educational material can direct this emotional response towards a conservation goal.
The education programme of a zoo can help to conserve the natural world in several ways by:
BIAZA collections aim to provide unique lifelong learning opportunities, to raise awareness, to increase respect and knowledge about wildlife and global issues, and thus to engage and connect people of all ages with the natural world.
Education Links
Click here to find out more about the conservation work of zoos and aquariums.
Find out more about the BIAZA education policy, and how BIAZA zoos and aquariums bring learning into their collections. BIAZA members are involved in a huge variety of education projects every year.
You can also learn more about how BIAZA evaluates its educational initiatives.
Read more about why many BIAZA members are signed up to the Learning Outside the Classroom scheme.
Find out more about BIAZA's Regional Education meetings - why we have them and who to contact.
Finally, our education resources section contains helpful information for both teachers and students.
The Bushcraft Company offer residential school trips with a difference, taking students into the wild and giving them real back-to-nature experiences they will never forget.
A 15-year-old boy fell 60ft over the edge of a cliff whilst on a geography school trip, miraculously only suffering minor injuries.