Te Nukuao Wellington Zoo offers a range of unique learning workshops with our experienced Zoo Educators, from ECE age all the way up to Year 13. A Learning Workshop at the Zoo provides ākonga with the chance to meet some amazing animals, both global and native, to help them understand the role of a progressive Zoo and learn how they can care for animals and the environment.
The Zoo is an Enriching Local Curriculum (ELC), funded by the Ministry of Education. This means we can offer specialized learning experiences to schools and ECE groups at reduced prices.
Homeostasis for Biology 3.4 - Year 13
Year 13 - 13 | Year 13 Biology
Discover the internal thermoregulation mechanisms of our bodies and compare them with a selection of animals. Test yourself and your responses in this practical workshop.
Activities on this day
Get hands-on and compare yourself and your responses to temperature change to a selection of Zoo animals. Discover how they regulate their temperatures and what happens when their homeostatic systems are disrupted.
Learning Outcomes
• Understand the effects of temperature on human and animal homeostatic systems
• Compare and contrast the ways different animals respond to changes in their environment
NZ Curriculum
Science: Living World
• Life processes, ecology and evolution Level 8: Understand the relationship between organisms and their environment
Related NCEA Standards:
• Biology 3.4 AS91604: Demonstrate understanding of how an animal maintains a stable internal environment (3 credits, Internal)
Primate Evolution for Biology 3.6 - Year 13
Year 13 - 13 | Year 13 Biology
Working with model skulls and stone tools, try to piece together the human evolution process. We’ll compare a human skeletal model and a chimpanzee model, and discuss key pieces of evidence for dispersal theories.
Activities on this day
There are many theories about how humans have evolved: using replica skulls, stone tools and skeletons, students will attempt to piece together the human evolution process and discuss key pieces of evidence for dispersal theories. Following the workshop with our Zoo educator, students are encouraged to independently observe the primate species that live at Wellington Zoo.
Learning Outcomes
- Observe characteristics of primate species
- Analyse the evolutionary trends in skull, skeletal and cultural development of hominins.
- Use scientific methods to form and test ideas about human evolution theories
NZ Curriculum
Science: Living World
- Life processes, ecology and evolution Level 8: Understand the relationship between organisms and their environment. Explore the evolutionary processes that have resulted in the diversity of life on Earth and appreciate the place and impact of humans within these processes.
Related NCEA Standards:
- Biology 3.6 AS 91606: Demonstrate understanding of trends in human evolution (4 credits, External)
Speciation for BIology 3.5 - Year 13
Year 13 - 13 | Year 13 Biology
How are kea different to Kākā? And why do Giraffes eat thorny trees? Using real-world examples, discover how different modes and patterns of speciation have led to the diversity of species around the world.
Activities on this day
How have animals evolved and what factors have influenced this process? Discover how species have developed to fill an ecological niche, or in response to selection pressures.
Learning Outcomes
• Explain different evolutionary processes.
• Identify the role of these processes in shaping New Zealand’s unique flora and fauna.
NZ Curriculum
Science: Living World
- Life processes, ecology and evolution Level 8: Understand the relationship between organisms and their environment. Explore the evolutionary processes that have resulted in the diversity of life on Earth and appreciate the place and impact of humans within these processes.
Related NCEA Standards:
Biology 3.5: AS91605: Demonstrate understanding of evolutionary processes leading to speciation. (4 credits, External)
- Biology 3.5: AS91605: Demonstrate understanding of evolutionary processes leading to speciation. (4 credits, External)
