Due to COVID-19, Tropical World zoo remains closed under current national lockdown restrictions.

However, fear not as Leeds City Council’s Zoo Education Officer has been creating a range of digital educational material to share with you all.

The first to be launched is the Tropical World online escape room designed for 8-11 year olds or for families to complete together. Whilst being both entertaining and challenging, it also links in with the Key Stage 2 National Curriculum and therefore is an ideal home learning resource whilst schools are closed.

It is a cross-curricular activity and covers a wide range of topics including science, with a focus on habitats and classification; English, with reading and retrieving information involved; Maths as there’s a hidden puzzle to solve and counting; and computing skills as the activity has been designed digitally.

The aim of the activity is to “find the missing meerkat” within 60 minutes, so you could set a timer and compete with friends or other family members to see who can find it in the quickest time. You can download the activity for free here

Hopefully zoos will be able to open their doors to you again in the not too distant future, but until then, this is your chance to digitally transport yourself into one of Leeds’ most loved zoos, Tropical World.

This activity is the first of many so keep an eye out on our social media channels for more free virtual learning resources.