Look and Touch Workshop

The Look & Touch Workshop at the Zoo teaches students about the main characteristics of domestic animals in an entertaining and participative way that is adapted to their ages.
This workshop is presented in two specially equipped classrooms, the giraffe stable and the Terrarium, where the educator (biologist) explains the outline of the activity and supervises its running.
Firstly, they take a guided tour towards the giraffe classroom, where the differences between wild and domestic animals are explained. In the giraffe classroom, students touch and feed different domestic animals. They also observe other species up close.
Moving along to the Terrarium classroom, they handle several amphibians and reptiles: lizards, snakes and turtles. Introduction to the programmes on reproduction in captivity and reintroduction of the Majorcan midwife toad and Herman’s tortoise.

The contents studied are:

• Introduction about what you should do and what you should never do when you have a pet. Responsible ownership.
• Introduction to the problem of breeding in captivity with respect to animal behaviour and animal behaviour enrichment systems.
• Comparison and handling of several animals: meal worms, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, lizards, snakes and tortoises.
  
• Observation of abandoned and confiscated animals: titis and cockatoos. Reflection about having animals at home: species that you can keep and species that are not recommended.
• Introduction to the concept of protecting and conservation of species.