
Over the weekend, we were excited to get a glimpse of Mandai ZooSchool (Asia’s first), a partnership between Mandai Wildlife Group and NTUC First Campus, Mandai Wildlife Reserve.
First Impressions of Mandai ZooSchool
Mandai ZooSchool was warm and inviting, and definitely unlike a typical classroom. The team shared that this purpose-built, nature-inspired learning campus is designed to ignite curiosity, spark conversations and empower children to explore the world around them. Here, questions are encouraged. Doors — both literal and metaphorical — are always open and learning happens through doing, seeing, touching and discovering.
Mandai ZooSchool Designed Around Living Ecosystems
Each space is more than just a classroom. In fact, every classroom is designed around a living ecosystem, transforming learning into an adventure. The themed classrooms, namely the Rainforest Room, Marine & Freshwater Room and Savannah Room, are not just decorative but built to engage.
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Inquiry-based and Experiential Learning at Mandai ZooSchool
Mandai ZooSchool is built not just on inquiry-based learning but also on experiential learning, where children engage in hands-on activities that connect knowledge to action. Their hope is to help young ones build life skills like empathy, resilience and collaboration. Through the processes of feeling, doing and reflecting, children learn and gain confidence through autonomy and decision-making, discovering how their actions impact the environment and others.
Mandai ZooSchool’s Programmes
Designed for children aged 3 to 12, Mandai ZooSchool Holiday Camps and Wild Wonders Add-On programmes blend outdoor adventure with survival skills. Children learn to care for wildlife as they tackle real-world challenges.
The public programmes include:
Three-Day Holiday Camps (8 Hours/Day, $520 per child)
- WILD Rescue Rangers
- WILD Architects
Wild Wonders Add-ons (2 Hours, $70 per child)
- Wild Wonders @Singapore Zoo
- Wild Wonders @Bird Paradise
Mandai ZooSchool students get to access five wildlife parks and engage in up-close animal interactions, go behind the scenes and have special engagements with experts.
Making a Builder’s Promise at Mandai ZooSchool
During our visit, the ZooSchool team condensed a three-day Camp into an engaging three-hour experience for everyone. Centred around the theme of building, the children were encouraged to make a Builder’s Promise — to stay Curious, Adventurous, Respectful and Empathetic.
In the classroom, students learnt about outdoor readiness, including how to respond to different weather conditions and how to handle wildlife encounters with distressed animals. They practised their observation skills through a simple but meaningful drawing activity.
Another important part of the session focused on basic First Aid. The children were introduced to common injuries and how to care for them. They had hands-on practice on applying a splint and properly bandaging a “patient.”
What We Built
The children learnt about animal enrichment and explored the five main types: food, social, sensory, cognitive and physical. After understanding what enrichment meant and why it was important, they created simple enrichment devices for the Fennec Foxes. The experience began with learning more about the species and culminated in the joyful moment of watching the Fennec Foxes interact with the enrichment they had built.
They then journeyed through the evolution of exhibit design, from the early days of simple, minimal enclosures to today’s more thoughtful designs that prioritise animal welfare and visitor engagement.
After learning about the key elements that make an effective exhibit, they received a Rhino Case File, filled with fun facts about rhinos. Following this, they had the opportunity to observe the rhinos in their enclosure and discuss the types of enrichment used. Many were fascinated to learn that rhinos use middens (dung piles) for marking territory and can live up to 45 years under human care!
To bring their learning to life, the children worked together to design and build a rhino exhibit using recycled materials. This creative process encouraged them to think deeply about how rhinos lived in the wild and what kind of environment would best support their well-being.
Our Thoughts on Mandai ZooSchool
We love it that Mandai ZooSchool is very intentional in building hands-on programmes that extend learning beyond classrooms into Singapore’s wildlife parks at Mandai Wildlife Reserve.
However, we felt that the sessions were more suited for early childhood learning and are best for younger children between three and seven years old. More learning, exploration and research work could be done by older participants at home first, prior to attending Mandai ZooSchool to make the learning more effective. Classroom discussions could be further catered to their age.
We would also have liked to have more close-up interactions and behind the scenes moments with the animals but we understand there was much to cover in the short three hours we were there.
All in all, Mandai ZooSchool is a wonderful initiative to take hands-on learning beyond the classroom and we recommend their camps for parents looking at exploring wildlife encounters with purposeful learning.
Find out more about Mandai ZooSchool here.