Education as a Bridge Between Communities

As in many places around the world, the Jerusalem Zoo and the Israel Aquarium have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

For the first time in the Zoo's history, we were required to close our gates to visitors for some 50 days during the first lockdown in Israel in mid-March.

As a result, the 2019-2010 school year was a very challenging and extraordinary year.

We started the year as usual with a similar number of groups as in the previous year but all our activities were postponed immediately with the closing of the education system in Israel.

Overall 7,868 children in groups from the Arab-speaking population visited the Zoo in this past year.

This is unfortunately 60% less than last year's numbers.

On a positive note, this year we managed to hold some important continuing education and team-building activities for the Arabic-speaking guiding team. These included a visit to the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History in Tel Aviv and special training sessions learning about each animal group.

Keep healthy, 

Rachael and the Education Team

At the beginning of the covid-19 virus lockdown in Israel in mid-March, the Zoo was closed to the public for an extended period for the first time ever in its history,

After nearly two months of closure and after lobbying by the Zoo Association that we lead, the Government allowed limited visits for families with special needs kids, who had an especially difficult time under lockdown. The joy of these children being able to visit the Zoo after weeks inside their homes was something we won't forget for a long time!

Now the Zoo is open to the general public but with limitations on visitor numbers.

Special precautions have been put in place to protect both visitors and staff alike: face masks are mandatory at all times; special disinfection of handrails, public restrooms and other areas; closure of water fountains, indoor exhibits (such as the Small Animal House and exhibits with crawling tunnels (such as the prairie dogs). Additionally, the Zoo has added a number of special stations for hand washing and water-bottle filling with non-touch, infra-red technology.

As a result of the closure, the educational programs at the Zoo, obviously, were brought to a halt.

Group visits have also not been allowed until this past week and it is lovely to hear the noisy sounds of children by the lake again. A number of groups came this past week and now the school year has come to a close and the summer holidays have began.

Stay Safe and Keep Well, 

Rachael and the Education Team