The Barcelona Zoo has closed the summer of 2024 with great news: more than 207,000 people visited between the end of the school year and August 31. This number marks an important milestone, being the highest number of visitors in the last eight years. It also represents an increase of 13% compared to last summer, underlining the success of the strategies the Zoo has recently implemented.
A commitment to education and biodiversity
The Barcelona Zoo has made a strong commitment to promoting knowledge of biodiversity, and this approach has been particularly well received by the public. The new facilities, such as the Espai Invertebrats, and the educational activities designed for children have played a key role in attracting visitors. One of these activities, the Passaport de Natura, has been rated with an average score of 9 by Zoo Club members, which speaks of the high degree of satisfaction of the families who have enjoyed this proposal.
Barcelona Zoo: ice cream to combat the heat of the animals
In addition to the activities focused on learning, the Zoo has offered various leisure proposals, such as the casals d’estiu for children and adolescents between 5 and 14 years old. This year, the Zoo organized 11 casals, and all the places were quickly sold out. In total, 1,040 children and young people participated in these summer activities, which shows the interest of families in educational proposals in a natural environment.
Continued success and future plans
For Laia Bonet, first deputy mayor and president of Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (BSM), this summer’s results are a clear confirmation that the Barcelona Zoo is on the right track. Bonet stressed that these figures “confirm, once again, the good work of the Zoo in promoting respect for the natural environment through recreational and educational proposals“. The Zoo has managed to consolidate its role not only as a space for leisure, but also as a place for learning and raising awareness about the importance of biodiversity.
A Dama Mohor Gazelle calf is born at Barcelona Zoo
This growth is reflected not only in the number of visitors, but also in the quality of the experiences offered. The activities are not only fun, but also have a strong educational component that seeks to instill environmental values. The Zoo’s success in this regard is due, in large part, to its ability to offer innovative and educational experiences that capture the attention of children and adults alike.
The beginning of the school year brings new educational activities
With the beginning of the school year, the Barcelona Zoo resumes its program of activities aimed at schools. These activities are adapted to each educational level, from kindergarten to high school, and are carried out in the Zoo’s new educational spaces and laboratories. In addition, the Zoo provides teachers with educational materials designed to generate innovative experiences that foster interest and curiosity in biodiversity.
Barcelona Zoo reinforces its commitment to the conservation of the Bornean orangutan
This educational approach is not only focused on visits to the Zoo. Thanks to the pedagogical tools that the Zoo offers, schools can also work on these topics within their classrooms, which broadens the educational experience and allows more students to have the opportunity to learn about biodiversity, even if they cannot visit the Zoo. During the summer, the Zoo organized two workshops for teachers, on June 15 and September 14, in which representatives from 117 schools and high schools in Barcelona and its metropolitan area participated. These days allowed teachers to learn first-hand about the Zoo’s new educational proposals for the 2024-2025 school year.
A complete educational offer for the 2024-2025 academic year
The Barcelona Zoo continues to evolve its educational offerings to stay at the forefront of biodiversity education. The programming for the 2024-2025 academic year is now available on the Zoo’s website, where schools can consult the activities and plan their visits. These activities focus on providing experiences that awaken the curiosity and interest of young people in the biodiversity of the planet. This educational approach is based not only on animal observation, but also on interaction with ecosystems and hands-on learning. The Zoo’s laboratories and dedicated spaces are designed to offer students a unique experience, where they not only learn about the animals, but also about the importance of habitats and how humans can contribute to their conservation. With this commitment to education and scientific dissemination, the Barcelona Zoo continues to be a benchmark in terms of combining leisure and learning. The success of this summer is not only a reflection of the interest of families, but also of the relevance of the topics that the Zoo addresses in its daily programming.
A space of reference
The Barcelona Zoo has managed to consolidate itself as a space of reference in both family leisure and environmental education. Record visitor numbers, together with the success of its educational programs, reflect the Zoo’s commitment to biodiversity conservation and the creation of meaningful experiences for its visitors. With the start of the new school year, the Zoo is moving forward with its proposals, hoping to continue inspiring new generations about the importance of caring for the planet.
