Plan Your Visit to Edinburgh Zoo
We are open every day of the year, including Christmas Day, from 9am until:
| 6.00pm | April - Sept. |
| 5.00pm | Oct. & March |
| 4.30pm | Nov. - Feb. |
How you can help
The natural world needs our help...and we need yours! Please consider making a donation to support our conservation, education and research work, both within our parks and across the world.
The ‘Next 100 Years’ Childrens Competition
Many events celebrating the centenary look to the past, it is also an important time to look to the future. For this competition we were extremely privileged to have Prof Iain Stewart, TV presenter of BBC series 'How Earth Made Us' and 'Volcano Live' judge the entries.
Edinburgh Zoo Centenary 2013 – “The Next 100 Years” Childrens competition
Edinburgh Zoo was opened on Corstorphine Hill in July 1913. The Zoo has received over 50 million visits since opening and over the years has been home to animals ranging from elephants to koalas and camels to giant pandas.
In the 100 years since the Zoo opened: the world population has risen from 1.7 billion to 7 billion people, and we’ve lost half of the world’s rainforest. At the same time, the Zoo has successfully bred many endangered species, and as part of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland been involved in conservation, research and education projects in Scotland and around the world.
Competition: This competition was about looking to the future and the next 100 years. We asked entrants to tell us will the Zoo be like in 2113? What animals might be there? What will the world be like in 100 years time, will we have saved species and habitats?
First Place:
Congratulations to Beth, from Bonaly Primary School
Second Prize:
"...I looked through the laser fence and when I saw what it was, I was surprised because when I last went to Edinburgh Zoo in 2013 they had loads of them. I looked through and saw two small gentoo penguins standing on their own. Damien pointed to a gold plaque. It read ‘Gentoo penguins. Last of their species. Died out completely in the wild because Global Warming destroyed the habitat.’ I was very upset by this, The gentoo penguins, two left...it can’t be. The gentoo penguin was one of the rarest animals in the whole zoo. I could barely take it in."
Congratulations to Emma, Dornoch Academy
Selected extracts from commended entries:
"Shhhhhhh! I’m trying to keep this a secret. Last week I went to Edinburgh Zoo in the future, 2113. I know it’s unbelievable but it’s true, really… …It was also very strange because there were no cages because humans had decided that the animals had to be free. There were only sensors that would bleep and then a barrier would fall down in front of the animal escaping… …I was quite disappointed when I found out that the lions were extinct because nobody had been looking after them properly and hadn’t been giving them the things they need. They are my favourite animal but I cheered up when I found out that mammoths and dodo birds had been able to come back to life using new technology. Emily, Kingswell Primary School
"As I walked out the door I felt ready, ready to tell the world about my adventure. I walked down the street to a big crowd of people. …I said “Come close I want to tell you about the time I time travelled.” …The sign said WELCOME TO EDINBURGH ZOO 2113. I had gone 100 years into the FUTURE. WE HAVE OVER 8,000,000 SPECIES. FROM DODOS TO MONKEYS, TO POLAR BEARS, TO PANDAS, TO GIRAFFES, TO RHINOS, TO ELEPHANTS, TO CROCODILES, TO OCTOPUSES AND ANTS! "
Natalie, Kingswell Primary School
"Last month the most amazing thing happened to me. I found a giant device, it looked like a turtle. Suddenly I saw a door so I opened it. It was bigger on the inside than the outside. I was amazed. I could just tell that it was a time machine. .. …There were millions of frogmouth turtles and now I was really confused. They had dodo birds. I thought I was dreaming but I wasn’t. They had brought back dodo birds. I walked into the zoo. They had penguins, dodo birds, frogmouth turtles, polar bears, elephants and fish… …Some animals had become extinct like cows, sheep and pigs because we ate them all. The animals lived in special floating habitats. "
Megan, Kingswell Primary School
"I don’t know how I did it but I went into the future… In the future I went to the zoo. They have sharks because they went endangered because people kept hunting them. Edinburgh Zoo is one of the most popular zoos in the world. Visitors increased by 2000 people a year. Hopefully this will continue. .. …Up in the mountains you cannot see any mountain lions. Two mountain lions were rushed to Edinburgh Zoo. We are currently breeding them but it will take time. "
Keri and Morven, Echline Primary School
"2017- New cross-breed of zebra and lion 2020- New futuristic upgrade
2022- Tian Tian and Yang Guang leave
2026- Becomes most visited Zoo in the world
2041- Visits increase by 35 people a day
2059- Elephants are introduced to Zoo
2069- Edinburgh Zoo has last 3 red foxes in the world
2070- Red fox becomes extinct
2073- Edinburgh Zoo introduce honey badger
2076- Edinburgh Zoo closes due to safety checks and extensions
2079- Edinburgh Zoo re-opens!
2084- Major fire caused by gas leak
2092- Edinburgh Zoo re-opens
2113- 200thanniversary of Edinburgh Zoo"
William and Richard, Echline Primary School
"Sunday 2113, I have been so busy investigating Edinburgh Zoo and examining the animals. The enclosures are completely different. They are much bigger with windows the animals can’t see through but projects the animal’s natural habitat onto their side of the glass. The numbers are astonishing! Tigers are no longer endangered as well as the snow leopard and the polar bear… …They are fed their exact diet in the wild and are given huge enclosures. There are sky rails which give you a view of the whole zoo. "
Cameron and Logan, Echline Primary School
"There will be more breeding. The zoo is going to be bigger and more space for walking around. It will look very futuristic. "
Daniel, Echline Primary School
"Chimp Challenge – this is your chance to climb like an ape
Zebra Zap Laser Quest- in the zebra enclosure
Bubble Wrap Room – this is your time to pop with a monkey
Shark Shower – you can surf with the sharks
Meerkat Mahem – get buried alive with meerkats
Walrus Waters – water world with walruses
Panda Playpark - a play park with pandas
Rhino Runthrough –go-kart through the rhino enclosure
Giraffe Gym – if you want to be strong you know the place to go"
Lauren, Echline Primary School
"After the major rebuild of the zoo in 2092, it now stands beside the Orange Canal (funded by Orange mobiles.com). With its unique design of natural habitats, the animals can roam free in their natural environments, making it one of the top tourist attractions in Europe. To have minimal disturbance to see the animals you walk through, see-through tunnels, including an underwater experience. "
Katarine and Kate, Boroughmuir High School
"The year is 2113 and we are at the zoo celebrating its 200th birthday. There have been many changes at the zoo over the past 100 years, both good and bad. They have got new animals such as giraffes, elephants, kangaroos and sharks. Also the panda breeding scheme is going really well. But unfortunately deforestation has lead to orang-utans being endangered and the zoo is doing everything they can to save them. "
Hannah and Lauren, Boroughmuir High School
"In 2008, the BIAZA Awards were given to the Zoo in recognition of its ‘Best New Zoo Enclosure’ which could hold 40 chimpanzees. The enclosure is now named Troglodytes Trail after a chimp’s Latin name, Pan Troglodytes. The enclosure was expanded in 2033 to celebrate Budongo Trail’s 25th anniversary… One of the zoo’s most successful projects is breeding giant pandas. The first two pandas Yang Guang and Tian Tian arrived on Sunday 4th December 2011 on a 10 year loan from China. From 2011 to 2021 the zoo took part in some of the world’s most important research into pandas. For the first 4 years that the pandas were at the zoo they failed to breed but in 2015 a baby panda, Huanle, was born. "
Tom, Dornoch Academy