Perfectly timed for the start of the summer holidays, Bristol Zoo Project's brand-new adventure playground is now open — a massive, three-storey tower of inclusive play equipment, just a short drive from Gloucestershire.
The conservation-themed playground, called Explorers Basecamp, opened on Saturday 20 July 2024, after getting the thumbs up from 20 official 'play testers' who won the chance to try out the new play area before it opened to the public.
Explorers Basecamp is a completely bespoke play tower, designed to provide accessible and fully immersive adventure play for children of all ages and needs.
Spanning three storeys, it's modelled on a field station — just like the kind you'd find at Bristol Zoological Society's global outposts, where conservationists do important work to protect endangered wildlife species and habitats.
Kids can race down the zipline and whizz down the companion slide — which proved to be the most popular features among the young play testers!
While other stand-out features include the rope jungle, floor and ground trampolines, a wheelchair accessible roundabout and family swing.
Teaching kids all about wildlife conservation through engaging play, the first level focuses on field work and investigation. Children climb up through the station to reach level two, which has an animal theme and includes lots of games, featuring inclusive sensory boards and Braille inserts; before reaching the top of the tower, which explores the use of technology in conservation work.
The new playground is just one part of the first phase of work to create a new conservation zoo at Bristol Zoo Project, with development already underway to build a central African forest habitat to accommodate the zoo's troop of western lowland gorillas and other threatened species.
Explorers Basecamp playground is now open at Bristol Zoo Project and entry is included with general admission.
