Cork's Fota Wildlife Park to host series of family-friendly educational events 

Robots, bugs and a virtual walk through the human digestive system are among the attractions on offer in a new summer series of family-friendly educational weekends at Fota Wildlife Park.

The weekends will feature a variety of fun, interactive experiences and learning-focused stands and activities throughout July and August, based in the park’s newly opened Education, Conservation and Research Centre.

Visitors to Fota Wildlife Park are invited to attend the themed educational events, which are free with entry and begin with the Mad Scientist Weekend on Saturday and Sunday July 13 and 14.

The Mad Scientist Weekend will feature interactive displays, stands, talks and demonstrations, allowing attendees to explore the wonders of science with exhibits from the Tyndall Institute, the Lifetime Lab at the Old Cork Waterworks, MathsWorks, VEX Robots, and Lego.

Visitors will also experience a giant walk-through alimentary canal, built by UCC’s Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, exploring the route food takes through our bodies.

Other exhibitors will include the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences (BEES), the Irish Bee Conservation Project, and Fota Wildlife Park’s Education team.

The Native Species Weekend will run on July 27 and 28, and will celebrate local biodiversity with interactive stands and exhibits from the likes of Cork Nature Network, East Cork Beekeeping Association, the Seal Sanctuary, the Breeding Waders EIP, and the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group.

The Bug Bonanza Weekend will run on August 17 and 18 and will showcase a variety of rare and interesting invertebrates from around the world, with Fota Wildlife Park zoologists and the education team presenting talks about the insects in their tropical house and the role those bugs play in global biodiversity.

For further information, see www.fotawildlife.ie.