Program outline
Depending on the learning goals for your students, our program can focus on either one of or both “Adaptations” and “Ecosystems”.
| Adaptations or Ecosystems Programs | ||
| Educator-led Sessions
90 mins total |
Up-close encounter with several education reptiles. Guided walk through the Park to observe and learn about Australian mammals and birds. | |
| Adaptations and Evolution
Students will observe, learn about and interact with a range of animals on a guided tour of our Park and an up-close and hands on reptile encounter in our classroom. Students will appreciate the use of the theory of natural selection to support our understanding of all forms of life and their adaptations through time. Students will hypothesize how species may have or will, react to changes in their environment including drought, rainfall and climate change as well as inter-species pressures, disease and periods of abundance. Students will explore the ways in which Australian wildlife have adapted to extreme local conditions across traditional evolutionary timescales as well as being prompted to hypothesise the potential ways in which wildlife could adapt in an example of microevolution. |
Ecosystems and Interactions
Students will observe, learn about and interact with a range of animals and environments with a guided tour of our Park and an up-close and hands on reptile encounter in our classroom. The program will examine both the communities formed around our wetlands, woodlands or walk-in aviary as well as drawing connections between animals housed in species specific enclosures. Our sessions will support learners’ understanding and appreciation of the varied relationships between all forms of life within environments made up of both biotic and abiotic components. Students will be prompted to make predictions regarding how energy flows through an ecosystem and the impact of environmental changes or other interspecies pressures on the diversity and functioning of these systems. |
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| Teacher-led Sessions
30-45 mins total |
Wallaby Walk
Groups will be provided with Roo-food and an identification sheet so that students may observe, identify, interact with and potentially feed our free roaming wallabies and kangaroos. |
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2025 PRICES
90 minute program – cost per student including admission: $21.50
Includes 90 minutes of educator-led sessions, plus a teacher-led session to visit the Wallaby Walk.
Includes reserved undercover seating.
Extra adults over the below ratios: $23.00 (to a maximum of 1:1)
NOTE: all programs have a minimum charge for 17 students per group – even if fewer attend on the day.
All prices include GST
***Discount for TERM 1 2025***
Excursions booked for dates in Term 1 2025 are priced at $19.50 per student
ADULT TO STUDENT RATIO
Adult to student ratio
Secondary: 1 adult included free of charge for every 10 students (rounded up to the next 10)
Carers and Aides (for people with physical or learning needs): 1 included per student
Learning aides do not affect ratios
Extra adults over the above ratios: $23.00
RESOURCES
Resources
On the day, a Wallaby Walk Guide will be provided to leading teachers and other supervising adults to assist them in facilitating the teacher-led session.
Digital copies of these resources can be found here: Wallaby Walk Guide and Identification Sheet
GROUP SIZE, STUDENT NUMBERS & TIMETABLE
- Program can be run with 1 to 5 groups
- Group minimum of 17 students (invoiced for 17 even if fewer attend)
- Schools with greater than 125 students can visit over multiple days.
Groups of 1 to 3 classes (approx. 16 to 75 students):
- 90-minute educator-led program will be divided into 2 x 45-minute sessions + 1 teacher-led session in the Wallaby Walk
- Educator-led sessions consist of an indoor reptile encounter session and an outdoor Park-based session.
Groups of 4 to 5 classes (approx. 75 to 125 students):
- 90-minute Educator-led program will be divided into 3 x 30-minute sessions + 1 teacher-led session in the Wallaby Walk
- Educator-led sessions will consist of an indoor reptile encounter session and two outdoor Park-based sessions in different zones.
An example of a timetable for 4 groups based on a 10am arrival is shown below.
CHANGES TO CONDITIONS FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL EXCURSION BOOKINGS
Due to the intimate size of the park and the close contact guests can have with our wildlife, Moonlit Sanctuary is not a suitable facility for free-time and unstructured activities for large school groups.
Based on feedback from our guests, Keepers, and Education staff, and to ensure the welfare of our animals, we request that Year 7-10 school groups of 3 or more classes, depart Moonlit Sanctuary after their program or following lunch.
If there is a need for a data collection session, we can schedule this within the structured timetable. During this session, students must remain with their class groups and be under the full supervision of a teacher.
Curriculum Links
Our Year 9 and 10 program caters to the curriculum descriptors shown below.
| Victorian Curriculum | Levels 9 and 10 | |
| Science | Biological Science | The theory of evolution by natural selection explains the diversity of living things and is supported by a range of scientific evidence (VCSSU120) |
| Ecosystems consist of communities of interdependent organisms and abiotic components of the environment; matter and energy flow through these systems (VCSSU121) | ||
| Science as a human endeavour | Scientific understanding including models and theories are contestable and are refined over time through a process of review by the scientific community (VCSSU114) | |
| Questioning and predicting | Formulate questions or hypotheses that can be investigated scientifically, including identification of independent, dependent and controlled variables(VCSIS134) | |
| Cross Curriculum Priorities | Learning about Sustainability | |
| Learning Capabilities | Critical and Creative Thinking | |
| Ethical | ||
