Childrens zoo keeper for a day experience recommendations?

[Pippapotomus]

I'm looking for experience vouchers for DC Christmas gifts, in a bid to cut down on the crap cluttering my home.

10yr old DD would probably like to be a zoo keeper for a day. We're in London, and could travel an hour or 2. Any recommendations or places to avoid? I don't want to pay a small sum for her to have a broom for an afternoon.

I did it as a grown up in my late 20s. I was the oldest person they had had. Still got my certificate and tshirt though.

I did it at Shepreth Wildlife Park in Cambridgeshire. It was awesome.

Shepreth is 30 seconds from the train station too so it would be ideal from London.

My sister visited there recently, she said it was brilliant.

Thanks, will have a look.

New Forest Wildlife park (near Southampton). (2hrs)
You can get more 'hands on' than with zoos - DD fed wallabies and deers by hand as well as playing with otters, feeding bison. She loved it so much she did it again another year.

Longdown Activity Farm (also near Southampton)
This does a 'farmer for a day' which was a longer time than the NFWP, DD loved this too.

If you wanted to make a weekend of it, both are near Paultons Park which is great for primary age children. (but £££).

(The 2hrs is my memory of length of session, not the time from London).

We did one at Woburn, it was fab. We fed lorikeets, wallabees, we stroked the lemurs, mucked out the ponies and donkeys, went in the Rhino house and got to go off road in the safari bits. The keepers that took us around were so knowledgeable and friendly. This was when DS turned 8, so you may be able to do more with a 10 year old. It wasn't madly expensive either.

Brilliant, I have lots to research.

Thank you

Colchester zoo isn't far from east and central London but you'd either need to drive or get a taxi from Colchester Station.

Chessington is good.