25+ Zoo Crafts, Games, and Activities for Kids
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Take your child on a wild learning adventure with zoo-themed coloring pages, crafts, activities, and interactive, educational online games—perfect for kids who love animals and hands-on fun!
A trip to the zoo is always a favorite for kids—and it’s not just fun, it’s educational too! These zoo-themed coloring pages, crafts, activities, and interactive online games help extend that excitement while supporting early learning.
Children can get creative with animals like elephants, lions, flamingos, and butterflies with our free printable zoo coloring pages and crafts. Then, practice important skills (like addition, colors, and letter recognition) through activities to try at the zoo or work on at home with free online games. It’s a great way to combine your child’s love for zoo animals with hands-on learning.
Take a virtual trip to the zoo with ABCmouse!
Can’t make it to the zoo in person? No problem! Join ABCmouse on a virtual zoo adventure. Then try the zoo-animal color pages and activities below.
Zoo Facts, Coloring Pages, and Crafts
Lions
Lions are powerful animals that live mostly in the savannah or grasslands. They often live together in groups called prides, which usually have about 10 to 15 lions. Female lions do most of the hunting—about 85 to 90% of it—while male lions help protect the pride and watch over their territory. Lions are also very fast and can run up to 81 kilometers per hour when they’re chasing their prey!
Lion Coloring Pages
Print out these free roar-some lion coloring pages for some simple creativity! You’ll find friendly and playful lions ready to be brought to life and several lion activity sheets.
Lion Craft for Kids
Construct a fierce or friendly lion in minutes with just a few pieces of construction paper, a scissors, glue, marker, and googly eyes! This is a great pre- or post-zoo activity.
Elephants
Elephants are the biggest land animals in the world! There are three kinds of elephants—the African Savannah elephant, the African Forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. Elephants have long tusks that never stop growing, and they use them to help dig, carry things, or protect themselves. These gentle giants also love to eat and can spend 12 to 18 hours every day munching on grass, plants, and fruit!
Elephant Coloring Pages
Whether your child loves elephants for their size, their trunks, or just because they’re awesome—these free printable coloring pages will make their day!
Elephant Craft for Kids
This craft spotlights the letter E in ‘elephant,’ and an elephant’s signature trunk and big floppy ears. Try using our letter E template in these free Letter E worksheets to get started.
Flamingos
Flamingos are colorful birds that live in warm places near lakes and lagoons. However, when baby flamingos are born, they have white-gray feathers and a straight bill. Their distinct color and beak appear after several years. Flamingos snack on tiny foods like algae, shrimp, and snails while standing or walking in shallow water. The special pigments in the algae and shrimp they eat are what turn their feathers pink as they grow!
Flamingo Coloring Pages
Kids will be tickled pink with these adorable flamingo coloring pages! These fabulous birds come to life in all kinds of settings, with pages that are perfect for artists of every age.
Flamingo Felt Craft for Kids
Simple tools like pink felt, liquid glue, a scissors, and marker are all that’s needed to create your very own flamingo. Replace the pink felt with feathers for a fluffier version!
Butterflies
Butterflies have three body parts—a head, a thorax (the middle), and an abdomen (the tail end)—plus six legs and four wings. Believe it or not, butterflies have taste buds on their feet that help them find yummy food like nectar, which is all they can drink since they don’t have chewing mouths. Butterflies are cold-blooded, which means they need to be warm. If it gets below 55 degrees, they can’t fly or eat. They also have great eyesight up close, but things farther than 10–12 feet away look blurry to them!
Butterfly Coloring Pages
Butterfly coloring pages are a fun way for kids to explore these fascinating insects they often see in nature! From simple designs to detailed images, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
Butterfly Craft for Kids
The letter B transforms into a beautiful butterfly in this paper craft for kids. Form the wings by layering various shades of paper (or fabric) on top of each other.
Turn coffee filters in multi-colored butterfly wings in this easy craft for kids!
Owls
Owls can turn their necks all the way around—up to 270 degrees—so they can see all around them. Many owls have asymmetrical ears, which means their ears are at different heights on their heads, helping them better hear where sounds are coming from. Most owls are nocturnal, which means they’re awake and active at night. They also have feather colors that help them blend into their surroundings so they can stay hidden—that’s called camouflage!
Owl Coloring Pages
These adorable owl coloring pages showcase these fascinating birds in all sorts of fun ways—like pirate owls, owls hanging out with friends, and owls happily perched in trees.
Owl Craft for Kids
This wide-eyed owl comes together quickly with the outline of a letter O and some brown and yellow construction paper. Don’t forget the big googly eyes!
Eagles
Eagles are powerful birds, and there are over 60 different species of them around the world! The Bald Eagle is the most well-known species. This eagle is found in North America, usually near coasts, lakes, or rivers where they can catch plenty of fish. Female bald eagles are slightly bigger than the males, and both work together to build huge nests called aeries (say it like “AIR-ees”). These nests are often placed at the very tops of tall trees or cliffs to help keep their eggs safe.
Eagle Coloring Pages
Get ready to soar with our awesome collection of eagle coloring pages! Whether you’re looking for a realistic eagle to color or a simple eagle for younger kids, there’s a page here for everyone.
Zoo Learning Activities for Preschool–Second Grade
Add even more fun and learning to your next trip to the zoo with these easy ideas. Pick and choose the ones best suited for your child’s learning level and weave them into your day as you explore the variety of animals and experiences at the zoo.
Animal Math
Count the animals in an exhibit ( “How many monkeys can you find?”) or add the different types of animals that are in the same area (“I see 3 kangaroos and 4 koala bears. How many animals is that?”).
Rainbow Safari
Name the colors of various animals as you walk through the zoo, asking questions like “What colors do you see on the parrot?” Take it one step further and discuss why those animals may have those colors. For example, do the colors help them hide from predators or stand out to a potential mate?
Creature Compare
Comparing animals helps children with early classifying skills, which they’ll need for future learning. Talk about the differences between the baby animals and adults and how they change as they get older or compare different features of animals, such as the length of their tails, the size of their ears, and more.
Measure the Menagerie
This activity continues your child’s work with classifying, but it’s also a first step toward exploring measurements. Determining “bigger and smaller” and “more or less” helps kids start understanding concepts like size and amounts. As you walk through the zoo, try asking which animal is bigger or smaller and which animal has more or less teeth, antlers, fur, colors, stripes, or spots.
Animal Cuisine
As you walk through the zoo, guess what the animals eat (meat, plants, or both). Depending on your child’s age, explain the terms carnivore, herbivore, and omnivore.
Animal Alphabet
Try to find an animal that starts with each letter of the alphabet. You could also practice with letter sounds by asking your child to find an animal that starts with the “eh” or short /ě/ sound, like an elephant.
Zoo Commentator
Practice with descriptive language (or adjectives and adverbs), using these words to describe the way an animal looks or moves. This can help kids improve their communication skills and expand their vocabulary.
Wild Wayfinders
Practice map reading skills by using the zoo map to find different animals and get to other areas of the zoo. If you’re looking for even more practice with maps, use our free printable maps skills worksheets.
Party Animals
Look for the animals that stay awake all night and describe the term “nocturnal” to your child.
Under, Over, Above, & Near
Practice using position words, asking which animals are behind rocks, under a canopy, next to the water, or above you in trees.
Homes in the Wild
Talk about the landscapes of different animal enclosures, noting which animals have groves of trees, rocky areas, or pools of water. This is a great way to discuss the different areas animals live in and the features of their natural habitats.
Syllable Safari
Work on syllables by clapping out the number of syllables in each animal’s name, such as pen-guin, gir-affe, fla-min-go, or bear.
Free Online Zoo Learning Games for Kids
Continue zoo-themed learning with these free-to-play online learning games. Work on skills like number recognition, reading, vocabulary, and syllables.
Zoo Signs Game for Preschool-2nd Grade
Step into a fun day at the zoo in this interactive learning game designed for children in preschool through second grade! Kids help a boy fix the broken animal signs by selecting the correct word chunks to build and spell multisyllabic words. As they play, children can work on phonics, word recognition, and syllable awareness.
Numbers at the Zoo for Preschoolers
This is great game for preschoolers learning numbers 1 to 10! As kids explore the zoo, they’ll spot numerals hidden throughout a colorful, animal-filled environment. As they play, they’ll work on strengthen their number recognition skills,
Zoo Numbers Pop and Peek (1–5) for Toddler–1st Graders
Get ready for a fun surprise at the zoo in this interactive number game for toddlers through first grade! Kids listen carefully, then pop the balloons with the correct numbers they hear from 1 to 5 to reveal a hidden animal surprise. This playful activity aims to help young learners practice number recognition, improve listening skills, and build early math confidence.
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