Wildlife & Reptile School Incursions Melbourne

We have 13 different incursions for preschool through to secondary school, all aligned with curriculum topics. Our preschool wildlife incursions are mapped to the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework, while primary and secondary programs sit alongside the Victorian Curriculum, including VCE Biology Unit 1 adaptations. Across our animal education programs for schools, topics span animal life cycles, habitats, adaptations, biodiversity and sustainability, through to classification, body systems, ecosystems, evolution, genetics, threatened species, and local Victorian wildlife. Every program is tailored to suit different year levels and curriculum outcomes, using incredible animals to make learning memorable, meaningful, and fun. We’re also launching ZooEd, a teaching resources library that all bookings will get access to soon.

We cover all of Victoria with our incursion programs. From our headquarters in Burwood, our team travels across metro Melbourne – inner-city, eastern, western, northern, southern, and bayside suburbs – and out to regional Victoria for animal incursions Melbourne schools and country schools rely on. We regularly visit kindergartens, primary, and secondary schools from the Mornington Peninsula through to Geelong, Ballarat, and Bendigo, and can arrange educational animal visits to schools interstate on request.

We’re delighted to offer reptile incursions for students ranging from preschool through secondary school. Our experienced presenters are skilled at adapting their approach to ensure that every student, regardless of age, has a memorable and educational experience. Our youngest learners – from age three in kinder and preschool – enjoy gentle, sensory-rich animal presentations for schools built around the Victorian Early Years Framework. Primary classes step up into life cycles, classification, and adaptations, while secondary programs cover ecosystems, evolution, genetics, and VCE Biology content. Our Wildlife Ambassadors hold science or environmental science degrees, so they instinctively pitch vocabulary and story to the age group in front of them.

Our standard reptile incursion shows run for a full hour. This timeframe has proven to be ideal for capturing and holding the students’ attention while allowing us to showcase a diverse range of fascinating reptiles. Setup is quick – our Wildlife Ambassador arrives around 15 minutes before showtime to unload and settle the animals before students enter. The hour is paced so each animal gets a proper introduction: name, habitat, behaviour, and what makes it special. If you’d like multiple sessions in one day, we’re happy to run back-to-back reptile incursions. Melbourne schools regularly book back-to-back incursions to cover several year levels without disrupting the timetable.

In a typical show you’ll be presented with 8 truly unique and incredible species. The line-up varies between programs and seasons, but you can expect a thoughtful mix from our collection of 500+ Australian animals – including iconic reptiles like the Diamond Python, Frilled Neck Lizard, and Saltwater Crocodile, plus marsupials, native birds, insects, and minibeasts. Each species is introduced with its habitat, diet, and conservation story. Soon, our animal education programs for schools will also come with curriculum-linked materials and post-incursion activity ideas through ZooEd, our upcoming teaching resources library.

Yes – we arrange animals to visit schools right across Melbourne and Victoria. Our shows include reptiles, birds, insects, and marsupials, all handled by tertiary-qualified wildlife educators. Whether your animal school visit is for a one-off science lesson or a recurring program, we can accommodate you. We’ve been arranging educational animal visits to schools since 2007, and many of our partner schools book us in year after year as part of their science calendar. We operate 365 days a year and visit around 1,500 classrooms annually, so we’re well-practised at fitting in around book weeks, science weeks, and curriculum units. Wherever you are in Melbourne, animals visit schools through us with every permit and check already in place.

Absolutely. All our reptile incursions Melbourne schools book are Victorian Curriculum-aligned and delivered by degree-qualified presenters. We cover all Melbourne postcodes and regional Victoria. Reptile Encounters is proud to be one of the most established providers of reptile incursions that Melbourne schools turn to year after year. Our programs are backed by a commercial wildlife demonstration licence (No: 13081293-DE), $20 million public liability insurance, and a team with current Working with Children and Police Checks – so the admin side is taken care of.