Ssssh! It's quiet time at the zoo as the attraction launches autism hours

That is why the zoo has decided to opened its gates an hour earlier for ‘quiet hour’, which is aimed at making the zoo more user-friendly for those with autism.

Starting on Sunday July 9, the zoo will open at 9am, an hour before it opens to the general public, and there will be a limited number of 150 tickets available.

Zoo manager, Alyn Cairns, explained: “Our new quiet hours allow families to explore the sights and sounds of the zoo in a calm and relaxed atmosphere, without the typical noise and crowds that can be challenging for children and adults with sensory needs.

“The zoo is not only a vital educational resource for children but it is also a fun day out with the opportunity to create memories as a family, that will last a lifetime.

“We are delighted to be playing an active role in making inclusivity the norm in Northern Ireland and to make the zoo a welcoming day out for everyone.

“We realise that there is a huge demand for family-focused attractions to create a supportive and enjoyable experience for visitors with sensory needs.

“We want to open the zoo up to a range of people.

“In order to keep Quiet Hour ‘quiet’ there will be a limited number of 150 tickets available. However, we hope that the success of this event will lead to many more ‘quiet hours’ in the future.”

The zoo’s community support officer, Asleigh Sinclair explained how the ‘quiet hours’ concept came about.

“We have a very good Equality Department in Belfast City Council and during a site visit last year we had a full accessibility audit to make sure the zoo was available for everyone,” she explained.

“One thing that came out of that was the creation of an autism friendly environment.

“We are planning to undertake autism training for all of the zoo staff but in the meantime we thought we would start with the Quiet Hours.

“A number of other attractions in Northern Ireland have a similar service that has proved to be very successful.”

As well as having a limited number of visitors allowed in the zoo during the quiet hours, steps have also been taken to try to keep noise levels on site to a minimum where possible.

“We have released 150 tickets, which we think will allow approximately 50 families access to the 55 acre site,” continued Ashleigh.

“We know there is going to be a big demand but we need to limit the number of tickets to keep it quiet.

“Without other visitors it will be much quieter but we are also asking staff not to drive vehicles on the site and we will be keeping background music at a low level.”

Belfast Zoo has also developed a sensory guide to help visitors on the autism spectrum to plan their visit to the zoo, which is available to download from www.belfastzoo.co.uk

Ashleigh Sinclair added: “Because there are so many different elements, smells and noises, we wanted to develop a guide so that users can download it can prepare in advance so that they will know what they are going to see and experience.

“We have had great feedback from our equality team.

“It started as an autism sensory guide but it has become more general now because we had input from a member of staff who is hearing impaired so we have included a lot of visual information as well.

“It gets kids engaged with the zoo before they come along and they will be prepared before they come on site.”

Everyone who attends the quiet hour will be given a feedback form on the day as the zoo are keen to develop the service and adjust it where needed.
“We want to make sure it is beneficial for visitors and we welcome their feedback,” added Ashleigh.

Numbers will be limited for this event and tickets must be pre-booked.

For more information visit www.belfastzoo.co.uk, email [email protected] or call 028 9077 6277. Normal admission prices apply.