How do the fun day packages work?
We request that you will need to book the minimum times allowed in the following time slots:
Morning between 9-12pm
Afternoon between 1pm – 6pm
Or full day that may overlap these times at 4 or more hours only
All petting zoos are run using an hourly animal handling times chart throughout the day for example meerkats 0-15 minutes past the hour, snake 15-25 minutes past the hour. This is to reduce frequent handling and so the public can come at the allocated times to see the animals they would like to see.
If you are charging entry please see our other fun day FAQ for recommended charges. You will need to provide your own staff member to stand at the entrance to take money.
How do the party packages work?
Discovery (1 hour+)
5 minutes – Introduction to the encounter and birthday child/ren
50 minutes – Animal presentation handling/ touching with 8 animals around 5 minutes per animal
5 minutes – Hand washing and debrief
Animal Planet (1 1/2 hours+)
5 minutes – Introduction to the encounter and birthday child/ren
25 minutes - Animal presentation, handling/ touching with 4 animals around 5 minutes per animal
10 minutes – Party Game with prize for winner (musical lily pads/animal statues/safari hunt ect. Game chosen by birthday child at the time)
25 minutes - Animal handling/ touching with 4 animals around 5 minutes per animal
10 minutes - Party Game with prize for winner (musical lily pads/animal statues/safari hunt ect. Game chosen by birthday child at the time)
15 minutes - Hand washing and debrief, hand out certificates, gifts and special birthday child’s gift
Extra time can be added for a food break/ extra animal handling time if needed £35 for 30 minutes or party game/s can be excluded instead.
Deadly 60 (2 hours +)
20 minutes – Animal masks crafts table competition (this allows time for children who may be late to arrive and for glue to dry before the end of the party)
5 minutes – Introduction to the encounter and birthday child/ren
30 minutes - Animal presentation, handling/ feeding/ touching with 4 animals around 5 minutes per animal
10 minutes – Party Game with prize for winner (musical lily pads/animal statues/safari hunt ect. Game chosen by birthday child at the time)
30 minutes - Animal handling/ feeding/touching with 4 animals around 5 minutes per animal
10 minutes - Party Game with prize for winner (musical lily pads/animal statues/safari hunt ect. Game chosen by birthday child at the time)
15 minutes - Hand washing and debrief, prize for winner of the animal masks craft competition, hand out certificates, gifts and special birthday child’s gift
Extra time can be added for a food break/ extra animal handling time if needed £30 for 30 minutes or party game/s can be excluded instead.
How do people wash there hands after handling animals?
We provide Purell antibacterial hand sanitiser gel suitable for people of all ages.
At parties, schools and organisations where we do handling sessions we give each child/ adult a pump of liquid purell to use on there hands. The gel works in under 15 seconds however we do still recommend people wash there hands before eating to remove any sand, hair or soil from the animals.
At fun days where we are unable to regulate hand washing we have an automatic Purell hand foam dispenser by the exit which is sign posted to be used when exiting to zoo.
We would like to charge entry. How does it work?
You will need to nominate a staff member for this task. We will provide pricing signs and barriers. All you will need is a kitty as we will not be responsible for any money handling on the day.
Both adults and children will pay to hold animals which is indicated on our sign (includes adults wishing to hold animals) usually looking to hold our meerkats, snake or tarantula.
For 10 minutes maximum in the zoo area including handling 1 or 2 animals we recommend that you charge £2 for small fetes and fundays and £3 for events where you are expecting a turnout of over 1000 people.
The reason for this is we can only fit a certain amount of people in the zoo area at one time.
3x3m around 10 people at one time
6x3m around 20 people at one time
6x6m around 30 people at one time
Do the animals enjoy being handled by so many people?
We can assure you the welfare of our animals is paramount and in every case the animals will be put before anything else. They are kept as pets in a home environment and we ensure they are always 100% happy and healthy.
All our animals are provided with food and water depending on the species and the feeding requirements. Our van is also temperature controlled: heated prior to travel in the winter and fitted with air conditioning for the hot summer months. We will bring heat mats, heat lamps and fans where required for the animals.
All of our animals are brought up around people so they are not afraid of human interaction. The animal handling and being in different environments then provides as a form of enrichment with new activities, smells and people to explore. Should any animal show signs of stress from being petted the animal will be removed from the website and stay at home.
To control a large number of people handling the animals we either put a time limit on the time period each animal comes out per hour, put the animal on a blanket on your lap so you can touch/stroke it or we will hold the animal and allow people to stroke/touch the animal.
What areas do you cover?
We are based in Ipswich, Suffolk.
We try not to travel more than 1.5 hours from our base to reduce the time the animals spend travelling. We may travel further if you are booking an event 3+ hours so we are able to set up there large enclosures and also so they can have a long rest between travelling times.
We cover most of the Eastern region including Suffolk, Essex, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, and East London.
We may travel further depending on your requirements and to areas that border the eastern region including Kent and Hertfordshire.
Please email us with your enquiry.
How does the petting zoo work?
We bring a variety of exotic animal to your home, organisation or venue. The actual amount of handling and the presentation of the animals will vary by package and time constraints but generally we provide an educational fun show with facts about each animal and provide an opportunity for everyone to touch or hold the animal.
For fun days we will provide an animal encounter handling times chart so people can see there preferred animals at the allocated time slot.
How do i book and how far in advance do i need to book?
Please send us an email via the contact page with your enquiry with the details we have specified. We recommend you book 2 months in advance for weekend bookings and 1 month in advance for weekday bookings.
If you have passed the time limit please still contact us and we will try our best to find you a suitable time slot for your desired date.
Do i need to pay a deposit? How can i pay?
Yes we require a 50% deposit up to the value of £100 to secure your booking date and time within 7 days of receiving your confirmation email
Please pay via Bacs (online direct bank transfer) to our account. If this is unavailable to you we will take a cheque or cash as a deposit payment. All details for payment via Bacs and cheque are provided on the bottom of your invoice.
Your outstanding balance is due when you receive your last email from us 1 week prior to your event. Payment can be taken in the same form as above however a cheque will not be accepted unless you are an organisation. If Bacs is unavailable you must pay in cash when we arrive at the event.
What animals can i choose?
At Kimmys we try our best to bring the animals you would prefer we usually bring 3 mammals, 2/3 reptiles and 2/3 invertebrates (the number of animals will vary upon which package you have purchased). With the 10 animal packages you can choose 4 mammals.
Please remember although children like the fluffy ones the reptiles and bugs are just as fascinating and actually easier to handle. A variety enables the children to grow up without phobias of these animals and respect them instead of fear them. Once 1 child has held something 90% of the group will also hold it after seeing it will not bring any harm just excitement!!!
In most cases we are able to bring your chosen animals however we will suggest changes if we feel any animals are not suitable for the age group, they are unable to attend due to circumstances beyond our control or due to weather conditions.
Your animal choices will be requested when we send your last email 1 week prior to your event date.
Here are our recommend animals for young children:
0-5 Years
1. Skunk
2.Chinchilla
3. Hedgehog
4. Tortoise
5. Leopard Gecko
6. Python
7. Millipede
8. Leaf Insect or Land snails
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How much time do i need to book?
As a general rule to provide you with a full handling session for 1 hour with 8 animals the experience is best for 12 people. This enables everyone enough time to have photos taken, learn about the animals and ask questions. For 12-18 people we would recommend 1.5 hours and so on.
For our 1 hour animal science road show where we will talk more in depth about the animals and only allow people to touch the 8 animals we are able to cater for around 30 people at one time.
When you book us for a wedding, adult party or fun day we do not provide constraints on attendees as we will be part of the entertainment rather than the sole entertainment. If you are planning on us providing the sole entertainment so everyone can handle the animals you will need to book to allow time for this.
Do i need to hire a venue?
No we can provide animal handling sessions in the comfort of your own home however for our Deadly 60 party package we recommend you book a venue unless you have a very large room in your house.
Can we have the petting zoo outside?
We can do outdoor events however the outdoor temperature must be between 15-25 degrees and preferably with an electric point. You must be able to provide an indoor area should the weather not be suitable outside. Our gazebo will only cater for normal weather it is not suitable for heavy rain or severe wind. You will need to provide a gazebo should ours will not be suitable.
What if some of the children are not to keen on animals?
To cater for children who would like to come to the event yet are not to keen on animals we provide an animal themed crafts table available to purchase via our extras page. Please email us to add this on to your package.
This is included in the Deadly 60 birthday package.
A crafts table with colouring materials and animal finger puppets is included in our deadly 60 fun day package.
What ages are most suitable for your animal encounters?
We can cater for any age from children to adults to the elderly.
We recommend:
Discovery party 0-4 years – children under the age of 2 are not permitted to hold animals yet we encourage parents to hold the animals with there child should they be under 2 years old. This package provides a great bonding experience between parent and child and also provides entertainment for the parents as well as the children. Parents actually ask more questions than the children!!
Animal planet and Deadly 60 party 4 - teenager - This experience is best for children 4 and above as it includes party games and free prizes suitable for children over the age of 3. Should you have any under 3′s and you wish to include them in the prizes we will bring age related gifts. We will send a request to you via email asking for the gender and age of each child. Should the children be at an age where they do not wish to play party games the extra time will be used for even more animal handling and the gifts will be provided at the end of the party to take home.
Adult party- No animals are not just for children!! We have attended 18- 80th birthday parties, corporate events and even a ball. We believe animals enable adults to get back in touch with there childlike self and also provide great comfort to the elderly.
Schools, clubs and colleges – Again any age is suitable. The interesting facts that you can learn about these animals are endless. We provide education animal shows and workshops tailored to your curriculum and age group or we can just have fun and handle some of these amazing creatures as a special end of term treat.
Are there any additional costs, what are your fuel charges?
Except fuel we do not add on any hidden costs. We provide you with prices on our website to ensure our customers that we will not give you an overpriced quote.
Fuel is charged at 45p a mile both ways from Ipswich IP2 area.
How do i download your party invitations?
The party invitations will be sent to you with your confirmation email upon booking as a PDF document for you to download and print.
Is it possible to see a copy of your risk assessment and insurance before I book?
Yes of course please email us via the contact page and we will send this to you as a PDF document for you to download.
Can you tailor a workshop for a different topic?
Yes we can please email us via the contact page with your topic and key stage and we will create an animal workshop for you.
What experience do have with children with additional and sensory needs?
Kimmy has worked with people from the age of 3 to 90 with mild to severe learning and physical disabilities for many years prior to the zoo. Kimmy has training in various fields including makaton, child protection, health and safety, and safeguarding.
All we may ask is that children who are likely to try and grab the animals be supported by a team member to assist with stroking and touching the animals when required.
Do we need to provide anything for you eg. tables, chairs?
Yes please.
For events held in the home we do not require any equipment.
For events held at a venue or organisation we require 2 x 6 foot tables for the animals and 1 x 6 foot table for crafts where applicable. We also prefer people to sit on chairs set out in a semi circle to provide a more enjoyable experience.
For fun days if available to you it would be great if you can provide a gazebo and tables to provide more room for your chosen animals in the van. For adverse weather you must provide us with a gazebo or indoor area.