sweep up after us,” Miss Hawkins replied firmly. “My class certainly won’t be dropping any litter or chewing gum, and they’ve already had their packed lunches at school.”
“Hmmm. Even so, I still think I’d better supervise,” replied Mr Pinch, frowning.
Zoe’s mum winked at Zoe and then turned to Mr Pinch. “Oh, there’s no need for that, Percy,” she said firmly. “I can look after everyone!”
Lucy and Miss Hawkins ushered everyone inside the spider house and Mr Pinch shook his head, mutteringcrossly to himself.
First of all, Lucy showed everyone a small enclosure with glass walls, full of moss, leaves and bits of wood. A delicate silver web had been spun between two branches, and a small black spider sat right in the middle of it. “This is an orb weaver spider,” said Lucy. “Can anyone tell me what family spiders belong to?”
Straightaway, a boy called Louis put his hand up. “The arachnid family?” he said.
“Very good,” said Lucy, nodding. “Lots of people think spiders are insects, but actually they’re not – they’re arachnids. Their bodies are made out of two sections, rather than three, and they have eight legs, not six.”
“Look at that amazing web!” said Miss Hawkins.
“Spiders’ webs are made from very strong silk,” explained Lucy. “In fact, a strand of spider silk is five times stronger than a piece of steel the same size! And a spider produces lots of it. Some spiders spin themselves a brand-new web every day! Can you imagine building yourself a new house every day?”
Then she moved on to the next glass enclosure, and pointed out a big black spider with bright orange-red patches that was emerging out of a tunnel in the soil packed into the bottom of the enclosure.
“Now, here’s a spider that doesn’t live in a web – in fact, it lives in a burrow!” Lucy said.
“Wow!” breathed Jack. “What type of spider is it?”
“Rosie here is a red-knee tarantula!”explained Lucy. “She might look a bit scary, but most tarantulas will never hurt a human. In fact, it’s very rare to be bitten by a spider. Most spider bites happen when a person is frightening a spider, but if you’re kind to them and leave them alone, they won’t cause you any harm.”
Zoe’s friends rushed from spider to spider, taking pictures. Lucy even let Jack hold Rosie! Luckily, Mr Pinch hung back at the entrance, still glaring at the class as if he expected them to cause trouble at any moment. Zoe smiled to herself – sheknew he was secretly a little bit nervous of spiders, and wouldn’t want to get near any of the enclosures!
Eventually Miss Hawkins clapped her hands and said, “I think it’s time we went to see the bats, everyone. Make sure you’ve got your bags and coats before we move on.”
As the class started to file out of the spider house, Nicola tapped Zoe’s arm. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing at a big poster pinned up on the wall next to the door. “The Rescue Zoo Spooktacular? Is that a special Halloween event?”
Zoe nodded. “Usually the zoo closes at six o’clock, but we’re going to stay open late on Halloween, so that visitors can come and look around when it’s dark. We’re going to decorate theenclosures with carved pumpkins, and all the zookeepers are going to dress up as something spooky. There’s a fancy dress competition for all the visitors too, with prizes. And we’re going to bake Halloween cupcakes for everyone!”
“That sounds like so much fun!” said Nicola.
“Yes, it does!” added Miss Hawkins, who had overheard them. She looked thoughtful. “Actually, I noticed the poster as we were coming in, and now that I think about it, I have an idea…” She turned to Lucy and explained, “I’ve been teaching the class a special song, all about the so-called ‘spooky’ creatures they’ve been studying. We were going to perform it in assembly next week. Maybe it would be fun if they came and performed it atthe
“Hmmm. Even so, I still think I’d better supervise,” replied Mr Pinch, frowning.
Zoe’s mum winked at Zoe and then turned to Mr Pinch. “Oh, there’s no need for that, Percy,” she said firmly. “I can look after everyone!”
Lucy and Miss Hawkins ushered everyone inside the spider house and Mr Pinch shook his head, mutteringcrossly to himself.
First of all, Lucy showed everyone a small enclosure with glass walls, full of moss, leaves and bits of wood. A delicate silver web had been spun between two branches, and a small black spider sat right in the middle of it. “This is an orb weaver spider,” said Lucy. “Can anyone tell me what family spiders belong to?”
Straightaway, a boy called Louis put his hand up. “The arachnid family?” he said.
“Very good,” said Lucy, nodding. “Lots of people think spiders are insects, but actually they’re not – they’re arachnids. Their bodies are made out of two sections, rather than three, and they have eight legs, not six.”
“Look at that amazing web!” said Miss Hawkins.
“Spiders’ webs are made from very strong silk,” explained Lucy. “In fact, a strand of spider silk is five times stronger than a piece of steel the same size! And a spider produces lots of it. Some spiders spin themselves a brand-new web every day! Can you imagine building yourself a new house every day?”
Then she moved on to the next glass enclosure, and pointed out a big black spider with bright orange-red patches that was emerging out of a tunnel in the soil packed into the bottom of the enclosure.
“Now, here’s a spider that doesn’t live in a web – in fact, it lives in a burrow!” Lucy said.
“Wow!” breathed Jack. “What type of spider is it?”
“Rosie here is a red-knee tarantula!”explained Lucy. “She might look a bit scary, but most tarantulas will never hurt a human. In fact, it’s very rare to be bitten by a spider. Most spider bites happen when a person is frightening a spider, but if you’re kind to them and leave them alone, they won’t cause you any harm.”
Zoe’s friends rushed from spider to spider, taking pictures. Lucy even let Jack hold Rosie! Luckily, Mr Pinch hung back at the entrance, still glaring at the class as if he expected them to cause trouble at any moment. Zoe smiled to herself – sheknew he was secretly a little bit nervous of spiders, and wouldn’t want to get near any of the enclosures!
Eventually Miss Hawkins clapped her hands and said, “I think it’s time we went to see the bats, everyone. Make sure you’ve got your bags and coats before we move on.”
As the class started to file out of the spider house, Nicola tapped Zoe’s arm. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing at a big poster pinned up on the wall next to the door. “The Rescue Zoo Spooktacular? Is that a special Halloween event?”
Zoe nodded. “Usually the zoo closes at six o’clock, but we’re going to stay open late on Halloween, so that visitors can come and look around when it’s dark. We’re going to decorate theenclosures with carved pumpkins, and all the zookeepers are going to dress up as something spooky. There’s a fancy dress competition for all the visitors too, with prizes. And we’re going to bake Halloween cupcakes for everyone!”
“That sounds like so much fun!” said Nicola.
“Yes, it does!” added Miss Hawkins, who had overheard them. She looked thoughtful. “Actually, I noticed the poster as we were coming in, and now that I think about it, I have an idea…” She turned to Lucy and explained, “I’ve been teaching the class a special song, all about the so-called ‘spooky’ creatures they’ve been studying. We were going to perform it in assembly next week. Maybe it would be fun if they came and performed it atthe
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