Barcelona

The Barcelona Zoo presents Cuida’ls, an immersive experience for all audiences that invites visitors to protect biodiversity. Located near the entrance to Ciutadella Park, this new initiative offers a fun and interactive way to explore how to get involved in the preservation of species and ecosystems.

With the inauguration of Cuida’ls, the Barcelona Zoo continues its deep transformation into a space where children and adults can connect with nature through knowledge, play, and enjoyment while actively contributing to biodiversity conservation. This transformation aligns with the future Ciutadella of Knowledge, which aims to turn Ciutadella Park and its surroundings into a leading European hub for knowledge, outreach, research, and innovation. “The new Cuida’ls space must serve as the gateway to a new zoo model that focuses on educating and promoting biodiversity preservation,” stated the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni. He also emphasized the vision that “the site of the Zoo and this new space should make Ciutadella Park a true Ciutadella of Knowledge, encompassing innovation, culture, and science.”

A space designed for all ages and open to educational centers

This space has been designed to cater to visitors of all ages, with a special emphasis on children and young people. There are basic concepts to help younger children become familiar with biodiversity and the major risks it faces, as well as more in-depth content for older audiences to further explore these topics. Starting this summer, Cuida’ls will offer a complementary activity program, and in the 2025-2026 school year, it will introduce educational programs for schools and institutes, aligning with curricular content.

Exploring the origins of life, its richness, and the threats it faces

The new 230 m² facility is divided into three areas: an immersive room introducing biodiversity, and two interactive rooms encouraging visitors to take action and learn how to protect the natural environment. The experience is guided by two avatars: a zookeeper and an otter. In the immersive room, they explain the origins of life, the diversity of ecosystems, and the numerous threats endangering biodiversity, including poaching, pollution, wildfires, and resource overexploitation.

The other two rooms use digital and interactive content to highlight real cases of illegal wildlife trade and the collaborative efforts of organizations, authorities, and law enforcement agencies like SEPRONA and the Mossos d’Esquadra to combat it. Visitors also learn about the role of the Barcelona Zoo as a recognized center under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which allows the Zoo to act as a rescue and rehabilitation center for confiscated animals.

Additionally, the exhibit explores the conservation status of various species according to the IUCN and explains how the Barcelona Zoo and the Barcelona Zoo Foundation contribute to the protection of endangered native species through numerous conservation projects both inside and outside their natural habitats. Finally, visitors are informed about how they can contribute to animal care and conservation efforts.

The new Cuida’ls space represents a €1.1 million investment, partially funded by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge as part of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan under the Next Generation EU funds.