Abstract
Modern, scientifically managed zoological gardens and aquariums clearly distinguish themselves from historical approaches and are committed to four main tasks – species and nature conservation, research, education and recreation. As an extracurricular place of learning, zoological institutions are suitable for a wide variety of science topics, but there is also a wide variety of interdisciplinary topics. This article deals with modern zoo education and describes the educational mission of zoological gardens with its formal and informal offers as well as the claim of sustainable learning and gives incentives for the integration of zoos and animal parks into school lessons in subjects such as biology, mathematics, philosophy and ethics.