Location: Zoodyssée animal park
Town: Villiers-en-Bois (Deux-Sevres – France)

Zoodyssée is a wildlife park that is home to over 800 European animals from 90 different species. The 34-hectare park is divided into several themed areas called “Odyssées”, each of which has its own special environment, identity and learning aids.

As part of this concept, Proludic was selected to design play areas in the Odyssée des Forêts (Forest Odyssey) and Odyssée Outre-Mer (Overseas Odyssey).

Odyssée des Forêts: two play areas designed on the theme of the forest, tales and legends

The Odyssée des Forêts is an outdoor space where visitors can explore fauna and flora from European forests. To complement this journey of discovery, at the heart of this Odyssée, two attractive recreational spaces have been designed for young visitors:

“Le Village Enchanté” (The Enchanted Village) transports children to a marvellous world where they can imagine themselves as little elves flitting from tree to tree.

”La Rencontre, le terrier des Blaireaux” (The Meeting, the Badger’s sett) is a space that invites children to experience life as a badger, scurrying through the galleries of a sett on an exploration of the underground world.

Le Village Enchanté: stay on the ground with the elves or fly into the air with the fairies

Le Village Enchanté is a ​​200 m² play area that creates a mysterious and amazing world that appeals to children’s imagination.

The area consists of a custom-made main structure, measuring five metres in height, a swing and a playhouse. The structure is fully integrated in the existing undergrowth with its shades of green and brown, leaves, butterflies and giant flowers. It is divided into two parts: the Village of the Elves and the Bird Tower.

  • The Village of the Elves (children aged 2+) consists of a balancing trail with a sequence of stepping stones and narrow beams in shapes such as mushrooms and tree branches, as well as two towers connected by a steel tunnel. Play panels, distorting mirrors, herbaria and coloured filters add extra fun touches.
  • The Bird Tower (children aged 6+), standing five metres tall, invites the most daring children to climb to the very top for a bird’s eye view of the Enchanted Village before whizzing down the tube slide, while others can have fun on a low slide accessed by a small climbing wall.

La Rencontre, le terrier des Blaireaux: a real labyrinth…

The Badgers’ sett area offers children from two years of age an underground experience designed to stimulate motor skills.

Hidden inside a small hill, four interlinking tunnels represent badgers’ setts. Children can make their way around the space standing up or on all fours for a complete immersive underground experience. A skylight allows them to see the world outside without being seen. Fun panels distributed throughout the galleries teach children about badgers’ lives.

The Odyssée Outre-Mer: an exploration of Guyanese biodiversity

The Odyssée Outre-Mer is an outdoor space devoted to Guyanese biodiversity.

The play area designed for children from two years of age focuses on the theme of an exploration of the Guyanese canopy with the “Canopy Raft”, inspired by the famous scientific expeditions of the botanist Francis Hallé.

A fun area in the treetops!

This ​​145 m² play area is a real scientific laboratory in the middle of a tropical jungle. Children can climb to the top of a custom-made structure in the treetops to take a closer look at the vegetation and forest, imagining themselves as botanists floating on a green ocean.

The play area also consists of:

The seven metre-high Canopy raft with its observatory and airship

  • The observatory, 3.65 metres above the ground, is accessed by a sloping net or an internal staircase. Children can move in a complete 360° space and observe the airship through a Perspex ceiling with light effects from the rays of the sun. A rope structure creates gaps in the floor for an unobstructed view of the entire inside area of the raft.
  • The floor space gives the impression of a cave in which younger children can hide. A musical box plays sounds of running water, creaking trees, animal noises and the singing of tropical birds.

A research laboratory for scientists

  • This structure with internal panels devoted to the study of tropical plant and animal species (customised using the Grafic Games technique) is accessed by a flexible ladder or a four-metre gangway connected to the raft.
  • On the ground, a tactile play feature with a pulley allows children to bring wood chips up from the ground and conduct scientific experiments.

2 springers representing canoes

  • The internal panels on this equipment also use the Grafic Games technique to create themed and perfectly equipped canoes for expeditions: ropes, machete, compass, backpack, sleeping bag…

Inaugurated in 2020 and 2022, the play areas in the Zoodyssée park have become very popular places to meet up and share experiences. An opportunity for children to have fun in play areas up in the treetops!