Emirates Park Zoo has opened a children's nursery in its premises, a first-of-its-kind in the region, aimed at nurturing children's character by providing them with the opportunity to get up close and interact with animals beyond books and magazines.

The Barney Home Nursery is located within the grounds of the Emirates Park Zoo at Al Shahama in Abu Dhabi.

The nursery resorts to international educational methodologies to acquaint the new generation of children with the modern educational and scientific tools and  prepare them efficiently for the next academic stages.

Speaking at the launch, Emirates Park Zoo chairman Major General Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi said: "This would promote the educational methods aimed at inculcating the values acquired through interaction with animals in the youth, such as compassion and responsibility, as feeding and caring for a pet encourages childhood responsibility."

He also noted that it was agreed with the nursery’s officials to allocate places for children with special needs and children of widows.

The nursery includes play areas and science and language skills labs, aimed at instilling positive values in children, such as excellence, respect, amicability, cooperation and fun within a perfect and encouraging environment.

It also includes a medical clinic fitted with high quality equipment based on the best international and specialized standards.-TradeArabia News Service