Brookfield Zoo
Brookfield, Illinois
When the Brookfield Zoo opened in 1934 just outside Chicago, its original claim to fame was that it was a barless zoo, modeled after zoos in Europe that were starting “to adopt a different way of handling the connections between the guests and the animals,” said Linda Crouchelli, director of partnership marketing for the Chicago Zoological Society’s Brookfield Zoo.
And the zoo continues to enhance those connections today as it updates its exhibits and experiences. The “Great Bear Wilderness” exhibit opened in 2010 and includes huge windows where guests “can see the follicles on the polar bear,” she said. “You can see the smooth finish on the dolphins.”
In 2015, the zoo opened its three-acre “Hamill Family Wild Encounters” exhibit, and “the whole experience is about giving guests that up-close experience,” said Crouchelli. Visitors can feed, brush and take selfies with Nigerian dwarf goats, walk among emus and watch wallabies hop past. In the aviary, the zoo lets out 300 birds at a time that guests can feed with a feed stick.
“The magnificence of having 300 birds flying in unison before your eyes is pretty incredible,” she said.
Cincinnati Zoo
Cincinnati
The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden regularly lands on lists of the nation’s best zoos, and right now the zoo has an extra special resident bringing in huge crowds: Miss Fiona, the baby hippopotamus that was born in January, six weeks before her due date.
“She’s made quite a debut here,” said director of sales Susan McGee. “She’s had a tremendous impact on our visitors and the number of people coming in; it’s amazing.”
The zoo strives to offer interactive, up-close wild encounters for all its guests, she said. When visitors walk in the front gate, a volunteer may greet them with a bird or an animal they can touch.
The zoo also customizes experiences for groups. One group that comes weekly does a giraffe feeding each visit and uses a special map that highlights high points and helps maximize their time.
Zoo staff will also arrange behind-the-scenes tours and VIP experiences that give groups more access or a different perspective. Groups can go down below the giraffe deck to feed them bamboo or get a closer look at the elephants, which take peanuts from visitors’ hands.
Indianapolis Zoo
Indianapolis
The Indianapolis Zoo was the first in the nation to be accredited not only as a zoo, but also as an aquarium and a botanical garden, “and our guests get to experience all that under one admission,” said Carla Knapp, public relations specialist for the zoo.
The zoo is also only about a mile from the heart of downtown Indianapolis, and the area is walkable, so visitors can easily get to hotels, restaurants and other attractions when they visit.
When a motorcoach arrives, the zoo does a step-on welcome for the group and highlights that day’s programs. The zoo offers animal chats and presentations several times a day that are included with admission; one of the most popular is the 20-minute dolphin presentation. For groups, the zoo can also arrange private versions of its seasonal public programs, such as the dolphin demonstration or a bird presentation. Another popular option is the zoo’s All-Star Dog Challenge, which is a group of canine rescues “that do some really incredible jumps and tricks, and catch Frisbees and do different behaviors,” Knapp said.
From there, groups can also add hands-on experiences such as feeding lorikeets or parakeets.
