Children's Zoo 50th Anniversary Celebration with 50 Cent Admission
Saturday, May 18, 2019
This event has already passed.
For 50 years, the Saint Louis Zoo has offered a special area just for its youngest visitors to connect with nature. On Saturday, May 18, you can visit the Saint Louis Zoo to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Children's Zoo. Families can enjoy admission of just 50 cents per person for ages 2 and up. Children under the age of 2 are free.
The Children's Zoo opened in 1969. It was the vision of Marlin Perkins, who served as Zoo director from 1962 to 1970, and other zoo leaders, to connect children to animals through contact in a space that offered a sense of adventure. The attraction was then call the Charles H. Yalem Children's Zoo, after the philathopist's generous donation of $250.000. Prior to this opening, there was a small, seasonal children's area in the Zoo, but this new Children's Zoo was much grander, with woods, caves and walk-through tunnels. Some of the animals included goats to pet in the goat yard (which is still there today), small mammals such as ocelots, bobcats, Arctic foxes, and exotic animals like baby elephants and pythons.
In the 1990s, the Children's Zoo was expanded and reopened, after a gift from Emerson Electric, as the 3.5 acre Emerson Children's Zoo. It is home to nearly 300 animals, including the endangered Matschie's tree kangaroo, meerkats, fennec foxes, Tasmanian devils, Hoffmann's two-toed sloth, river otters and naken mole rats.
Visitors can brush goats, and pet rabbits and gunea pigs, meet reptiles and amphibians, birds and many more. Kids can explore nature on the playgrounds, which include an acrylic slide through the otter pool, climbing structures, a farm-play area and more. During summer, animals perform natural behaviors on stage, with keepers using positive reinforcement in their training.
The 50th Anniversary celebration is happening Saturday, May 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
More information: stlzoo.org
Photo: Saint Louis Zoo/Robin Winkelman.
