FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                          March 3, 2010

OKC ZOO’S NEW CHILDREN’S ZOO READY FOR PLAY

CONTACTS:             

Tara Henson         (405) 425-0219, (405) 919-9038, cell or thenson@okczoo.com

Candice Rennels   (405) 425-0298, (405) 412-6172, cell or crennels@okczoo.com

“You’re off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!”

-Dr. Seuss, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go”

After months of anticipation and imagination, the Children’s Zoo at the Oklahoma City Zoo is ready to open its gates on Friday, March 12! Open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and just in time for Spring Break, the highly-anticipated exhibit will be a fantastic place for kids of all ages to explore, play and imagine. From splashing in a streambed to climbing like monkeys, to crawling like creepy-crawlies and interacting with rare animals, the Children’s Zoo has something for everyone!

This new 2.5-acre, $8.3 million dollar exhibit takes us back to a time when nature was a child’s favorite playground. Enter through the child or adult-sized entry and follow a trail inlaid with stained glass. As brightly-colored macaws greet you, choose your own adventure to start your visit! Want to explore the secrets of the outdoors? My Secret Forest is the perfect place to play and pretend. Dig in the sandbox or visit the willow tunnel or the research station. If creepy crawlies are your favorite, slither over to the Underground where you can visit spiders, scorpions and other many-legged friends. Be an adventurer and climb through a hollowed out tree, cross the swinging bridge or slide on the root slide!

Feeling the heat? How about a visit to the Streambed? Here, kids can splash around in the cool, shallow water while watching the nearby flamingos and mimicking their behaviors in special pretend “nests.” A large koi and turtle pond (not for splashing) provides a peaceful backdrop. Be sure to look for the life-sized statues of native animals hidden around the splash park!

After cooling off, kids can indulge their inner Zoo keeper with a visit to the Barnyard! In this rustic setting, visitors can interact with rare species of barnyard animals like Nigerian dwarf goats, Tunis sheep, Guinea hogs, rabbits and more. Compare the bristly feel of a Guinea hog with the soft, fluffy coat of a Tunis sheep. Each species in the Barnyard was selected for its gentleness with kids and because it represents a rare American breed.

Feel like monkey-ing around? Head over to the Monkey Play area to watch the Squirrel and Spider Monkeys at play! This area is completely new to the Zoo and features luxurious heated vines for the monkeys to climb on. The climbing structures outside the habitats are exactly like the ones inside, so kids can mimic the behavior of the monkeys as they climb and swing.

Missed the lorikeets? Well they’re back at the improved Explorikeet Adventure. Formerly, the lorikeets were only visible during warm weather, but now guests can view the birds in their indoor area even when it’s colder outside. When temperatures allow, the walk-through lorikeet aviary allows visitors inside the large atrium with the birds. Purchase a cup of nectar at the Nectaurant and watch as the birds land on your arms, your shoulders – maybe even your head!

At the end of a whirlwind visit there’s no better place to relax than Grandma’s Porch. Complete with rocking chairs nearby, this large covered area is the perfect place to hold special events and education classes. Parents can kick back while the kids run and play in the Gathering Meadow or touch and smell plants selected for their texture and fragrance in the Senses Garden.

“I’m looking forward to sharing this dynamic and engaging exhibit with our guests,” said Dwight Scott, Executive Director.  “I think the hard part for everyone will be picking their favorite part: is it feeding the lorikeets? Brushing the goats? Splashing in the shallow stream? Or, relaxing on a bench in the Senses Garden?  I can’t wait to hear!”        

As part of the celebration, the Zoo will be holding the “Children’s Zoo Grin & Win Photo Safari Contest” from March 8 through April 16. Oklahoma City residents and visitors are encouraged to visit one of our photo opportunity locations located around town where they can pose as a peacock, lorikeet, centipede or monkey. Participants then upload their photos at www.okczoo.com and are automatically entered to win great daily and weekly prizes! Five winners will win the opportunity to be Children’s Zoo “Director for a Day,” and one lucky grand prize winner will win a Rainbow Playground System provided by Statuary World.  Brought to you by KJ 103, The Twister, News 9, News9.com and the Zoo!

The Children’s Zoo was made possible with funding from the 1/8 cent sales tax approved by the citizens of Oklahoma City in 1990 and by the Oklahoma Zoological Society (ZooFriends). Other supporters include The Inasmuch Foundation, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and The Potts Family Foundation. The architect is Moore Iacofano Goltsman, Incorporated (MIG), Berkeley, CA. The local contractor is Downey Contracting, Oklahoma City.

Playful by Nature, the new Children’s Zoo is perfect for getting in touch with your inner wild! Visit the Oklahoma City Zoo, the state’s #1 attraction and one of the top three family-friendly zoos in the nation–the wild is calling! Located at the crossroads of I-35 and I-44 in the heart of Oklahoma City’s Adventure District, the Zoo is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with exhibit building closing at 4:45 p.m. The Children’s Zoo will be open during regular Zoo hours. Admission is $7 for adults and $4 for children ages three to 11 and seniors ages 65 and older. Children two and under are free. For more information, call (405) 424-3344 or visit okczoo.com. Also, be sure to check out the Children’s Zoo’s new spokesbird, Flo Chilensis the Chilean flamingo, on Facebook!

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Editor’s Note: To download the official Children’s Zoo press kit, visit www.okczoo.com and click “Children’s Zoo Press Kit” under the Media tab in the top navigation bar.