Zoological Society Of Philadelphia

Programs: Exhibits and garden care: philadelphia zoo's mission is to connect people with wildlife, while creating joyful discovery and inspiring action for animals and habitats. Accredited by the association of zoos and aquariums, philadelphia zoo, americas first zoo, welcomes more than 1. 2 million visitors each year through its historic gates. For the last ten years, philadelphia zoo has begun to reimagine and transform its campus and the overall zoo experience, with the additions of award-winning exhibits such as the pioneering zoo360, kidzoou: hamilton family children's zoo & faris family education center, mcneil avian center and key bank big cat falls. Zoo360 is an innovative, first-in-the-world system of see-through trails passing through treetops, crossing over pathways and connecting habitats, providing animals like amazing big cats, majestic primates and marvelous meerkats opportunities to travel and explore. Zoo360 offers exciting and enriching experiences for animals and visitors alike, taking the zoo experience to a whole new level. Zoo360 benefits animal by offering more opportunities for long-distance travel, greater environmental variety and an increased ability to determine their own experiences, while similarly enhancing the visitor experience by creating a more dynamic engagement. Animals are on the move like never before at philadelphia zoo, now as you move around the zoo, the zoo moves around you. Zoo360 trails link existing habitats, so animals with similar habitat requirements can utilize each others spaces in a time-sharing situation. Zoo360 is another first at philadelphia zoo and in the world, and showcases the zoos commitment to excellence in animal care and inspiring guests to conservation action. Five components of zoo360 are currently used - treetop trail, opened in june 2011, the great ape trail, opened in august 2012, big cat crossing, opened may 2014, gorilla treeway opened in may 2015 and meerkat maze opened in june 2016. Future plans include additional overhead and ground based trails for a variety of animals offering more opportunities for long-distance travel. At the heart of the campus is kidzoou: hamilton family children's zoo & faris family education center, an indoor-outdoor wildlife academy and children's zoo that boasts interactive, educational experiences for the youngest environmental stewards. Kidzoou offers dynamic displays, hands-on learning and rare and unusual goats, sheep, chickens and ducks for toddlers and tweens alike. Located on the site of the former pachyderm house, kidzoou was designed with special needs communities in mind and with the input of experts from the childrens hospital of philadelphias center for autism research, the overbrook school for the blind and others. Exhibits feature universal design elements, signage in braille, sign language and a picture exchange system for very young children or those on the autism spectrum, as well as audio and tactile elements. The site is wheelchair accessible and buildings feature power doors. Amenities also include adolescent-size changing tables in family restrooms. Kidzoou is leed gold certified and utilizes elements such as geothermal wells for heating and cooling; daylighting; rain water collection for use as gray water to flush the public toilets; rain gardens and vegetated roofs to reduce water runoff into storm drains; building reuse (renovation of the former pachyderm exhibit); and recycled and salvage building materials. Kidzoou has received several prestigious honors including: -the groundbreaker award from the delaware valley green building council -the construction award from preservation pennsylvania -best new stormwater control measure from temple/villanova sustainable stormwater initiative -the mayors commission on people with disabilities -the grand jury award from the preservation alliance for greater philadelphia -2014 exhibit of the year from association of zoos and aquariums (aza) mcneil avian center showcases lush walk-through habitats, which house over 100 rare and endangered birds from around the world. . . Notable features include the rainforest, which immerses visitors in color and sound as they are surrounded by bird species, and the multi-sensory 4-d migration theater. Key bank big cat falls offers is a stunning landscape of habitats where guests come face-to-face with endangered big cats from around the world, including beautiful snow leopards, playful pumas, critically-endangered amur tigers, two prides of african lions, jaguars and amur leopards and more. Big cats move from one exhibit to another utilizing big cat crossing, an extension of zoo360 that crosses over the main visitor path stopping guests in their tracks. At the center of the exhibit, a cascading 12-foot waterfall beckons guests to dash under its stream on their way to buck base camp, where they can experience an activity-filled research station. Inside of the big cat theatre, guests can view a short but visually stunning film featuring big cats showcasing their strength, ferocity and beauty.

animal care: philadelphia zoo is one of foremost conservation organizations and home to 2,850 rare and endangered animals of more than 300 species. Throughout its history, philadelphia zoo has provided exceptional care for animals while educating and inspiring guests and participating in in worldwide conservation efforts. Known for continued innovation, commitment to wildlife, and achieving longevity records, philadelphia zoo is a zoo of many firsts. Ranging from having the first orangutan and chimpanzee born in the u. S. In the 1920s to the first giant river otter born in the u. S. In 2004 to the creation of zoo360 a first-in-the-world animal travel and exploration system developed in 2011 and now implemented in more than 20 zoos across the globe, philadelphia zoo, continues to set standards across the industry. Philadelphia zoo is part of a greater mission to create national zoo conservation and breeding programs for endangered species. The zoo works in cooperation with other accredited zoos in north america and worldwide via the species survival plan (ssp), a cooperative effort used to manage and breed endangered and other animal species to ensure healthy, self-sustaining genetically diverse animal populations. These breeding programs serve as safety nets for species that are threatened with extinction in the wild. Philadelphia zoo continues to reach new heights in all areas of its mission, offering state-of-the-art animal exhibits and health-care facilities, award-winning education and conservation programs, exceptional guest services, scientific accomplishments making this historically significant venue one of the most renowned zoos in the world.

education and conservation programming: driven by a passion for promoting actions that support wildlife conservation, the zoo offers a broad portfolio of dynamic, original, and award-winning educational programs. As the regions largest living classroom, the zoo offers hands-on, curriculum-connected and mission-focused animal experiences more than 170,000 schoolchildren each year. Below are examples of specific programming that works to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards. Field trips an immersive experience that helps build empathy and encourage students to make small changes in their everyday life that can have an impact on animals around the world. A field trip to the zoo is an experience that will last a lifetime. Community access program (cap) in partnership with individual, corporate, and foundation donors throughout the region, the zoo provides free visits and engaging learning opportunities to more than 60,000 students from title i schools annually. By committing to at least 5% of our visitors coming through cap each year, the zoo has made free zoo visits possible for more than 425,000 underserved students over the past decade. The unless contest the albert m. Greenfield unless contest challenges classes of k-12th grade students to work together to develop creative solutions to problems that impact wildlife. Students are presented with a challenge to address one of two key conservation issues habitat destruction related to palm oil production or climate change. Over the past five years, over 12,500 schoolchildren from more than 200 schools in the region have participated in the unless contest, reaching 2 to 4 million people with their conservation messages each year! Zoocrew zoo champions for restoring endangered wildlife a multi-year youth mentoring and engagement program, zoocrew creates conservation-minded, civically engaged citizens. Philadelphia teens with a diverse array of backgrounds and experiences learn to care for animals, educate zoo guests, and equip themselves with tools to create long-term change in the world. Zoocrew is a wonderful platform for educational success, with a 100% high school graduation rate and a 96% college matriculation rate. Through a series of focused efforts, the zoo has defined its role as a conservation organization working to significantly deepen positive impact on wildlife and the environment. The greatest opportunity to achieve conservation impact is through partnering with the millions of day-to-day guests that visit onsite or online; the thousands of schoolchildren inspired each year through visits and outreach; and by leveraging access to a diverse group of local and international stakeholders who share commitment to making the world a better place for people and wildlife. The zoo has adopted an action-oriented vision for our conservation and education efforts, dedicating resources to implementing programming to engage our onsite audiences and our community in direct conservation action. Our program is designed around a theory of change. Our change framework leverages the empathetic connection guests make with animals at the zoo and by sharing tools that empower everyone to take action in their daily lives, people who connect with the zoo will make a world of difference by becoming conservation-minded, civically engaged advocates for wildlife and habitat. Philadelphia zoo works to engage visitors about the positive correlation between reducing carbon dioxide emissions and conserving the planets wildlife population. Energy use and forest loss are the leading global sources of carbon emissions which are already changing the climate and threatening the survival of many endangered species. Migratory patterns of birds and pollinators like butterflies and bees are disrupted, rainfall changes are impacting the moist conditions necessary for species like frogs to breed, rising ocean temperatures are jeopardizing entire food chains and continued loss of forest could lead to orangutan extinction by 2050. The zoo is committed to reducing the impacts of a changing climate on wildlife here and around the world. Everyday choices around saving electricity, conserving water, and recycling, along with advocating for the protection of natural resources like forests, can help wildlife and the environment. Every connection with the zoo is an opportunity for guests to connect with wildlife and be inspired to conservation action. Zoo staff and volunteers engage in conservation activities in the following areas: -endangered species breeding programs -education -international conservation -local conservation -green practices the zoo has managed a robust national and international conservation program for many years and has received numerous awards and recognition for those efforts. Field projects around the globe range from the streets of philadelphia to the rainforests of borneo including: -amphibians in hispaniola (haiti and the dominican republic) and ecuador -micronesian kingfisher on the island of guam in the mariana islands -rodrigues fruit bats on the island of rodrigues in the indian ocean -migratory birds, butterflies, and bees in philadelphia -orangutans in sumatra and borneo -golden lion tamarins in brazil -sumatran tigers in sumatra