News release from the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo:
“Happy Birthday to Zoo” Official 50th Birthday Celebration 11 AM on July 1
(June 30, 2015) – The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo will officially mark its 50th Birthday with a party – complete with a one-of-a-kind birthday cake – at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, July 1 in the zoo’s Parkview Physicians Group pavilions, located in the African Journey.
The event will include:
- Giant birthday cards for zoo guests to sign
- Remarks from Zoo Director Jim Anderson and other officials
- Singing of “Happy Birthday to Zoo,” led by the Fort Wayne Children’s Choir
- Birthday cake for zoo guests, while it lasts
The zoo first opened to the public on July 3, 1965 as a 5.5-acre, storybook-themed children’s zoo, and has since grown to a 40-acre zoological park consistently ranked as one of the top ten zoos in the nation by national media outlets.
The event is free with zoo admission.
The zoo’s 50th Birthday Celebration is sponsored by PNC Bank; Steel Dynamics, Inc; Sweetwater; Do it Best; The Hagerman Group; Kroger; Centier Bank; German Heritage Society; Katz, Sapper & Miller; Mainstay Solutions; and Strahm Building Solutions.
About the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo
The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo’s mission is to connect kids and animals, strengthen families, and inspire people to care. The zoo is northeast Indiana’s largest tourist attraction, hosting more than 500,000 guests annually. The zoo received the 2014 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Award, was voted Indiana’s #1 “Gotta-Do Summer Attraction,” and is consistently named one of the nation’s Top Ten Zoos for Kids by national media outlets.The zoo is a conservation leader, contributing more than $80,000 annually to local, regional, and international efforts to protect wild animals and habitats, and participating in cooperative management programs for 91 endangered species and taxa. The zoo was named Northeast Indiana’s Sustainable Business of the Year in 2014.
As a self-supporting facility, the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo receives no tax dollars for operations. The zoo’s operations are funded entirely by earned revenue and donations.
The zoo is open 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM daily; last admission 5:00 PM; exhibits, rides, & buildings close at 5:30 PM; grounds close at 6:00 PM. The zoo is open seven days a week through October 11, 2015. Admission is $14.00 for adults; $10.50 for seniors age 60+; and $9.00 for children ages 2-18. Babies age 1 and under and Zoo Society Members are admitted free.
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