The Fort Wayne Zoo will kick off its season-long 60th birthday party on Friday, March 28, 2025.
Fort Wayne Zoo news release:
Fort Wayne Zoo Opens Friday, March 28, 2025
Fort Wayne Indiana (March 17, 2025) – The Fort Wayne Zoo will kick off its season-long 60th birthday party on Friday, March 28. The season opening festivities will begin at 11:30 a.m. in the Entrance Plaza with musical performances and a ribbon cutting at noon with Mayor Sharon Tucker, Zoo Executive Director Rick Schuiteman, and Zoo Board President Tom Ackmann.
“We can’t wait to welcome the community back to the Zoo and begin celebrating our 60th birthday,” Says Executive Director, Rick Schuiteman. “We are celebrating 60 years of support from our community and the unforgettable experiences of the 25,615,315 guests that have walked through the Zoo’s front gate.”
New this season, The Fort Wayne Zoo will transform for Glo Wild. Join us for Glo Wild on select dates beginning March 27 through May 26, 2025. Step into a land of glowing landscapes and stand toe to toe with towering animals in larger-than-life 3D lantern displays. Guests can learn more at fwzoo.com/glowild
This season will include the opening of Coastal Cove, a sea lion and seal habitat. This reimagined and updated space will feature a new species to the Zoo with Harbor Seals to join the Zoo’s sea lions, Cassandra and Valkyrie. More details including ribbon cutting and exhibit opening announcements later this summer.
Wild Wednesdays are back and sponsored by Lassus. Every Wednesday, May through July the Zoo will be open until 8 p.m. Visit the Zoo after 4 p.m. on Wild Wednesdays for the best ticket value – evening tickets are only $15.
“For generations, the Fort Wayne Zoo has inspired people through memorable animal encounters, cheerful family traditions, and one-of-a-kind experiences. This season we will celebrate how far we have come and welcome the next 60 years of connecting kids and animals, strengthening families, and inspiring people to care.”
About the Fort Wayne Zoo: The Fort Wayne Zoo is northeast Indiana’s largest tourist attraction, hosting more than 650,000 guests annually. The Zoo is home to Red Panda Ridge named #6 in USA Today 10Best Zoo Exhibits for 2024. In 2021, the Zoo was voted Visit Indiana’s “Summer Bucket List Top 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, investing nearly $275,000 annually in local, regional, and international efforts to protect wildlife and their habitats. The Zoo cares for more than 1,500 animals and participates in 41 cooperative species survival plan programs and 42 taxon advisory groups, which are critical to supporting threatened species.
As a self-supporting facility, the Fort Wayne Zoo receives no tax dollars for daily operations, unlike most accredited zoos where those dollars fund approximately 40% of their annual operating budgets. The Zoo’s mission is made possible thanks to support derived from admissions, memberships, donations, group picnics, special ticketed events, and other visitation-related activities.
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