Children’s Zoo

Bronx Zoo

This award-winning exhibit promoted respect for animals and their habitats by giving young people a chance to experience and share the diverse ways animals and humans cope with the world.

The design and production of the Children’s Zoo required the coordination of architects, landscapers, engineers, graphic designers, illustrators, educators, detailers, writers, animal curators as well as construction and fabrication trade people of every imaginable skill. The result was a rewarding and enduring feature that set the standards for zoos around the world.

Animal Homes
These entertaining, interactive activities were set on the woodland edge.

Locomotion, Defenses and Domestication
These exhibit areas, set alongside a marshy pond and in the canopy of a forest, used simple wood decking, railings and building structures to tie the experiences together. They also served the purpose of keeping kids on the path away from plantings and animals as well as supporting graphics and devices.

Animal Senses
This area, the desert gulch, is an excellent example of the integration of landscape, animal management, graphics, hands on participation and photo opportunities for parents.

Throughout the Children’s Zoo, it was our goal was to provide a healthy mix of physical recreation, fun encounters with animals, learning and sharing opportunities for all ages.

Designed in collaboration with Exhibit Department staff