Upcoming American Zoo Exhibits in 2024

pachyderm pro

pachyderm pro

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
Now that we're only a few weeks away from the new year, this seems like a good time to post my annual list of upcoming US zoo exhibits slated to open over the next several years. I enjoy putting these resources together, as it's exciting to get a feel for what the future looks like and it's a good place to ask any questions regarding future developments. I've streamlined things a bit this time around by not including rumored exhibits, as a majority of these rumors don't amount to anything or are way too far off in the future. Everything from major complexes to small-scale enclosures is included and as always if I'm missing an exhibit please do not hesitate to add them down below.

2024:
Amazon River’s Edge - Caldwell Zoo
Arapaima Exhibit - Shedd Aquarium
Australia Habitats - Brookfield Zoo
Bear Ridge & Sea Otter Coast - Cincinnati Zoo
Big Cats of Arizona - Phoenix Zoo
Birds of the World - Houston Zoo
Cape Vulture Aviary - Los Angeles Zoo
Connected Coasts - Oregon Coast Aquarium
Dolphin Oasis - Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park
Down Under - Denver Zoo
Elephant Preserve - Tulsa Zoo
Elephant Trek - Cincinnati Zoo
Eurasian Eagle Owl Aviary - Brookfield Zoo
Expedition Africa - Oklahoma City Zoo
Flamingo Aviary - Naples Zoo
Humboldt Penguin Exhibit - Milwaukee County Zoo
Indo-Pacific Islands Forest - Woodland Park Zoo
International Chimpanzee Complex - Indianapolis Zoo
Jewels of the Sea: The Jellyfish Experience - SeaWorld San Diego
Leopard Forest - Nashville Zoo
Lion Exhibit - Brevard Zoo
Lion & Meerkat Exhibits - Great Plains Zoo
Lipman Family Madagascar Center - San Francisco Zoo
Manatee Springs - Clearwater Marine Aquarium
Native Bird Aviary - Brookfield Zoo
Ocean Pavillion - Seattle Aquarium
Orangutan Forest - Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo
Penguin Exhibit - Sylvan Heights Bird Park
Prairie Dog Exhibit - Brookfield Zoo
Riparian Education Center - Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Rugged Coast - Florida Aquarium
Wetlands Aviary - Lincoln Park Zoo (Manitowic)
Wonder of Water - Shedd Aquarium

2025:
Adventure Africa Phase III: Rhinos - Milwaukee County Zoo
African Experience - Franklin Park Zoo
Congo Falls - San Antonio Zoo
Elephant Valley - San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Gorilla & Orangutan Exhibits - Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
Kentucky Trails - Louisville Zoo
KidZone - Detroit Zoo
Lion Ridge - The Living Desert
Manatee River - Jacksonville Zoo
North America Phase I - Columbus Zoo
Pathway to Asia - Reid Park Zoo
Sand Cat Complex - Zoo Boise
Sea Lion & Penguin Exhibits - Florida Aquarium
Tiger Exhibit - Beardsley Zoo
Tropical Forests & Gorilla Conservation Center - Brookfield Zoo
Tropics Complex - Seneca Park Zoo

2026 and Beyond:
African Wilds: Carnivores - Tulsa Zoo
African River Safari (Additional Phases) - Nashville Zoo
Aliens Among Us - Bronx Zoo
Amazon - North Carolina Zoo
Aquatic Rehabilitation & Care Complex - Greensboro Science Center
Asia - North Carolina Zoo
Australia - North Carolina Zoo
Aviary - North Carolina Zoo
Big Cat & Wolf Habitats - Como Park Zoo
Changing Oceans - Shedd Aquarium
Destination Discovery - Saint Louis Zoo
Edge of Africa - Henry Vilas Zoo
Expedition Rainforest Biodome - Greensboro Science Center
Forest Trailhead - Woodland Park Zoo
Forests & Jungles of the World - Fort Worth Zoo
Giraffe Tower - Cincinnati Zoo
Lion Exhibit - Jacksonville Zoo
Manatee Care Center - Zoo Tampa
Pride of Africa Phase II - Akron Zoo
Primate Forest - Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Primate Forest - Riverbanks Zoo
Sea to Shore - Oklahoma City Zoo
South America - Zoo Tampa
South Carolina Nature Preserve - Riverbanks Zoo
Southeast Asia Exhibit - Jacksonville Zoo
Tropics Building - Milwaukee County Zoo
 
ZooTampa: Australia (remodeled Wallaroo Station) - in March 2024:

Additional information from the zoo's website:

AUSTRALIA - COMING SPRING 2024
We are excited to announce that construction is starting for our new realm, Australia! The completely re-imagined family area will feature:

  • New ride: Aussie Trek (presented by Outback) features opportunities for parents and their kids to go on a safari and learn about Australia’s unique wildlife.
  • Expanded splash pad and play areas: The Billabong Splash Pad (made possible by Bank of America) features new water elements offering more opportunities for guests of all ages to cool off in the Florida sun!
  • New bar: Boomerang Bar will have guests coming back again and again for refreshing cocktails and beverages.
  • Remodeled restaurant: The Outpost, Grab & Go Market is the perfect place for guests to get a quick bite to eat while in the land down under.
  • New family restroom: The Lil’ Joey Family Stop (presented by TGH Children’s Hospital) provides parents and nursing moms a private place to tend to small children.
  • New animal experiences: Guests will enjoy expanded wallaby viewing and the opportunity to get up-close during our new wallaby Signature Animal Encounter!
  • Returning Favorites: The area’s popular attractions return with a refreshed new look and endless opportunities for fun; Tasmanian Tiger Coaster, Boomer’s Flying Bananas, Koala Clubhouse, Down Under Retail Shop, Straya’s Bird Sanctuary (aviary), and Sydney Station (barnyard).
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Florida Aquarium: Rugged Coast with puffins and other North Atlantic species. - 2024
Florida Aquarium: Rocky Shores - new outdoor habitats for sealions and African penguins. - 2025
 
Roger Williams Park Zoo will be opening a Humboldt penguin exhibit and a red panda exhibit in 2024. There has also been a serval exhibit announced, but no indication of when that will be finished.
 
SwampDonkey said:
ZooTampa: Australia (remodeled Wallaroo Station) - in March 2024:
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I didn’t bother adding this one; It’s just refurbishments to guest amenities in an existing area without any significant changes to the animal habitats.

SwampDonkey said:
Florida Aquarium: Rugged Coast with puffins and other North Atlantic species. - 2024
Florida Aquarium: Rocky Shores - new outdoor habitats for sealions and African penguins. - 2025
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I included these already. :p
 
pachyderm pro said:
I didn’t bother adding this one; It’s just refurbishments to guest amenities in an existing area without any significant changes to the animal habitats.
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To be fair we don't really know if the animal habitats are going to change or not, but it seems like they are going to. More than likely they are going to refresh them and possibly remove some (like the bats). They are at least renaming the aviary and adding more viewing to the wallaby habitat. The whole thing is a pretty major remodel.
 
ambassador animal building - Buttonwood Park Zoo
bald eagle enclosure - Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
prairie dog enclosure - Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
gibbon enclosure - Roger Williams Park Zoo
Fabric of Africa aviaries - Roger Williams Park Zoo (construction finished)
red panda enclosure - Roger Williams Park Zoo
Humboldt penguin exhibit - Roger Williams Park Zoo
new giraffe area - Baton Rouge Zoo
new hippo barn - Baton Rouge Zoo
infrastructure updates - Baton Rouge Zoo
lower Lakeside Plaza renovation - Minnesota Zoo
new animal hospital - Minnesota Zoo (likely later than 2024)
 
Pheasantry - Bruemmer Park Zoo (probably 2024 or 2025, no official date yet but they broke ground a few months ago)

Bear and Fox Exhibits - Menominee Park Zoo (2024? It was supposed to open this year but didn't)
 
Red Panda Exhibit - Lehigh Valley Zoo (2024)
South American Renovations - Audubon Zoo (January 2025)
African Crested Porcupine Exhibit - Utica Zoo (end 2023/early 2024)
Wildlife Hall Building Remodel - Utica Zoo (2024)
American Alligator Exhibit - Tallahassee Museum (2024)
Wild Care Center - Virginia Living Museum (2024)
Great Lakes 360 - Aquarium of Niagara (2024)
 
King of Komodo Dragons said:
Houston Zoo: Ancient Relatives Reptiles and Birds - 2026 and beyond(not sure if plans have changed here)
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Am I correct in saying that Birds of the World is the first phase of this project? They haven't commented on the reptile portion in at least a few years so I'm not certain that part of the development is still on the docket.
MidwestFan said:
Bill and Berniece Grewcock Animal Hospital, slated to open in fall 2025 - Omaha Zoo
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Where in the zoo is this being built?
 
pachyderm pro said:
Am I correct in saying that Birds of the World is the first phase of this project? They haven't commented on the reptile portion in at least a few years so I'm not certain that part of the development is still on the docket.
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I believe at one point the master plan did refer to Birds of the world as phase 1 of Ancient Relatives with the combined reptile and bird house being phase 2
 
pachyderm pro said:
2026 and Beyond:
African Wilds: Carnivores - Tulsa Zoo
African River Safari (Additional Phases) - Nashville Zoo
Aliens Among Us - Bronx Zoo
Amazon - North Carolina Zoo
Aquatic Rehabilitation & Care Complex - Greensboro Science Center
Asia - North Carolina Zoo
Australia - North Carolina Zoo
Aviary - North Carolina Zoo
Big Cat & Wolf Habitats - Como Park Zoo
Changing Oceans - Shedd Aquarium
Destination Discovery - Saint Louis Zoo
Edge of Africa - Henry Vilas Zoo
Expedition Rainforest Biodome - Greensboro Science Center
Forest Trailhead - Woodland Park Zoo
Forests & Jungles of the World - Fort Worth Zoo
Giraffe Tower - Cincinnati Zoo
Lion Exhibit - Jacksonville Zoo
Manatee Care Center - Zoo Tampa
Pride of Africa Phase II - Akron Zoo
Primate Forest - Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Primate Forest - Riverbanks Zoo
Sea to Shore - Oklahoma City Zoo
South America - Zoo Tampa
South Carolina Nature Preserve - Riverbanks Zoo
Southeast Asia Exhibit - Jacksonville Zoo
Tropics Building - Milwaukee County Zoo
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I wonder how many of these will never see the light of day. My knowledge is fairly limited about each of these exhibits, but from what I've read, most of them seem definite, which strikes me as unusual.

pachyderm pro said:
Big Cat & Wolf Habitats - Como Park Zoo
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I don't believe the state legislature has approved this overhaul, has it? The same should be true about Milwaukee County accepting the rhinoceros proposals.
 
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Thanks for starting this thread @pachyderm pro as it will be a nice guide for zoo nerds who are excited about future exhibits. Here are 5 that I'm really looking forward to:

Seattle Aquarium - The $160 million Ocean Pavilion project has been in the works for a very long time and construction began in December 2020. It's a massive undertaking and it will be a completely separate structure from the current aquarium. I expect there to be huge crowds when this thing finally opens next summer.

Cincinnati Zoo - Elephant Trek is going to cost at least $50 million, be several acres in size, and will have 4 Asian Elephants from Dublin Zoo to be added to the current herd. If all goes well, this could be the best exhibit that the zoo has ever built.

Tulsa Zoo - This project, costing circa $35 million, will include a 36,000 square foot barn and at least 10 acres of space for a big herd of elephants. It's all very exciting for a zoo that was fairly mediocre a decade ago.

San Antonio Zoo - I was not impressed with this zoo when I visited in 2010, with other Texas facilities like Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston all being far superior in my opinion. However, San Antonio is a big city and the zoo receives a million visitors each year and I love the fact that there will finally be gorillas in the collection after at least several decades without them.

Brookfield Zoo - Here is a major zoo that was once glorious and had fallen stagnant over the years. To hear about the upcoming exhibits is heartwarming, especially the outdoor primate habitats that will be attached to Tropic World.
 
The recent interview with the director of Milwaukee County Zoo gave me the impression a renovation of the Small Mammal House may come before the Tropics project, unless they turn out to be one and the same.

Henson Robinson Zoo's renovated langur habitats will probably be finished sometime in the next two years or sooner. Construction was active while I was there. It's a simpler project and a smaller zoo but if completed it will include Spectacled langur which aren't widely held and Saint Louis' individuals are rarely seen.

My excitement is incredibly biased towards Brookfield and Milwaukee as local favorite facilities, but I'd like to spotlight a few exhibits I'm excited about:
  • I was really impressed with the Denver Zoo on my visit and I'm excited to see Down Under, their approach to Australia. I know it has mostly been received here as another walkabout but they also seem to be very excited about tree kangaroo and continuing commitments to cassowary and kea, so I think there's still promise the final complex may be something more, especially considering they've been a little tight-lipped.
  • International Chimpanzee Complex at Indianapolis is the only chimpanzee exhibit that's really being built right now (or at least is mentioned in this thread) and with all of the advancements in care for apes being reflected in gorilla and orangutan habitats, and with the infamy of Indianapolis' last ape project, it's probably going to be quite interesting either way.
  • The transformation at Woodland Park Zoo's adaptions building into the Indo-Pacific Islands Forest is an interesting approach, acting primarily as a herp exhibit while also being habitat-focused and not part of a bigger complex.
---

I tried to do some analysis of the upcoming exhibits in the thread to compare development in certain categories.

By far, the biggest contrast with last year is there only appears to be one explicitly bear-themed exhibit coming up in the next few years, which is a major change as improved bear habitats have been a major focus in the last two decades, with four new exhibits covered in last year's thread. Cincinnati's exhibit is the one still coming here.

Also as mentioned last year, we're going to begin a big rush in new primate exhibits throughout the country - I counted nine new primate habitats coming up within this thread's list, and several of them are anchored by gorilla and orangutan. Indianapolis is the only zoo constructing a new chimpanzee exhibit in this timeframe. There will also be primates contained in some of the rainforest and regional-themed complexes; although monkeys don't seem to be a core focus in any of these projects.

Big Cats are also a major category, which is only as surprising because last year's thread had relatively few of them - lions are the explicit focus of four of the eight new big cat exhibits coming up (Brevard, Great Plains, the Living Desert, Jacksonville) but are included in some of the other projects, while tigers are the explicit focus of Beardsley's exhibit. I am extremely impressed Nashville, meanwhile, is building a leopard habitat! They often seem nestled in large complexes as a secondary focus so this is cool to see. Even more uniquely, Boise is building a new sand cat exhibit. Phoenix and Como will also be revising their cat exhibits, with Como adding in a new wolf habitat, and Great Plains' lion exhibit will include meerkats.

One of the really fascinating patterns is there are a ton of dedicated bird exhibits due to open next year, but no focused exhibits afterward. Brookfield has at least two new bird exhibits on the docket, and five of these exhibits appear to be new aviaries dedicated to specific birds, with Birds of the World the only larger complex... but again, I think it's super interesting that these are all scheduled for this year.

In terms of taxonomic categories, the Indo-Pacific Islands Forest is the only new reptile exhibit scheduled after a few developments opened this year, and the last is elephants, which are recieving new homes at Cincinnati, Tulsa and San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

Outside taxonomic or biogeographic classification, Detroit and Saint Louis will be introducing two new children's areas, KidZone and Destination Discovery, both of which seem to promise some unique species and experiences compared to the more traditional children's zoos, and will hopefully provide some much-needed inspiration for the future of these exhibits.

One more really popular category is coastal/shore exhibits - Oklahoma City, Florida Aquarium, Sylvan Heights, and Milwaukee are all renovating new penguin and/or pinniped habitats. This is an area in which there has been a lot of recent innovation (St. Louis' sea lion tunnel, Houston's Galapagos...) and both penguins and pinnipeds are real showstoppers that bring in visitors, so there's smart investments there. We also have three upcoming manatee exhibits coming in Florida!

The rainforest biome-focused habitats mentioned last year (Greensboro, Fort Worth, Woodland Park) are still ongoing developments.

Let's look at continents now. Denver, Miami and Brookfield are attempting some major new developments related to Australia - while there are few such projects in the country, all three facilities seem very dedicated to representation of this continent. It doesn't look like there's news about ABQ or North Carolina's hopes to expand in this department so far. North America is being represented by Kentucky Trails at Louisville, the two-phase North America redevelopment at Colombus, and the South Carolina preserve at Riverbanks. Caldwell, Tampa and North Carolina have an interest in new South America exhibits, but Caldwell seems to be the only one trying much right now. The Shedd Aquarium is renovating their arapaiama exhibit but as far as we know Amazon Rising will remain similar overall. This is a bit of a drop compared to last year when Miller Park, Santa Ann and Naples were developing South America projects. Asia, similarly still has Reid Park, North Carolina and Tampa on the way, but is down a few exhibits from last year... of course in both cases, this is because zoos like Miller Park, Naples, and Fresno have opened those exhibits.

Then we have Africa, the most popular region in almost any zoo, feels up and down. Expedition Africa at Oklahoma City looks to be the only exhibit still intended to open in the coming year... but we've gone from seven upcoming to ten upcoming Africa habitats. The continent remains a favorite focus for any zoo, of course, and always will be, but it's still overwhelming to see how much investment they soak up. For ten Africa exhibits, every other continent maxes at around three or four planned developments. It's pretty clear we will not see ten full Africa exhibits opening up within three years from now, but it's fascinating to wonder how many will make it, and how much money they receive proportionate to other projects.

I didn't categorize Brookfield's prairie dog exhibit, Bronx's Aliens Among Us exhibit, or the Riparian Education Center, which definitely stand out in terms of theming.
 
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