America's 100 Must See Exhibits

[ThylacineAlive]

The museum was closed for renovations when I last went. I hadn’t considered the museum worth returning for, but I suppose you’ve changed my mind.

The museum is without a doubt the best part of the zoo by a well over a mile. If you haven't been to ProMedica, you haven't really seen the Toledo Zoo.

A little late to the conversation but I have to agree with @birdsandbats here. The museum is by far the most noteworthy aspect of Toledo and probably the only exhibit there are stands out as a "must-see" imo. The aquarium was underwhelming for me and the reptile house, while very good, does not stand out against those at St. Louis, LA, Fort Worth, Atlanta, or even the amphibian house at Detroit (which I am very much hoping makes it on this list). The outdoor exhibits at Toledo are largely generic and somewhat forgettable except for the Pheasantry. The bird house is good, but ultimately it's the museum that's the stand-out attraction at the zoo.

~Thylo

 

[birdsandbats]

A little late to the conversation but I have to agree with @birdsandbats here. The museum is by far the most noteworthy aspect of Toledo and probably the only exhibit there are stands out as a "must-see" imo. The aquarium was underwhelming for me and the reptile house, while very good, does not stand out against those at St. Louis, LA, Fort Worth, Atlanta, or even the amphibian house at Detroit (which I am very much hoping makes it on this list). The outdoor exhibits at Toledo are largely generic and somewhat forgettable except for the Pheasantry. The bird house is good, but ultimately it's the museum that's the stand-out attraction at the zoo.

~Thylo

I agree with everything here except the aquarium being underwhelming. May I ask why? It is easily the second best exhibit at Toledo, it's very large with a huge and diverse collection with some excellent exhibitry and some standout rarities. The historic exterior is also very standout. It's an exhibit that I was on my mind as an exhibit likely to make this list. What didn't you like about it?

 

[ThylacineAlive]

13. McNair Asian Elephant Habitat
Houston Zoo, TX
Opened: 2008 (Expanded in 2011 and 2017)
Size: 3 Acres (1.2 Hectares)
Inhabitants: Asian Elephant

Many zoos have opted to care for geriatric elephants, which is fine and something that is very much needed, but nothing quite compares to seeing a large multigenerational herd interacting as a family unit. With a dozen individuals including multiple calves aged in the single digits, the breeding program at Houston has been so successful that this complex has had to be expanded several times to keep up to standard. The complex is fit to house multiple bulls as well, with a second barn added in the most recent expansion. All of the yards are fitted with modern enrichment devices like feeding stations, training walls and multiple large pools. The pools add up to over 200,000 gallons and having an entire herd able to be fully submerged is wonderful. It hardly resembles an Asian rainforest, but this is perhaps the most dynamic and engaging elephant complex in the United States.

@Moebelle

@Moebelle

@Moebelle

@Moebelle

Similar Exhibits: Other zoos have taken on housing Asian elephant breeding herds in modern exhibits. Just a few hours north, Fort Worth Zoos newer elephant area was designed with breeding in mind, as most of the paddocks are out of view of the public. Oregon Zoos elephant complex is also quite good and is also notable for having an extremely impressive elephant house. Rosamond Gifford Zoo takes a much less flashy approach with their elephants, but still has a very spacious series of paddocks and the recent birth of twin calves makes this exhibit especially noteworthy at this particular moment in time. There are other large herds of Asian elephants in the US, but they will be mentioned later in this thread as part of larger complexes.

Fort Worth Zoo

@GiornoPizza

@nczoofan

@nczoofan

Oregon Zoo

@DelacoursLangur

@DelacoursLangur

@geomorph

Rosamond Gifford Zoo

@TinoPup

@TinoPup

@TinoPup

Houston is always an interesting inclusion to me. While I have not seen the zoo since the more recent developments, when I visited in 2018 I had a curious thought: nothing at this zoo is bad, ultimately most of this zoo is very good, but nothing here stands out above anything elsewhere. Funny enough, I had this exact thought while checking out the elephant exhibit. To be clear, I've always thought Houston to be a great zoo and probably an underrated zoo in that I found it to be a solid contender for best US zoo. The elephant exhibit is very good indeed. For me, I just didn't find anything... stand-out about the exhibit design there, which I've always thought was the main reason it wasn't held in higher regard on peoples' lists.

I do wonder how my opinion may be changed today and in the future, with the addition of Pantanal and the upcoming Galapagos exhibit. The loss of the marvelous bird gardens, though...

~Thylo

 

[ThylacineAlive]

I agree with everything here except the aquarium being underwhelming. May I ask why? It is easily the second best exhibit at Toledo, it's very large with a huge and diverse collection with some excellent exhibitry and some standout rarities. The historic exterior is also very standout. It's an exhibit that I was on my mind as an exhibit likely to make this list. What didn't you like about it?

It may just be an issue of personal expectation vs experience. From what I'd heard, I was expecting an aquarium rivaling Omaha's, but I found Toledo's to be smaller than expected with mostly generic displays. Some exciting species to be sure, but I can't recall seeing anything that was overly rare in captivity.

I do think it's fine, but it's the only indoor exhibit at the zoo I didn't feel compelled to take a second walk through, and I visited during a thunderstorm!

~Thylo

 

[ZooBinh]

It may just be an issue of personal expectation vs experience. From what I'd heard, I was expecting an aquarium rivaling Omaha's, but I found Toledo's to be smaller than expected with mostly generic displays. Some exciting species to be sure, but I can't recall seeing anything that was overly rare in captivity.

I do think it's fine, but it's the only indoor exhibit at the zoo I didn't feel compelled to take a second walk through, and I visited during a thunderstorm!

~Thylo

I’d have to agree with Thylo here. Toledo’s aquarium is nice, and I’m sure it’s one of the better aquariums located in a zoo. And the historical architecture is, of course, lovely as well. But aside from the larger displays, the aquarium really leaves much to be desired. Personally I felt it was a little lackluster and generic, and nothing that was especially memorable. It’s also noteworthy that a lot of the tanks, notably the freshwater tanks and most specifically the giant gourami tank, aren’t great for their inhabitants, and that definitely left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[King of Komodo Dragons]

Houston is always an interesting inclusion to me. While I have not seen the zoo since the more recent developments, when I visited in 2018 I had a curious thought: nothing at this zoo is bad, ultimately most of this zoo is very good, but nothing here stands out above anything elsewhere. Funny enough, I had this exact thought while checking out the elephant exhibit. To be clear, I've always thought Houston to be a great zoo and probably an underrated zoo in that I found it to be a solid contender for best US zoo. The elephant exhibit is very good indeed. For me, I just didn't find anything... stand-out about the exhibit design there, which I've always thought was the main reason it wasn't held in higher regard on peoples' lists.

I do wonder how my opinion may be changed today and in the future, with the addition of Pantanal and the upcoming Galapagos exhibit. The loss of the marvelous bird gardens, though...

~Thylo

The Newer exhibits are definitely world class, the Pantanal on its own is by far the best south american exhibit I have ever scene, and I hope it gets included on this list, I would also praise Houston Zoo's bug house.

 

[pachyderm pro]

14. National Amphibian Conservation Center
Detroit Zoo, MI
Opened: 2000
Size: 11,000 Square Feet (1,020 Square Meters)
Inhabitants: Roughly 40 species of amphibian.

More often than not, reptiles and amphibians are displayed under the same roof in zoos. However, with reptiles naturally being more crowd-pleasing, the amphibians are often an afterthought. Detroit opted to create two separate houses for both herp groups and here is where the amphibians really get a chance to shine. In fact, the amount of detail and professionalism put into this complex outshines the adjacent reptile house in almost every way. This is the largest dedicated amphibian facility in the United States, a concept uncommon worldwide and to this day it has yet to be topped anywhere else. Inside this bright and airy building are several walls of lushly planted terraria and open-topped displays featuring several dozen fascinating species. In typical Detroit Zoo fashion, many enclosures extremely spacious for even the tiniest inhabitants. The naturally lit gallery for Japanese giant salamander is the clear highlight, featuring a hugely impressive open-topped tank containing multiple individuals. The number of interpretive displays detailing metamorphosis and amphibian ecology is to be commended and are all very high quality. The house is also abutting two acres of scenic wetlands dubbed Amphibiville which provides refuge to native herp and bird species including wild bullfrogs, so this exhibit is probably the closest thing to a real life “World of the Bullfrog '' that late Bronx Zoo director William G. Conway dreamed of.

@pachyderm pro

@pachyderm pro

@pachyderm pro

@ZooNerd1234

@pachyderm pro

@snowleopard

Similar Exhibits: There are a few other amphibian houses in the US, but I'm not aware of anything even remotely close to this one.

 

[15399]

WOW! I was aware of this exhibit, and knew it was highly praised, but until seeing these pictures I didn't know just how incredible it actually is. Those two open-topped exhibits shown in particular don't look like anything I've ever seen, in real life or in photographs, for an amphibian. This just makes me want to visit Detroit even more, and it was already extremely high on my list!

 

[Persephone]

When I went the giant salamander exhibit was significant better planted, almost overgrown. Supposedly that let the salamanders better hide and replicate natural behaviors. I could still see them because they’re big. Anyway, great pick. I have seen other amphibian houses (Peoria has one), but they weren’t anywhere near as good.

I do have some quarrel with Amphibiville, though, as I thought the signage probably could’ve been better. Otherwise a top notch display.

 

[Pleistocene891]

Detroit will probably make this list two more times(Arctic Ring of Life and Polk Penguin Conservation Center). With the amount of high quality exhibits Detroit has, is it far fetched to say that it’s a top 10 zoo in the US?

 

[Persephone]

Detroit will probably make this list two more times(Arctic Ring of Life and Polk Penguin Conservation Center). With the amount of high quality exhibits Detroit has, is it far fetched to say that it’s a top 10 zoo in the US?

Detroit has three top tier exhibits and a few good to great ones. That conceal that most of the zoo is just… good. Fine. Better than average. The highs are high, the lows are average, and most of the space is empty. It has the bones of a top ten zoo, but I don’t think it’s put enough meat on the skeleton to qualify.

 

[CMP]

or even the amphibian house at Detroit (which I am very much hoping makes it on this list)

14. National Amphibian Conservation Center
Detroit Zoo, MI
Opened: 2000
Size: 11,000 Square Feet (1,020 Square Meters)
Inhabitants: Roughly 40 species of amphibian.

More often than not, reptiles and amphibians are displayed under the same roof in zoos. However, with reptiles naturally being more crowd-pleasing, the amphibians are often an afterthought. Detroit opted to create two separate houses for both herp groups and here is where the amphibians really get a chance to shine. In fact, the amount of detail and professionalism put into this complex outshines the adjacent reptile house in almost every way. This is the largest dedicated amphibian facility in the United States, a concept uncommon worldwide and to this day it has yet to be topped anywhere else. Inside this bright and airy building are several walls of lushly planted terraria and open-topped displays featuring several dozen fascinating species. In typical Detroit Zoo fashion, many enclosures extremely spacious for even the tiniest inhabitants. The naturally lit gallery for Japanese giant salamander is the clear highlight, featuring a hugely impressive open-topped tank containing multiple individuals. The number of interpretive displays detailing metamorphosis and amphibian ecology is to be commended and are all very high quality. The house is also abutting two acres of scenic wetlands dubbed Amphibiville which provides refuge to native herp and bird species including wild bullfrogs, so this exhibit is probably the closest thing to a real life “World of the Bullfrog '' that late Bronx Zoo director William G. Conway dreamed of.

@pachyderm pro

@pachyderm pro

@pachyderm pro

@ZooNerd1234

@pachyderm pro

@snowleopard

Similar Exhibits: There are a few other amphibian houses in the US, but I'm not aware of anything even remotely close to this one.

I refuse to accept this is a coincidence...


Now that the Polk Penguin Conservation seems to be reliably back open again, I really need to make the trip back to Detroit and actually visit the zoo. An amphibian house is the sort of refreshing and interesting exhibit that could probably fit into my top 5, and amphibians as a whole are just such under-appreciated and interesting animals.

Detroit will probably make this list two more times(Arctic Ring of Life and Polk Penguin Conservation Center). With the amount of high quality exhibits Detroit has, is it far fetched to say that it’s a top 10 zoo in the US?

Detroit has three top tier exhibits and a few good to great ones. That conceal that most of the zoo is just… good. Fine. Better than average. The highs are high, the lows are average, and most of the space is empty. It has the bones of a top ten zoo, but I don’t think it’s put enough meat on the skeleton to qualify.

Echoing @Persephone, other than the top exhibits, there isn't too much else to Detroit and the species list is probably too paltry for a top 10 ranking, IMO.

 

[tiger stingray]

In my opinion the Detroit zoo is not quite top 10, but one can make a case that it would be in the lower part of a top ten. It would not be unreasonable if someone put it in a top 10. The new red panda exhibit is big and nice too. The grounds of the zoo are historic and lovely. What a thrill it was in the fall of 2021 to see the juvenile polar bear wrestling the juvenile brown bear in the Arctic ring of life exhibit.

 

[birdsandbats]

It may just be an issue of personal expectation vs experience. From what I'd heard, I was expecting an aquarium rivaling Omaha's, but I found Toledo's to be smaller than expected with mostly generic displays. Some exciting species to be sure, but I can't recall seeing anything that was overly rare in captivity.

I do think it's fine, but it's the only indoor exhibit at the zoo I didn't feel compelled to take a second walk through, and I visited during a thunderstorm!

~Thylo

Are the sea spiders gone then?

 

[pachyderm pro]

Objectively speaking, one would think Detroit should be considered a top 10 US zoo, especially considering it has a trio of exhibits that could very well be argued as the best of their kind in the country. It has one of the highest standards of exhibitry out of any zoo and a long history which has been maintained very well. However, the zoo struggles to use their space effectively. You often walk long distances without seeing very much and I found there were far too many exhibits that were either oversized (aardvarks), understocked (wolves) or just downright boring (chimpanzees). It also doesn't help that outside of the amphibian center, the species list doesn't include very much particularly unusual or noteworthy - although the arrival of bush dogs next year should help in that regard.

When I went the giant salamander exhibit was significant better planted, almost overgrown. Supposedly that let the salamanders better hide and replicate natural behaviors. I could still see them because they’re big. Anyway, great pick. I have seen other amphibian houses (Peoria has one), but they weren’t anywhere near as good.

Usually it is better planted, but it was undergoing some work when I took the photo attached to the exhibit profile. For some reason every time a ZooChatter goes to get a photo of the giant salamander habitat it's under maintenance. Seriously, if you check the gallery literally every single overview shot of the exhibit shows it under some sort of maintenance. It's a genuine mystery and as nice as it looks, I'm sure it looks a whole lot better with the salamanders actually in it.

I refuse to accept this is a coincidence...

I randomized the order months ago, so I did get a little smirk while reading that part of Thylos post.

 

[Great Argus]

although the arrival of bush dogs next year should help in that regard.

Where are they getting them from? Given the current status of the North American population if they're not importing its probably not happening...

 

[15399]

Where are they getting them from? Given the current status of the North American population if they're not importing its probably not happening...

In recent years, it's been rumored Bush dogs may start to be managed as a GSMP, so I'd assume that importing is the likely way Detroit (and other zoos in North America interested in this species) will acquire animals.

 

[pachyderm pro]

Where are they getting them from? Given the current status of the North American population if they're not importing its probably not happening...

There are nearly 50 holders in Europe, so they are almost certainly importing.

 

[Great Argus]

There are nearly 50 holders in Europe, so they are almost certainly importing.

Be interesting to see if that goes through. Bush dogs are a nice little species.

 

[Westcoastperson]

In recent years, it's been rumored Bush dogs may start to be managed as a GSMP, so I'd assume that importing is the likely way Detroit (and other zoos in North America interested in this species) will acquire animals.

I do know some other zoos have listed them in future expansions and have shown an interest for the species.