My Top 5 Favorite Zoo Exhibits

[Grizzly Hound]

This is my first top list on zoo chat. I have only been to 5 different zoos (Tampa, Indy, Cincinnati, Louisville, Smithsonian) so this list only contains exhibits at zoos I have been to and let me know what are your favorite exhibits.

1. Oceans at the Indianapolis Zoo

Now this is probably the coolest aquatic exhibit I've seen so far. The scent of the inside smells like fresh ocean water and the blue walls really makes the building pop. I love the underwater viewing for the pinnipeds and the very nice shark touch pool. The penguin exhibit is cool because, you can view them from the sides and you can even view them from below. But of course the star of the entire attraction is the country's only underwater dolphin dome, where you can literally be in the water with the dolphins. And that is why this is my favorite zoo exhibit of all time. But of course that will change in the future when I visit more zoos.

2. Amazonia at the National Zoo

I love indoor rain forest exhibits and this is just gorgeous. The first floor is a very nice gallery with loads of terrariums and tanks for frogs, fish, and loads more. And the second floor is the best area which is a beautiful and lush rain forest with free roaming monkeys, free flying birds, and a nice tank with fish and rays. I can't wait to go back to the National Zoo and see this exhibit again this year.

3. Jungle Trails at the Cincinnati Zoo

This exhibit is outstanding because, it literally places you in a recreation of a mini jungle and it feels like your trekking through a real one. The other reason why it feels like a real jungle is that you can see primates literally through the trees like what you would see in the wild. Once again I have no criticism for this exhibit but it doesn't live up to others.

4. Glacier Run at the Louisville Zoo

This exhibit is supposed to represent an abandoned Alaskan town where humans and bears live together. The one thing that is really cool is that you can watch the bears walk above the guest path through a transfer tunnel. The pinnipeds look like they share space with the bears because of an illusion. I don't really have any criticism for this exhibit but it just doesn't live up to other exhibits on this list.

5. Deserts at the Indianapolis Zoo

This exhibit really stands out to me because, it really feels like your in a true desert with it being over 80 degrees inside. And with the plants and rocks it really adds to the desert feel. But the reason it is at the bottom of the list is because, it pretty much displays reptiles but it does display Meerkats and Quails I just think their should be more of a variety of other animals like desert dwelling mammals and birds.

 

[Bisonblake]

Here’s my top 5 favorite exhibits of zoos I have been to

5. Expedition Peru at the Nashville Zoo
This was a very small area of the zoo, but it was definitely one of the best exhibits at the zoo. All of the exhibits in this area were very well designed, and the buildings were also very nice. The waterfall in the Andean bear exhibit was super cool watching the water fall from the top of the hill, all the way down into the pool all the way at the very bottom.

4. Shedd Aquarium’s Oceanarium
When I see belugas at an aquarium, I expect to see polar ice surrounding the exhibit. This exhibit looks nothing like that. Instead, the exhibit has pine trees surrounding the entire area. The was also the first aquarium I’ve been to that didn’t have bottle nose dolphins, but instead Pacific white-sided dolphins. There were also exhibits for sea otters and a California sea lion. There were also two levels to the area, so you can see some of the animals both above and below the water level. There were also some smaller tanks for small fish and inverts.

3. Asia Quest at the Columbus Zoo
Before I went to the zoo at all, I didn’t know a lot of the animals in this area existed. Much like the rest of the zoo, all the exhibits were large and very well decorated. It was a very unique experience to see muntjacs walking around an aviary. The pachyderm building was very large, which is great because Ohio has some terrible weather in the winter.

2. The Arctic Ring of Life at the Detroit Zoo
Being my hometown zoo, I have visited this place many of times. This is definitely the largest polar bear exhibit I have ever seen. I love how the polar bear exhibit was designed into one half being the tundra, and the other being polar ice. The best part of the exhibit is the tunnel where you can see the seals and possibly the polar bears swimming. The soothing music down there really makes it the most relaxing area in the entire zoo. You won’t always see the polar bears, but it’s a treat if you do.

1. Heart of Africa at the Columbus Zoo
The second you enter this area, it feels like you have actually entered the African Savannah (depending on the weather). These are possibly the best designed exhibits in the entire zoo. The best exhibit is definitely the 20-acre Savannah. It looks like there aren’t any barriers to the exhibit, and they can roam freely. The watering hole exhibit is really cool also, because there could be something different in there each time you go. In the morning you may see the cheetahs running, and later in the afternoon you could see the hyenas.