Put Me In The Zoo: Smithsonian National Zoo Review
Zoo visit date: June 16, 2011
Does this zoo satisfy the reviewer’s Inner-3-Year-Old by featuring his lifelong favorite animals, giraffes and elephants?
Partially. The zoo has Asian elephants. There used to be giraffes and an African elephant too, but the giraffes were removed to expand the Asian elephant exhibit and the African elephant died.
Does this zoo have any animals that would excite a zoo aficionado?
Giant pandas, black-footed ferret, brown kiwi, chambered nautilus. There are probably several other species that would be of special interest to a zoo aficionado, as the zoo has large reptile, bird, invertebrate, and small mammal collections; the zoo’s website has thorough lists of their collections.
Does this zoo have any immersion exhibits that would impress a zoo aficionado?
The Asian Trail complex is wonderful and has very large and naturalistic exhibits for giant pandas, red pandas, sloth bears, small-clawed otters, and fishing cats.
The new Asian elephant exhibit is very good with large spaces, varied terrain, and great interpretive graphics. It is not particularly naturalistic, but does immerse you in the greatness of elephants.
The “Think Tank” exhibit immerses one’s brain in the fascinating world of how animals think and how the brain works. It is intellectually immersive.
The “O Line” orangutan exhibit allows the orangs to climb across a series of towers connecting their exhibits in “Think Tank” and in the ape house. Watching the orangs climb as they would in the wild was a superb animal watching experience and was entrancing to everyone in my party (wife, sister, brother-in-law, 6 year old nephew, 1.5 year old niece). We watched the orangs for an hour.
Does this zoo have any good basic exhibits?
All of the zoo’s exhibits that I saw were very good. Some of the zoo was under construction, the North American area especially, so I did not see the middle of the zoo.
The gorilla exhibit is not naturalistic, but is large and green and the gorillas seemed to be engaged in healthy gorilla family dynamics. My nephew related to the young gorilla wandering all around.
The reptile house, invertebrate house, and small mammal house were enjoyable.
The Przewalski’s horses are in a large, basic paddock as one would expect to see domesticated horses in. I have never seen a great exhibit for this species, as the one at the San Diego Wild Animal Park is pretty much the same thing (albeit larger). Has anybody seen a really good Przewalski’s horse exhibit anywhere?
The lion and tiger exhibits, built in the 1970s I think, are very large and green. The cats were very active and interesting to watch. There is a great trail through the woods next to the tiger exhibit that has an interpretive narrative of tiger natural history and conservation. My six-year old nephew was very interested in this, which surprised and delighted me.
Does this zoo have any exhibits that should be bulldozed?
I honestly missed several exhibits of the zoo (bird house, rain forest exhibit, cheetahs) because I was spending time answering my nephew’s questions about animals and proving to him that there are giant lizards as big as his bed (he had never seen a Komodo dragon and was wide-eyed). I did not see anything that needed to be bulldozed that was not already being bulldozed (see future section below), but there may be. Feel free to chime in if you think there is.
Does this zoo have any elements that make it particularly family friendly?
The zoo has a farm area with domesticated animals. My wife and I left to see the Asian Trails while my sister’s family went to see the farm. The kids were tired and didn’t seem all that excited by it, but my nephew was satisfied that he saw a cow.
This zoo has lots of little interesting and fun design features that kids (of all ages) would like including a huge triceratops statue that used to be on the National Mall apparently, and statues of little animals that are on the tops of buildings like cute gargoyles.
Does this zoo have any interesting plans for the future?
The sea lion exhibit is being renovated and is due to open in 2012. The plans look cool, as it will have underwater viewing and an area for live animal care demonstrations.
I asked on the zoo’s Facebook page if giraffes would ever return to the zoo and was told that they hoped that they would at some point, so perhaps there will be a new giraffe complex at some future date.
The last phase of the elephant exhibit (renovation of the historic elephant house) was still underway when I visited.
Would a zoo aficionado like this zoo enough to go out of his or her way to visit it?
Absolutely. This is a great zoo worthy of the United States capital city. It is not full of spectacular immersion exhibits like the Bronx Zoo, but has an interesting collection in good to great exhibits. It is in a forested setting in Rock Creek Park and has pleasant walking paths. There are keeper talks and animal demonstrations all day throughout the zoo. There is an emphasis on science and conservation in the interpretive graphics and signs, as one would expect from the Smithsonian Institution. The tiger and Asian elephant exhibits have interactive displays and interpretive graphics on natural history and conservation of these species that are some of the best that I have seen at any zoo. All zoo staff that I encountered, paid and volunteer, were friendly and helpful. There were two wonderful docents explaining the O-Line and orangutan natural history to people.
I had wanted to visit the Smithsonian National Zoo since I was a youngling, back when it was the only place in the U.S. to see pandas. It took a few decades to finally visit, but I left the zoo satisfied, happy, and wanting to go back again. If you visit it, then I hope that you will have a satisfactory and enjoyable visit too.
Zoo visit date: June 16, 2011
Does this zoo satisfy the reviewer’s Inner-3-Year-Old by featuring his lifelong favorite animals, giraffes and elephants?
Partially. The zoo has Asian elephants. There used to be giraffes and an African elephant too, but the giraffes were removed to expand the Asian elephant exhibit and the African elephant died.
Does this zoo have any animals that would excite a zoo aficionado?
Giant pandas, black-footed ferret, brown kiwi, chambered nautilus. There are probably several other species that would be of special interest to a zoo aficionado, as the zoo has large reptile, bird, invertebrate, and small mammal collections; the zoo’s website has thorough lists of their collections.
Does this zoo have any immersion exhibits that would impress a zoo aficionado?
The Asian Trail complex is wonderful and has very large and naturalistic exhibits for giant pandas, red pandas, sloth bears, small-clawed otters, and fishing cats.
The new Asian elephant exhibit is very good with large spaces, varied terrain, and great interpretive graphics. It is not particularly naturalistic, but does immerse you in the greatness of elephants.
The “Think Tank” exhibit immerses one’s brain in the fascinating world of how animals think and how the brain works. It is intellectually immersive.
The “O Line” orangutan exhibit allows the orangs to climb across a series of towers connecting their exhibits in “Think Tank” and in the ape house. Watching the orangs climb as they would in the wild was a superb animal watching experience and was entrancing to everyone in my party (wife, sister, brother-in-law, 6 year old nephew, 1.5 year old niece). We watched the orangs for an hour.
Does this zoo have any good basic exhibits?
All of the zoo’s exhibits that I saw were very good. Some of the zoo was under construction, the North American area especially, so I did not see the middle of the zoo.
The gorilla exhibit is not naturalistic, but is large and green and the gorillas seemed to be engaged in healthy gorilla family dynamics. My nephew related to the young gorilla wandering all around.
The reptile house, invertebrate house, and small mammal house were enjoyable.
The Przewalski’s horses are in a large, basic paddock as one would expect to see domesticated horses in. I have never seen a great exhibit for this species, as the one at the San Diego Wild Animal Park is pretty much the same thing (albeit larger). Has anybody seen a really good Przewalski’s horse exhibit anywhere?
The lion and tiger exhibits, built in the 1970s I think, are very large and green. The cats were very active and interesting to watch. There is a great trail through the woods next to the tiger exhibit that has an interpretive narrative of tiger natural history and conservation. My six-year old nephew was very interested in this, which surprised and delighted me.
Does this zoo have any exhibits that should be bulldozed?
I honestly missed several exhibits of the zoo (bird house, rain forest exhibit, cheetahs) because I was spending time answering my nephew’s questions about animals and proving to him that there are giant lizards as big as his bed (he had never seen a Komodo dragon and was wide-eyed). I did not see anything that needed to be bulldozed that was not already being bulldozed (see future section below), but there may be. Feel free to chime in if you think there is.
Does this zoo have any elements that make it particularly family friendly?
The zoo has a farm area with domesticated animals. My wife and I left to see the Asian Trails while my sister’s family went to see the farm. The kids were tired and didn’t seem all that excited by it, but my nephew was satisfied that he saw a cow.
This zoo has lots of little interesting and fun design features that kids (of all ages) would like including a huge triceratops statue that used to be on the National Mall apparently, and statues of little animals that are on the tops of buildings like cute gargoyles.
Does this zoo have any interesting plans for the future?
The sea lion exhibit is being renovated and is due to open in 2012. The plans look cool, as it will have underwater viewing and an area for live animal care demonstrations.
I asked on the zoo’s Facebook page if giraffes would ever return to the zoo and was told that they hoped that they would at some point, so perhaps there will be a new giraffe complex at some future date.
The last phase of the elephant exhibit (renovation of the historic elephant house) was still underway when I visited.
Would a zoo aficionado like this zoo enough to go out of his or her way to visit it?
Absolutely. This is a great zoo worthy of the United States capital city. It is not full of spectacular immersion exhibits like the Bronx Zoo, but has an interesting collection in good to great exhibits. It is in a forested setting in Rock Creek Park and has pleasant walking paths. There are keeper talks and animal demonstrations all day throughout the zoo. There is an emphasis on science and conservation in the interpretive graphics and signs, as one would expect from the Smithsonian Institution. The tiger and Asian elephant exhibits have interactive displays and interpretive graphics on natural history and conservation of these species that are some of the best that I have seen at any zoo. All zoo staff that I encountered, paid and volunteer, were friendly and helpful. There were two wonderful docents explaining the O-Line and orangutan natural history to people.
I had wanted to visit the Smithsonian National Zoo since I was a youngling, back when it was the only place in the U.S. to see pandas. It took a few decades to finally visit, but I left the zoo satisfied, happy, and wanting to go back again. If you visit it, then I hope that you will have a satisfactory and enjoyable visit too.
