Blank Park Zoo — Zoo in Iowa

Blank Park Zoo and its collection

Blank Park Zoo, opened in 1966, is a zoo in Des Moines, United States.

History

Abraham Harry Blank gave $150,000 in 1963 towards a children's zoo on surplus Fort Des Moines ground, and it opened formally on 8 May 1966 as the Des Moines Children's Zoo. The early layout followed nursery rhymes, with a moated castle, a copy of Noah's Ark, a petting area and a small railway. After 16 years without city investment the zoo neared closure, until business figures created the Blank Park Zoo Foundation in 1981 to rescue it.

Exhibits

Jaama Kwa, a $4.1 million extension of the African Boardwalk on the east side, opened in the spring of 2013, and the David Kruidenier Australia Adventure was finished in July 2011 with cassowary, kookaburra, red-necked wallaby and peafowl. The Ghrist Big Cat Complex opened in 1999 for snow leopards, Amur tigers and African lions, and a rebuilt seal and sea lion pool, a year in the making, opened on 17 March 2012. Kids' Kingdom offers 5,600 square feet of slides, mazes, sand pits, fossil digs and a mining sluice.

Things to do

Things to do include Giraffe Feeding, Penguin Feeding, Stingray Training, Sea Lion Training Demonstration and Tortoise Experience.

Conservation and approach

A conservation committee has raised money for projects worldwide since 1997, the funds coming from face painting, raffles and donation buckets. Projects must be overseas, aimed at animals or habitats, and linked to the zoo.

What the venue says

• Tortoise Experience
• Train
• Concessions and seasonal food options are available within the park, offering casual bites, drinks, and snacks for visitors.
• On-site parking is available for visitors right at the facility.
• wheelchair and stroller-accessible pathways throughout the park
• sensory-inclusive resources
• designated quiet zones
• family-friendly restrooms
• accommodations for service animals