Location
34th Street and Girard Avenue
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Video
Click here to watch a video preview of the visitor experience at the Philadelphia Zoo.
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[ Video courtesy of Streettalkin.com ]
Slideshow
Click here to view a photo slideshow of the awesome visitor experience at the Philadelphia zoo.
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The Zoo's 150th Birthday
The Philadelphia Zoo is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2009. So stop by and celebrate this major achievement at America's first zoo!
McNeil Avian Center
On May 30 — just in time for the Zoo's birthday — the 17.5-million McNeil Avian Center will open to the public.
This new aviary incorporates lush, walk-through habitats where visitors can discover more than 100 spectacular birds from around the world, many of them rare and endangered. And in the multi-sensory 4-D Migration Theater, viewers can follow Otis the Oriole on his first migration south from where he hatched in Fairmount Park.
CLICK HERE for more information!
The Experience at the Zoo
One of the best laid-out and most animal-packed zoos in the country is set among a charming 42-acre Victorian garden with tree-lined walks, formal shrubbery, ornate iron cages and animal sculptures. The zoo has garnered many “firsts" in addition to being the first zoo charted in the United States (1859).
The first orangutan and chimp births in a U.S. zoo (1928), world’s first Children’s Zoo (1957), and the first U.S. exhibit of white lions (1993), among others.
In addition to its animals, the zoo is known for its historic architecture, which includes the country home of William Penn’s grandson, its botanical collections of over 500 plant species, its groundbreaking research and its fine veterinary facilities.
Big Cat Falls
The highly anticipated pride of the Philadelphia Zoo, Bank of America Big Cat Falls, home to felines from around the world, opened in 2006. The lush new exhibition features waterfalls, pools, authentic plantings and a simulated research station for aspiring zoologists.
Lions, leopards, jaguars, pumas, tigers and seven new cubs are the star attractions.
Visitor Details
Open daily, year-round. Parking can be tight so public transit is a great option.
Check out the Zoo's trolley shuttle, available through October, making hourly stops at the Independence Visitor Center and 30th Street Station. Service is available starting at 10 a.m. seven days a week through August 31, 2008, with weekends-only service in September and October.
SEPTA Routes 15 and 32 Buses stop within blocks of the zoo. Find specific stops and schedules here.