Spend a Day at the Zoo

 What a better way to welcome Spring and top off your visit to the Chicago area than a visit to the Brookfield Zoo? The Brookfield Zoo is located outside Chicago in nearby Brookfield. The Brookfield Zoo is part of the Chicago Zoological Society and exists “to inspire conservation leadership by connecting people with wildlife and nature.”  The Brookfield Zoo continuously strives to improve its role in animal care and conservation of the natural world. Brookfield Zoo was one of the first zoos with indoor multispecies exhibits, nutrition residencies, methods for animal husbandry, and a medical facility that includes a successful brain surgery for a gorilla.  Brookfield Zoo residents, of the animal type, include animals living in the following exhibit areas: 

• Great Bear Wilderness
• Seven Seas
• Tropic World
• The Living Coast
• The Swamp
• Hamill Family Play Zoo
• Habitat Africa—The Savannah
• Habitat Africa—The Forest
• Australia House
• Hoofed Animals
• Pachyderm House
• Fragile Desert
• Fragile Rainforest
• Pinniped Point
• Children’s Zoo
• Feathers and Scales
• Reptiles and Birds
• Regenstein Wolf Woods
• Salt Creek Wilderness

Beginning 19 May 2012, the zoo will be invaded by “Xtreme Bugs.” Xtreme Bugs is a temporary summer exhibit that will feature extra-large animatronic bugs—including a 16-foot-high by 33-foot-long Japanese hornet on display at the Roosevelt Fountain. And, of course, being a zoo there will be extra-small live insects! Visitors can walk along a trail to view 22 state-of-the-art gigantic animatronic bugs such as a fluttering Monarch butterfly or ladybug to a praying mantis or a giant Madagascar hissing cockroach. There will be themed scenes that include bees, spiders, ants, a scorpion, and hatching cicadas.  Visit the Brookfield Zoo website for details of these exhibits and more!  Accessibility Options – Brookfield Zoo strives to make its grounds, pathways, buildings, exhibits, and programs accessible to all visitors. Please visit their Accessibility page for detailed information on Accessibility Options.  Elizabeth Burke is a member of the STC Chicago 2012 Host Committee and currently serves as the President of the STC Chicago chapter.