Discover the best zoos and aquariums across the country. ThrillZing covers admission, must-see exhibits, animal encounters, and reciprocal membership tips for every major zoo and aquarium — plus the latest news from the world of wildlife attractions.
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/ October 15, 2026
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park sits on 725 acres of forest and meadow near Eatonville, Washington, about an hour south of Tacoma. Unlike a conventional zoo, its signature experience is a tram tour through a 435-acre free-roaming area where bison, Roosevelt elk, mountain goats, caribou, and…
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tz
/ October 15, 2026
The North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island sits in Manteo on the Outer Banks, just a short drive from Nags Head and overlooking the Croatan Sound. It traces its roots to September 1976, when it opened as one of three North Carolina Marine Resources Centers…
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/ October 15, 2026
Tucked into a maritime forest on Bogue Banks, the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores has introduced generations of visitors to the creatures living just offshore of the Crystal Coast. Since opening in 1976, it has grown from a modest marine resources center into…
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tz
/ October 14, 2026
The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher sits on the Cape Fear coast in Kure Beach, one of three sites in the state’s aquarium system that trace back to a trio of marine resources centers opened on September 17, 1976. Renamed in 1986 and rebuilt…
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/ October 14, 2026
The National Aviary sits inside Allegheny Commons Park on Pittsburgh’s North Side, and it holds a distinction no other American zoo or aquarium can claim: in 1993, the U.S. Congress granted it honorary “National” status, making it the only zoological facility in the country with…
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tz
/ October 14, 2026
Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens sits on 43 acres in Naples, Florida, blending a working zoo with a botanical garden whose roots stretch back over a century. The land was first planted in 1919 by botanist Henry Nehrling, who relocated part of his personal plant…
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/ October 13, 2026
CuriOdyssey is a combined science museum and wildlife rescue center perched on Coyote Point in San Mateo, California, overlooking the San Francisco Bay. What began in 1954 as the San Mateo County Junior Museum has grown into a hands-on destination where kids experiment with scientific…
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/ October 13, 2026
Belle Isle Aquarium sits inside Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan, in a Beaux-Arts building designed by architects George D. Mason and Albert Kahn. It opened on August 18, 1904. The Detroit Historical Society says it was the third-largest aquarium in the world at the…
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tz
/ October 13, 2026
The Great Plains Zoo has welcomed visitors to Sioux Falls, South Dakota since opening on June 30, 1963. Spread across 45 acres, the zoo grew out of the Zoological Society of Sioux Falls, a nonprofit founded in 1957 to bring a permanent wildlife park to…
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tz
/ October 12, 2026
Miller Park Zoo sits inside Miller Park in Bloomington, Illinois, and traces its roots back to 1891, when the city first spent public money caring for animals kept in the park. Local lore holds that the collection got its real start around 1900, after a…
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tz
/ October 12, 2026
Marineland of Florida opened on June 23, 1938, south of St. Augustine as “Marine Studios,” a seaside complex built by Douglas Burden, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, and Ilya Tolstoy. The founders designed its tanks with glass portholes so Hollywood film crews could shoot underwater footage, and…
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tz
/ October 12, 2026
The Little Rock Zoo traces its roots to 1924, when its first two residents, a timber wolf and a circus-trained brown bear, arrived in what is now Little Rock, Arkansas. Nearly a century later, it has grown into the state’s only zoo accredited by the…
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tz
/ October 11, 2026
Lincoln Children’s Zoo opened on July 23, 1965, after Lincoln businessman Arnott Folsom spent years and his own personal funds planning a zoo designed specifically for kids. What began on just three acres of city land with around 120 animals has grown into a beloved…
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/ October 11, 2026
Cosley Zoo is a small, community-focused zoo in Wheaton, Illinois, operated by the Wheaton Park District on a compact 5-acre site that was once a local train depot property. What began in 1974 as Cosley Children’s Park and Museum grew into a full AZA-accredited zoo…
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tz
/ October 11, 2026
Blank Park Zoo sits on the south side of Des Moines, Iowa, near the grounds of historic Fort Des Moines. What began in 1963 as a $150,000 gift from philanthropist Abraham Harry Blank grew into the Des Moines Children’s Zoo, which opened its gates on…
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tz
/ October 11, 2026
The Lehigh Valley Zoo sits on about 29 acres inside the sprawling 1,100-acre Trexler Nature Preserve in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, a short drive from Allentown. The surrounding preserve traces its roots back to 1906, when local industrialist Harry Clay Trexler began buying up farmland to protect…
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/ October 11, 2026
Lee Richardson Zoo sits inside Finnup Park in Garden City, Kansas, where it has introduced visitors to wildlife from around the world since 1927. What began with two skunks brought in by local Chief of Police Lee Richardson, through a partnership between the city and…
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tz
/ October 10, 2026
The Key West Aquarium has anchored the island’s waterfront near Mallory Square since the Great Depression, when construction began in 1932 at the urging of Dr. Robert O. Van Deusen, a former superintendent of Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park Aquarium. The project was funded by the federal…
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tz
/ October 10, 2026
Jenkinson’s Aquarium sits right on the boardwalk in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, tucked inside a landmark pink building that has welcomed Jersey Shore visitors since 1991. Built on the site of a former saltwater pool, the aquarium still uses some of the original pumps…
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/ October 9, 2026
The short answer: bring your own snacks and a refillable water bottle (most zoos allow outside food), skip the valuables since many zoos have no lockers or bag check, pack sun protection because zoo paths have little shade, and plan for a stroller or wagon…
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