Since 2014, it’s been our goal to visit new zoos each year. In that time, we’ve visited more than 50 zoos, so I’d say we’ve made great progress on that goal. For 2019, however, our goal expanded beyond visiting new zoos. We focused this year on having experiences that we’ve never had before. Again, we’ve made great progress. Because we’ve been able to experience so much, we created a grading scale, and decided to rank our favorite animal encounters of 2019.
Our grading scale included 6 categories. Every encounter that we completed received a score of 1-5 in each category, with a score of 5 being the best. After scoring all encounters, we tallied up the totals, and calculated the score based on a total of 30 possible points. 27 points equals an A, 24 equals a B, and so on.
The categories for our grading were as follows:
- Duration of the encounter
- Cost of the encounter
- Location of the encounter
- Ability to interact with the animal/opportunity to feed the animal
- Friendliness/Knowledge/Helpfulness of zoo staff
Based on the above factors, we were able to successfully rank seven of our favorite animal encounters from the past year. We chose not to include giraffe feedings. Although we definitely consider giraffe feedings to be fun, exciting encounters, we have now fed giraffes at over 20 zoos, so that will be an article of its own at a different time! The experiences listed below are some of the most unique ones that we’ve had, and all happened in 2019.
Columbian Park Zoo – Tamandua Encounter – A+
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Cost: $15/person (minimum 3 people)
Duration: 30-45 mins
Availability: Year round, call to schedule an appointment
Website:
Insight: Digger the tamandua was probably the most fun encounter we had this summer. Digger stays with the other ambassador animals off exhibit, so we interacted with him in a patch of grass near his home. This encounter lasted about 30 minutes, and allowed us to both touch and feed Digger. The friendly staff did a great job of educating and facilitating this encounter. You can read more about this encounter here.
Columbian Park Zoo – Sloth Encounter A +
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Cost: $15/person (minimum 3 people)
Duration: 20-30 mins
Availability: Year round, call to schedule an appointment
Website:
Insight: We enjoyed meeting Digger so much that we returned to the Columbian Park Zoo to meet Irma, their female sloth. This encounter lasted almost 45 minutes, and allowed us to touch and feed Irma. Isolated in a classroom, you get one-on-one time for your group (minimum of three) with Irma and a zoo educator. You can read more about this encounter here.
Potawatomi Zoo – Bison Encounter A
Location: South Bend, Indiana
Cost: $15/person
Duration: 20-30 mins
Availability: Saturdays/Sundays at 2pm (Eastern), May-December
Website:
Insight: The bison were the largest animals we were in contact with on this list (giraffes are obviously taller, but not included here). This encounter had a dividing wall between us and the bison for safety, but we were able to feed them (and were close enough to smell their breath!). These do sell out so you would need to sign up in advance. They are offered twice each weekend, and have a maximum of six slots for each session. You can read more about this encounter here.
Indianapolis Zoo – Flamingo Feeding A –
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Cost: $3/person ($12 wristband for unlimited feeding)
Duration: < 5 mins
Availability: Daily during the summer at 11am/1pm/3pm
Website:
Insight: The flamingo encounter at the Indianapolis Zoo is very unique to this list. Unlike all of the other encounters that require pre-booking, this one is a rolling opportunity multiple times per day. This encounter is the cheapest among this group at $3 per person. It allows you the opportunity to walk into the flamingo exhibit, and hold a cup of krill for the flamingo to eat out of. The zoo also offers a “Total Adventure Package” or “TAP” for $12. This would allow you unlimited feedings per person of the flamingos, as well as giraffes, lorikeets, and parakeets. This allowed us to get back in line and continue feeding the flamingos when our cup was empty, and also allowed for re-entry at each feeding session.
Brookfield Zoo – Penguin Encounter A –
Location: Brookfield, Illinois
Cost: $40/person
Duration: 45-60 mins
Availability: Weekdays 2pm; Saturdays/Sundays at 11am/2pm
Website:
Insight: This encounter was the most expensive of the summer for us, at $40 per person. That doesn’t mean it’s not a value for what you’re getting. Animal encounters in a classroom with multiple staff members tend to cost more money. This encounter allowed us to meet and touch three of the zoo’s male penguins. Be sure to sign up online in advance – maximum of 20 participants per session. For a more in-depth review of this encounter, click here.
Milwaukee Zoo – Sea Lion Feeding B
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Cost: $4/person
Duration: <5 mins
Availability: Summer only; 10 a.m. (feed only), 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m
Website:
Insight: Similar to the flamingo feeding, this feeding is offered multiple times per day. However, you must head over to the Oceans Connections booth upon arriving to the zoo and sign up for the time slot you are interested in for that day as they can sell out. In this encounter, you stand a few feet from the sea lion and toss a fish to it. The encounter is only a feeding, with no physical interaction.
NEW Zoo (Green Bay) – Penguin Feeding B –
Location: Green Bay, Wisconsin
Cost: $10/person
Duration: 10 mins
Availability: Summer only; Daily at 1pm
Website:
Insight: We started off our summer with a penguin feeding experience in Green Bay. This was a chance to walk into the penguin exhibit and toss fish to their penguins. While we did not have the opportunity to touch them, this experience was very enjoyable. There’s something about going into/behind the scenes of an exhibit that’s exhilarating. Sign up can be done online, or in person. These can sell out as they allow five per day maximum.
Thank you for reading about our favorite animal encounters! For a comprehensive list of animal encounters available in the Midwest, click here.
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