Woodland Park Zoo is starting its new Evening Zoo this summer, extending open hours until 8:30 p.m. on six nights: June 21 and 28; July 5, 19 and 26; and Aug. 1.
They’ll have ambassador animal presentations, animal keeper talks, storytelling, discovery stations and nature-inspired activities. Zoomazium, the indoor nature play space for kids, also will be open. A beer and wine garden will be in the North Meadow for those 21 and over (valid ID required). Evening Zoo is included with zoo admission; free for members.
On June 28, Evening Zoo will celebrate the 100th birthday of the zoo’s Historic Carousel; and on July 5, “Zoo for All” “honors the rich diversity of the community with an event to welcome families and individuals from around Puget Sound and beyond, and people with different abilities and backgrounds. From 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., special programs will be tailored to guests with disabilities and differing sensory needs, including a sensory-friendly program in Zoomazium.”
But first, on June 2, the zoo hosts its annual “Bear Affair: Living Northwest Conservation Day.”
The annual conservation event culminates Bear Awareness Week, proclaimed by Governor Jay Inslee to be the week of May 27–June 2, 2018. Learn about the survival of bears, wolves, turtles, raptors, and other wildlife in the Pacific Northwest and what these animals need to survive in the wild, how to help keep them safe and how to peacefully coexist.
The zoo’s curious grizzly bear brothers, Keema and Denali, will ransack a make-believe backyard setting with all the fixings of a picnic left behind including a kiddy pool, a grill with hamburgers and hot dogs, cupcakes, fruit and juice, and non-safe garbage cans. Pick up some bear-proof tips as the bears demonstrate what goes wrong when food and garbage aren’t stored properly.
Hear talks on wolves, river otters and other animals, and enjoy raptor flight programs, ambassador animal training sessions and special programs in Zoomazium. Stop by the Living Northwest conservation tent for chats with experts, up-close visits with Western pond turtles and kid-friendly activities. Visit Molbak’s Butterfly Garden and Microsoft Pollinator Patio for tips on helping pollinators in your own backyard. Visit with conservation partners from Western Wildlife Outreach, Wolf Haven, Vital Ground, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Parks Conservation Association, Conservation Northwest, Washington Trails Association, Defenders of Wildlife, Bear Smart Washington, Seattle Every Kid in a Park Collaborative and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. Listen to Native American stories about animals and their connection with the other “people” who inhabit the world by artist and storyteller Roger Fernandes. Enter a free drawing to win a behind-the-scenes visit with the zoo’s grizzly bears.
Bear Affair is included with zoo admission.
