#TBT
Here is the base of the Museum of Science, circa mid-1930s. Notice the wagon used to haul materials and the dated corner block. 80+ years later, the new ProMedica Museum of Natural History will open on May 31!
#ThenAndWOW
On June 12, The Zoo's chapter of American Association of Zoo Keepers is hosting Grapes For Apes at Majestic Oak Winery in Grand Rapids OH, to support gorilla conservation efforts. It will be a night filled with wine, appetizers and good company for a good cause! Purchase tickets now at toledozoo.org/grapesforapes
For your planning purposes...
The Zoo, including splash pad, giraffe feeding and full schedule of animal feeds and demos, will be open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Memorial Day- Monday, May 27.
Please note- as Monday is a holiday, Lucas County free admission hours do not apply.
Bo is on the lookout (in the dig yard) for this weekend's summer kick-off celebration! May 25 & 26, enjoy the little polar bear on exhibit, as well as the playground, splash pad, animal demos/ feedings, live animal shows, character appearances and more! toledozoo.org/summer
#WhatsBloomingWednesday Columbine or Aquilegia canadensis This native wildflower has showy, bell-like flowers with backward-pointing tubes, which contain nectar that attracts long-tongued insects and hummingbirds. The flowers will spread by seed, which is also consumed by finches and buntings. Several native and non-native varieties can be found in the gardens by the Conservatory.
Sign up for our upcoming garden tours at toledozoo.org/gardens
If you haven't been out to see Bo yet, you are missing out! This active, inquisitive ball of energy is growing quickly and delighting visitors daily from 10-2ish.
#MuseumMonday
No snail's pace here... Just two weekly sneak peeks left until the new ProMedica Museum of Natural History at the Toledo Zoo opens to the public on Friday, May 31!
toledozoo.org/museum
Beatin’ the heat with Bo!
Our summer kick-off celebration is this weekend- May 25 & 26
Be cool this long holiday weekend! Fill it with wild wonder, including watching Borealis, the male polar bear cub learn, play and explore! Don’t forget about the Aquarium Adventure Trail playground and splash pad, animal demonstrations and feedings, live animal shows, character appearances and more.
...From our polar bear family to your crew- it’s all about summer fun at the Toledo Zoo!
See MoreIs it just us or is time until the new ProMedica Museum of Natural History opens dragon on and on?
Make plans to celebrate the nostalgia and the new with us on Friday, May 31!
Check out more details of the new exhibit at toledozoo.org/museum
Join Rebecca Shope at this year's Party with a Purpose!
While I have been involved with the Toledo Zoo for approximately 9 years, as a patron after my first child was born, then with the Silverback Society and YPAC, I first learned about ZOOtoDO from my work. I am a lawyer with Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick. After I started hearing more and more buzz from my friends and colleagues who regularly attended, I decided that I had to go! That was four years ago and I have enjoyed eac...h and every ZOOtoDO since. For me, the event embodies community at its best. Fun, energetic people. Fantastic venue, great music and amazing support from our local restaurants. It never ceases to amaze me how many restaurants are present. Where do I start? Balance Pan-Asian Grille, Brim House, Element 112, Fowl and Fodder, Stella’s and so many more of my local favorites!
To me, ZOOtoDO is truly one of the best events in the Toledo area. The desire to support a fantastic institution in Toledo and the opportunity to dress up and attend an epic party keep me coming back each year. I always enjoy seeing so many familiar faces as I walk around the event too. It feels as though nearly everyone in Toledo is in attendance. I hope to see all of you at this year’s event. It really is a party with a cause. Not only will you have a guaranteed fun time, but each ticket sale helps enhance the Toledo Zoo’s education programs, brings great events to the community, and contributes to the Toledo Zoo’s conservations efforts.
To purchase ZOOtoDO tickets, please visit toledozoo.org/zootodo
See MoreToday is the Medical Mutual Dart Frog Dash! 5k at 8:30 and kids' fun run at 9:45 a.m. Please check out the route map posted here yesterday & on toledozoo.org/dartfrog. Again, we apologize for inconveniencing our neighbors but appreciate your on-going support of our events and mission. Best of luck & speedy times to everyone participating!
Ribbit. Reminder.
The Medical Mutual Dart Frog Dash is tomorrow, Sat, May 18 beginning at 8:30 a.m. Please note the route on the map below. We apologize for any inconvenience created by street closures. We will hop to getting everything back to normal as quickly as possible. toledozoo.org/dartfrog
#TBT
The hand-painted ceramic tiles depicting scenes from Don Quixote were created by Spanish artists in the 1930s and given to the Zoo by a delegation from Toledo, Spain to recognize the sister-city relationship. These tiles remain on display in the new Museum.
#ThenAndWOW
Together we can do so much! The bird department collaborated with the North Island Brown Kiwi SSP and Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute to hatch a female Brown Kiwi at the Zoo’s Avian Breeding Center.
The egg was laid on January 9, 2019 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, affiliated with the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. There, animal managers used sophisticated blood-draw techniques to determine the developing embryo was a female. Staff from the In...stitute in Virginia drove the egg to the Toledo Zoo several weeks before the expected hatch date. The egg finished incubating at the Avian Breeding Center (ABC) and the chick hatched on March 21, 2019. The yet-to-be named chick is currently being raised off-exhibit and appears healthy. Eventually, she will receive a Maori name as a sign of respect for the indigenous people of New Zealand.
See MoreDon't forget our May Membership Means More promotion is pawsitively delicious-- Buy one cookie, get one specialty cookie free at Timberline Bakery!
Not a Zoo member- sign up now at toledozoo.org/membership
#WhatsBloomingWednesday Toadshade or Trillium sessile
Toadshade is a spring flowering native perennial that can have mottled leaves with shades of light and dark green. Three maroon flower petals produce a foul smell that attracts flies and beetles for pollination. Several varieties of toadshade can be found growing in the Broadway Pavilion and the Zoo’s Gardens.
Check out our upcoming garden tours toledozoo.org/gardens
Conservation in action-- for more than 50 years!
Dr. Peter Tolson has had a long and productive career in herpetology. When Tolson retired from the Zoo in 2016, he became Director Emeritus, Conservation and Research and continues work he began with Cuban boas five decades prior. Tolson makes two trips a year to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to study the spatial ecology and reproduction of this fascinating species. He is currently in Cuba radio-tracking 15 adult boas during the April-May mating season.
For more information about the Zoo and our conservation efforts, visit toledozoo.org and follow/like us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Each Saturday in June, Toledo Zoo members receive exclusive early access to the new ProMedica Museum of Natural History at the Toledo Zoo beginning at 9 a.m.
*The rest of the Zoo opens at 10 a.m.
Are you ready to sink your fangs into scrumptious samples at the Zoo's largest FUNdraiser on June 21? Slither over to toledozoo.org/zootodo to snag your tickets to PNC ZOOtoDO presented by Skylight Financial Group before the price increases on May 15!