In addition to the walkthrough video that PachydermPro posted of Ocean Wonders: Sharks, I would also recommend everyone check out this great 7-minute video, which includes curatorial decisions that went into creating the exhibit, information on the exhibit’s educational displays and conservation goals, and also a peek into the building’s behind the scenes spaces:
91. Bird House Smithsonian National Zoo, DC Opened: 1928 (Completely Renovated in 2023) Size: 30,400 Square Feet (2,800 Square Meters) Inhabitants: >60 bird species, horseshoe crab and a few fish. This 95 year old building just reopened after an extremely thorough renovation that took six long years to complete. The aim of the house is to not only showcase migratory birds of the new world, but also showcase cherished history. Upon entering the first thing that guests see is the stunning mosaic arch which was part of the original front entrance to the house nearly a century ago. Artwork dating back to 20s is displayed with pride in and around the building, providing some fascinating accounts of the structure's evolution. What was once a house filled with smallish aviaries now consists of three free-flight rooms each representing a different environment: the Delaware Bay, Midwestern prairie potholes, and a rustic coffee farm. The former is lined with underwater viewing windows on both sides of the guest path and also contains horseshoe crabs, mummichog fish, and pumpkinseed fish alongside the birds. The revamped exhibit was originally going to be titled "Experience Migration" and while the name was dropped there is still an emphasis on migratory songbirds, shorebirds and waterfowl. Andean band-tailed pigeon, red knot, ruddy quail-dove and barred parakeet are among some of the more unusual suspects in captivity that can be found here. Surrounding the house are a series of functional, but spacious outdoor yards and aviaries for larger birds including cranes, ratites, flamingos and others. Additional outdoor enclosures are still to come including a restoration of the old great flight cage, although considering development at the national zoo seems to move at a snail's pace it'll likely be many more years before any progress is made. @Andrew_NZP @Andrew_NZP @Andrew_NZP @BerdNerd @Andrew_NZP @Andrew_NZP Similar Exhibits: Other historic bird houses have been extensively renovated, although few as impressively as this. One house which was heavily considered for the list was Toledo Zoo's historic aviary building which boasts an impressive number of rarities. The actual exhibitry isn't very special however and it isn't as attractive as some others. Philadelphia Zoo's McNeil Avian Center is an excellent restoration of the 1916 bird house, now comprised of bright and airy walkthrough rooms. While not historically important, Milwaukee County Zoo's aviary building is also quite impressive, featuring a nice mix of enclosed aviaries and a few walkthrough rooms. Toledo Zoo @snowleopard @Milwaukee Man @Moebelle Philadelphia Zoo @snowleopard @Baldur @snowleopard Milwaukee County Zoo @ZooNerd1234 @ZooNerd1234 @ZooNerd1234
An exhibit I didn't put on my list of guesses, for the sole reason it wasn't open yet! I fully agree with its entry though, and it is certainly a unique take on a bird house. It is crazy though how long construction took- the bird house was already closed for renovation on my 8th grade trip to DC, and I'm now a college student! To add on to the non-exhaustive list of rarities, National Zoo and New England Aquarium are the only two facilities to keep semipalmated sandpipers.
92. Manatee Coast Columbus Zoo, OH Opened: 1999 Size: 26,000 Square Feet (2,400 Square Meters) Inhabitants: West Indian Manatee, Hawksbill Sea Turtle, Brown Pelican and various fish. Inside this airy house with a retractable roof is one of only two manatee displays in the US outside of the state of Florida. It consists of a 190,000 gallon tank with curved viewing glass stretching nearly the length of the building. Live mangroves are included at the shallow side of the pool and the path for visitors gradually slopes downwards to provide a better view at greater depths. While many manatee tanks use freshwater, the manatees in this exhibit inhabit saltwater which enables the addition of about a dozen saltwater fish species. The inclusion of various other species is meant to simulate a wild environment, as the purpose of this exhibit is to serve as a temporary home for injured manatees with hopes of eventually releasing them. The zoo has been an enormous contributor to the rehabilitation program and 32 manatees have been returned to the wild to date which is quite an accomplishment to be proud of. Before exiting the building, there is an educational theater which presents a video detailing the excellent work the zoo does with the species. @Moebelle @Moebelle @Moebelle @Milwaukee Man Similar Exhibits: Only one other US zoo outside of Florida holds manatees and it's not only located in the same state, it also opened the same year as the building at Columbus. Upon first glance Manatee Springs at Cincinnati Zoo appears pretty similar, although it does have some key differences. The main tank is much smaller and contains primarily freshwater fish like alligator gar. A variety of terrariums for Floridian herps are also included, as well as an impressive greenhouse room with crocodilians and a few birds. With 17 manatees successfully reintroduced to the wild, this is yet another exhibit with a valuable purpose. @Moebelle @TinoPup @Moebelle
It would be one of three manatee exhibits outside of Florida, right - Columbus, Cincinnati, and DWA (though not Florida manatees in the last case)?
You're right, that was a slip up on my end. I should clarify I was referring to Florida manatees in particular, as well as zoos which participate in the rehabilitation and release program.
Full disclosure: I have only been able to make winter visits to the Columbus Zoo, so I haven’t seen Africa. In my opinion this is the best exhibit at Columbus. I am biased, I’ve done field work in salt marshes and adore them. This place, from the smell to the plant and decorations, nails the Atlantic estuary feel. The manatees and sea turtles are the crowd pleasers, sure, but I spent a lot of time watching the pelicans hang out by the mangroves. The other fish are also great. This was a good way to display manatees in a large aquarium while also having a variety of peaceful species that can live in shallow-ish water. Cincinnati also has some smaller herp displays that are pretty cool. That exhibit is also one of my favorites at Cinci. Both very good. Kind of surprised that there aren’t more rehab facilities in major zoos given the popularity of the species and the demand for rehab centers in the age of red tides.
Usually when I see this fact, Florida Manatee is mentioned. Thanks to your comment, I have to go make a few edits for tomorrow's video... As an attraction overall, I would definitely throw Manatee Springs over the Manatee Coast. Despite the mixed species tank, Columbus's focuses on Manatees, but Cincinnati's, though not directly specified, is dedicated to as much of Florida's biodiversity as it could fit. Especially with the conservational messages it displays.
I've heard from a few employees over the years that the Manatee Coast building was built to be a giraffe house and repurposed. I'm sure this isn't new lore to this forum, but can anyone confirm? Can't find anything anywhere about that possibility. Incredible repurposing if so. Incredibly unique design for a manatee building if not.
I'm opposite of you. Manatee Springs felt old in a bad way, and the actual building/manatee viewing was extremely underwhelming. It would work better with a name that focuses on Florida and not just manatees, at least. Manatee Coast is all about the manatees and has fantastic viewing of a pool that looks much bigger and deeper than Cincinnati's. The rays add a cute touch, since they like to swim up the glass. The huge ceiling creates a nice atmosphere, and the size of it all means you can still see stuff, even when the glass is crowded. The fantastic gift shop helps, too. I ended up doing Columbus over two days and I spent a while in there on both. I spent a while in the manatee building at Cincinnati, too, but that's because a school group was at the window and I couldn't see anything, then a kid got left behind by the group, followed by the power going out
I haven't been to Manatee Coast, but one thing that I thought was particularly good about Manatee Springs was the signage. It was effective, interesting, and I found myself and others taking time to read some of what was presented. The herp collection is very nice as well, although I didn't see any of the birds when I visited.
Umm... 1. There are more than one all bull elephant exhibits. 2. Denver Zoo's Elephant Passage DID make the list, and that's the only all bull Asian elephant exhibit.
I love manatee exhibits, growing up with the manatees at Lowry Park/ZooTampa has given me an appreciation for them, but I did not always know they were so rare in zoos. I have seen the (outside of FL) ones in DWA and Columbus, Columbus compares favorably to Tampa, albeit I like that Tampa is open to the elements while understanding why Cincinnati and Columbus can't be open in the same way. I would be curious to see the depth of the tanks in ZT, Columbus and Cincinnati. I felt that Columbus seemed shallow, but that could be perspective from the viewing angle. On the one hand it is great that they care for animals that may be rehabilitated, on the other it almost seems a waste of resources to transfer them around like that, when long time non-releasable animals need to be housed as well. It would seem that it would make more sense to keep the non-releasable animals in places like Ohio and the ones that can be released in Florida. For perspective, ZT has cared for over 500 manatees since it opened in the 90s, so while 32 is great, it is quite the enterprise and cost to transport them out of state when the space could be used for non-releasable animals in a single transfer. But regardless, I am glad that these zoos are all participating together to help these amazing animals. FWIW, Florida is getting new rehab and/or on display exhibits over the next few years in Brevard Zoo, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and Jax Zoo.
93. Osher Rainforest California Academy of Sciences, CA Opened: 2008 Size: 11,200 Square Feet (1,040 Square Meters) Inhabitants: Roughly 70 species of bird and ectotherm. Numerous rainforest houses have been featured on the list thus far and I'm fairly certain all of them were highly anticipated. Here is one I imagine was less predictable. Encased within this four-story dome is an interesting mix of modern architecture and naturalistic landscaping. Fruit bats were originally part of the display but now there are no mammals present, with the focus instead on birds, herps, fish and insects found in Madagascar, Borneo and the Amazon. A plethora of free-standing vivaria are dotted around the pathways, while various small birds (mostly tanagers) and butterflies are free-roaming. The amount of biodiversity on display is great and the educational components are very well done, which is consistent throughout the entire facility. A highlight is definitely the 100,000 gallon flooded forest tank located at the very bottom of the dome, complete with a walkthrough tunnel leading to a series of smaller amazon tanks. It's quite impressive to marvel at the dome from directly underneath the structure, although the inclusion of this tank took up enough of the ground space to the point where it limited the amount of larger trees that were able to take root. This does prevent the rainforest atmosphere from fully taking over, but it doesn't necessarily try to be an immersive exhibit. Being inside a futuristic sphere teeming with life is a unique experience in itself after all. @SwampDonkey @Coelacanth18 @SwampDonkey @SwampDonkey @geomorph @geomorph Similar Exhibits: None really.
This one I was definitely anticipating. The species list is really nice, with many very interesting species, from Atlas/Caucasus beetle, Allison's anole, and Blue-winged leafbird, to Turquoise dwarf gecko and a nice selection of tanagers and butterflies. The immersion is not terribly strong, and judging from early photos I think SDZ's hummingbird aviary would have a similar feel in terms of plant cover (Although I think that has increased since opening). That is fine, though, the experience is still good and the exhibitry is strong nonetheless, with all the terrariums being very nicely designed and furnished. I really enjoyed my time here. However, while this is not the only CAS exhibit that I believe should make the list, it is the one that I think deserves to be on here the most due to its uniqueness.
The actual birds were gone for years but signage was left up. Per @Moebelle, they've recently changed the signage and added new birds. Columbus goes pretty deep; I would be very surprised if Cinci was deeper. The numbers aren't comparable. Tampa rescues local animals and sees many short-term rehab cases that quickly come and go. It takes a lot more to get the animals to Ohio, and both facilities are meant for long-term rescues. Animals that are going to need rehab and care for what could be a year or more. Sending these animals to Ohio frees up space at Florida places like Tampa to rescue several more short-term rescues in that time period.
To second @TinoPup, having the Ohio holding is quite beneficial as we are having record numbers lately of manatees needing rescue space. Jax, Lowry, MOTE are all currently or near future expanding their manatee space to take on more individuals, while Clearwater Aquarium and i believe Brevard is adding a brand new space for them.
94. Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, NE Opened: 1995 (Renovated in 2012) Size: 71,000 Square Feet (6,600 Square Meters) Inhabitants: >200 species of fish and invertebrate, four species of penguin, three species of auk, Green Sea Turtle and Toco Toucan. In both volume and square footage, this is the largest aquarium inside an American zoo by a fairly wide margin. Omaha already had an aquarium that opened a decade prior to what exists today, but it did little to leave much of an impression and there was always a desire for something bigger. What was once clearly an afterthought is now an exhibit that is grand enough to be standalone attraction. There are 31 individual exhibits within the building, seven of which date back to previous iteration of the aquarium and nine of which were added in the 2012 renovation. Almost all of the tanks are saltwater, with a few exceptions including an Amazon tank for neotropical fish with toco toucan in the trees above. Rarity hunters will be dazzled by oddities, some of which the zoo is the only holder in the world such as the West African sea nettle which has been bred several generations. The largest tank is the expertly designed shark reef which comes out at roughly 900,000 gallons, nearly three quarters of the aquariums total volume. With a 70 foot long viewing tunnel running through the display, this is an easy favorite for the general public. Other highlights include the schooling fish tank near the entrance, the open-topped Sulawesi island tank with live plants, as well as the displays for Antarctic penguins and alcids which are both incredibly engaging. No other aquarium found within a North American zoo comes even close and it can even rival some other major aquariums outside of a zoo. @Moebelle @Dhole dude @Moebelle @Moebelle @pachyderm pro @pachyderm pro @pachyderm pro @Moebelle Similar Exhibits: Another impressive in-zoo aquarium is the PPG Aquarium at Pittsburgh Zoo. While there is once again a majority saltwater focus, the highlight is definitely the large Amazon tank which once held the last boto in North America. The Pacific Seas Aquarium at Point Defiance Zoo is also highly regarded, with a neat focus on the Pacific coasts of the Northwest. While the exterior of the historic 1939 aquarium at Toledo Zoo remains the same, the interior was completely overhauled some years ago and is now a similarly modern experience. Pittsburgh Zoo @TinoPup @TinoPup @Moebelle Point Defiance Zoo @geomorph @geomorph @geomorph Toledo Zoo @snowleopard @Moebelle @Moebelle
One thing I love about Omaha's aquarium is that there is an area with one tank for each of the aquarists, and each one gets to put whatever they want in there. One aquarist recreated their first home aquarium from their childhood, and that's just so wholesome.
