Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
/Remember when you were a kid and your parents told you that they were going to take you for a day at the zoo. The sheer elation that you felt at the prospect of getting to see all the animals was just overwhelming. We have one of the world’s top zoos right here in good ole Omaha, Nebraska. The Henry Doorly Zoo is a place where you can unleash your sense of wonder across 160 acres of plants, animals, and unique habitats from around the world. I wanted to feature the zoo in today’s blog because I too enjoy it with my grand children from time to time and I think it’s a gem that’s worth blogging about. There’s so much there I can only feature a few of the exhibits today but I’m excited about letting you know which ones are my favorites.
Owen Sean Lion Shores
One acre in size, Owen Sea Lion Shores provides Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium’s sea lions with a state-of-the-art habitat featuring a 275-thousand-gallon pool, 40-foot-long underwater viewing window, natural boundaries, an underwater kelp forest and sandy beach areas. Visitors are welcomed to Owen Sea Lion Shores by a grand sea arch, which is the largest single piece of rock work in the entire Zoo and are "transported" to the Pacific Northwest coast.
As with other Zoo exhibits, the sea lion area was developed with innovative facilities and features to help provide optimal animal welfare, as well as an immersive experience for both the animals and Zoo guests. The pool uses a sophisticated recirculating saltwater filtration system and will be seasonally heated or chilled to keep the sea lions comfortable throughout the entire year. Wave chambers create natural waves in the pool, which ranges in depth from four to twelve feet. The two-chamber wave machine allows for waves to differ in size and strength, and be set on different cycles to create varied currents.
Natural beach areas and rocks provide multiple sunning sites for the animals, while overhead shade cloth creates shade for up to two thirds of the area throughout the day. A pupping beach will allow females to give birth on land and gradually introduce their pups to the water as they would in their natural habitats. An island adds complexity for the animals, while also providing training areas for the animal care team.
Zookeepers have created fish feeder enrichment by utilizing spaces within the rock work to hide frozen fish. The feeders encourage fish finding behaviors and full use of the pool to locate their food source. This type of enrichment is similar to the timed hay feeders used within the elephant habitat, however in this case temperature will act as a natural timer.
Using directed filtered water return lines, designers have added underwater currents in specific areas for enrichment, warmer water areas during winter months and cooler water areas in the summer to give the animals even more choices within the exhibit space.
Features such as extensive landscaping typical of the area, a three-story waterfall, and a descent into a flooded cavern with underwater viewing create the immersive Pacific Northwest coast area for Zoo visitors. A sandy beach area will encourage kids to explore; four small streams will allow them to mix sand and water for playtime.
Bay Family Children’s Adventure
Open daily from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. weather permitting.
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium's Children’s Adventure Trails is an interactive exhibit that highlights kids’ learning through play in nature and is located near the North Entrance and the Dick and Mary Holland Meadowlark Theater.
This children’s area sits on five acres of land and combines outdoor adventure with hands-on learning opportunities. The exhibit is made up of a variety of habitats, interactive animal exhibits and climbing areas allowing guests to learn through exploring. There are three distinct areas within the site: Children’s Adventure Trails, the Dick and Mary Holland Meadowlark Theater and the Education Building.
Children’s Adventure Trails
This portion incorporates kids’ interactive play around every turn. Near the entrance to Adventure Trails at the Raft Crossing, explorers use their developing physical abilities to pull themselves from one side of a pond to another in a small raft. Further down the trail, goats have access to walk overhead on boardwalks while kids engage in parallel play to test their balancing skills at Foothill Trails. Up the path and adjacent to the goats is Prairie Dog Trails, where children are able to immerse themselves in a prairie dog town by crawling through an underground tunnel and looking out of acrylic “bubbles” into the prairie dog habitat.
Four hundred gallons of water per minute flow for 250-feet throughout the space, creating a fully interactive (they can play in the water!) water stream, complete with four bridges and two fallen log crossings. Sandy banks along the stream encourage child’s play with shovels and pails available to use. A play area features enlarged objects for kids to climb on while mimicking insects and birds, including a Web Climber, a Honeycomb Climber and an oversized eagle’s nest. For kids in strollers, parents will find a Stroller Coaster – an area with small rolling inclines and textured surfaces that adults can roll their strollers over to give their little ones mini-thrills. Guests can also walk behind a waterfall and use Babble Flowers to talk to each other from distant ends of the play structures.
The highlight of Children’s Adventure Trails is a 40-foot-wide by three story tall Treehouse equipped with a shipwreck slide, climbing net, bridge, and net covered climb-throughs, which allow kids to explore the Treehouse from bridge to bridge and pod to pod. Small primates play alongside adventurers in elevated shoots that run parallel to the Treehouse play areas. Climbers should make sure to stop by the Treehouse’s interactive platform where education facilitators will have different activities throughout the day.
Children’s Adventure Trails is one of the Zoo’s most interactive exhibits. Animal Ambassadors play a key role in the fun by bringing animals to our guests, allowing them to interact without barriers in two animal demonstration areas on the grassy Big Backyard.
Hubbard Expedition Madagascar
The island of Madagascar is home to some of the most amazing and unique animals in the world like the aye-aye and giant jumping rat. Hubbard Expedition Madagascar is your chance to see some of these creatures in person.
The exhibit spotlights an area of the world that is considered one of the top hotspots for biodiversity because it is home to the largest number of endemic plant and animal species. Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is dedicated to the conservation work on the island of Madagascar. Throughout the building, each exhibit is linked to ongoing projects in Madagascar as part of the Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership. Expedition Madagascar is Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium’s way to better acquaint visitors with one of the premier conservation partnerships in the world.
Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium
Walk on the bottom of the ocean and come nose to nose with sea turtles as sharks circle above you in the 70-foot shark tunnel. Discover polar regions, temperate oceans, coral reefs, and the Amazon exploring the largest aquarium in a zoo, the Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium. From Antarctic penguins to colorful warm water fish, you will observe the magical world of underwater life.
