Annual ZooDo Gala


ZooDo – Ignite the Night was a night to remember! 260 guests were greeted with leis, a signature cocktail and a ukulele band while exploring the zoo. Then guests moved to the lawn where Aloha Chicago dazzled the audience with hula and fire dancing. The final stop was an island feast in historic Miller Park Pavilion that had been turned into a tropical rainforest.


A silent action, live auction and Fund-the-Need were successful, and the Emerald and Diamond necklace and earring set donated by Bremer Jewelry was raffled to a lucky winner.


Thanks to all who attended, donated items for auction, purchased auction items, raffle tickets and made donations to fund the Rainforest project. We also want to thank the Miller Park Zoo staff for preparing the zoo and engaging with the guests at the event. The Polynesian dancers were magnificent, but the zoo staff and their animals are really the stars of the show!


Mark Your Calendar

October


FlexZOObility- 10/5 8:30 am - 9:30 am


Haunted Twilight Mini Golf- 10/5 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm


Senior Tours- 10/9 8:30 am - 9:30 pm


Dia de las Monarcas- 10/19 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm


Howlabaloo at the Zoo - 10/26 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm

10/27 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm

More Info

What's New

AZA Accreditation

Miller Park Zoo is proud to announce that it has received accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) independent Accreditation Commission at this year’s Annual Conference in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Twice a year, the Commission reviews accreditation applications from the best zoos, aquariums, and related facilities in the world. At this year’s Annual Conference, 33 facilities were granted accreditation.


Bloomington Parks and Rec Director Eric Veal(left) and Miller Park Zoo Director Jay Pratte(right) attended a formal hearing at this year's conference.


"Our Zoo team has worked exceptionally hard these past two years in elevating the quality of experience for our animals, staff, and visitors,” said Jay Pratte, Miller Park Zoo Director, adding “It is a testament to the dedication of our staff and volunteers, with unwavering support from Parks & Recreation and City leadership, along with MPZS, that we met our goal of achieving AZA accreditation. We hope this illustrates to our community how our little zoo can have a huge impact."

Feature Article

A Week at the Zoo



Miller Park Zoo’s Guest Services staff recently documented what goes on behind the scenes at the zoo during a typical week. Some market research was also done to determine where our visitors come from. Buckets were placed in the zoo’s entryway to collect visitor’s tickets during the last week before school started. The results indicated that our zoo has an impact on visitors from across the state, country and even globally.

Results:

Bloomington-Normal-781 visitors

From IL, but outside Bloomington-Normal-1042 visitors

From US, but outside IL-97 visitors

Outside the US-39 visitors

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Zoodoptions

Recent Zoodoptions

Oliver Townsend: Galapagos Tortoise

Jacob Parker: White Faced Saki Monkey

Partick Zehr: Giant Anteater


These symbolic adoptions help to provide care and enrichment for the animals at Miller Park Zoo. Show your support by adopting an animal today! If you would like to purchase an enrichment item for our animals, check out our Wishlist!

Adopt an Animal

A Special THANK YOU to our Digital Sponsor

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Miller Park Zoo

1020 S Morris Ave

Bloomington, IL 61701

(309) 434-2250

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