News and Events

Penguin Encounter

Experience Penguin & Puffin Coast from a zookeeper’s point of view. During this one-hour tour, you will see the kitchen/food prep area, keeper office, ozone tower/water treatment room, and have an “up close and personal” visit with two Magellanic penguins!

Tours are offered Monday through Friday, minimum of two guests required. One weekend tour is available per month, minimum of four guests required. (Less than four guests are permitted; however, full payment of $200 is required.) 
Fee: $50 per person

Gentle Giants

Take a stroll to Red Rocks and experience a rare opportunity to feed the Zoo’s “gentle giants,” the reticulated giraffes. See their long eyelashes up close and watch their tongues as they grasp a leafy branch or a piece of bread from your hand. Learn about their behavior, feeding ecology and why their necks are so long!

Minimum of two guests. 
Fee: $50 per person.

Snakes Alive

A 30-minute behind-the-scenes tour of the Herpetarium includes a look at safety protocols, snake anti-venin, keeper tools and the difference between snakes and lizards. You will get the chance to touch a legless lizard and a ball python!

Minimum of two guests. 
Fee: $35 per person

Tour de Tortoise

This visit to the Herpetarium takes you into the heart of tortoise territory! Your visit to the giant tortoises, some of which weigh up to 600 pounds, includes hand-feeding carrots to these colossal ancient reptiles. Bring your camera for great photo opportunities!

Guests must be able to walk well downhill on uneven terrain in the tortoise yard. Minimum of two guests and a maximum of six.
Fee: $35 per person

Leaping Lemurs

Meet a group of small primates from Madagascar, our ring-tailed and black lemurs. Learn about their unique behaviors and detailed family histories! Watch the lemurs interact with each other and feed them healthy treats with a zookeeper.

Minimum of two guests and a maximum of 10. This tour is offered during the warmer months, when the lemurs live in their outdoor habitats. 
Fee: $50 per person

Playful Primates

Keepers in the Primate House take extra care to create new and interestinganimal enrichment activities for some of the Zoo’s most playful animals: the monkeys and lemurs. These activities help keep the primates mentally active and physically fit. Help zookeepers make special primate enrichment toys, treats or puzzles, and then watch what happens as your homemade goodies are given, or hidden, for the primates to discover.

*Note: This program does not include a behind-the-scenes component.

Minimum of four guests and a maximum of 10. (Less than four guests are allowed; however, full payment is required.) 
Fee: $25 per person

After-School Zookeeper

Children work side-by-side with a zookeeper in the Children’s Zoo to perform a variety of keeper duties, including cleaning, feeding and enriching zoo animals.

For children in kindergarten through 5^th grade. This tour starts between 3 and 4 p.m. and is offered Monday – Friday, Labor Day through Memorial Day.
Fee: $50 per person (up to two children and one accompanying adult)

Chirping Cheetahs

Visit the off-display cheetah yards with a zookeeper. Meet these fast cats and learn about their unique behavior and chirping vocalizations, and why they don’t live near the other big cats at the Zoo. See how the keepers use enrichment toys to keep them on their toes!

Minimum of two guests and a maximum of 10. Cheetah tours not available Sunday, Monday and Wednesday.
Fee: $50 per person

Big Cat Tales

Visit the world’s largest big cats, the noble African lions and the majesticAmur tigers “up close and personal” at Big Cat Country with a zookeeper. Learn about their training, animal husbandry and conservation in the wild.

Minimum of two guests and a maximum of 10. Big cat tours not available on Sunday or Monday.
Fee: $50 per person

Sea Lion Encounter

Go behind the scenes of the Sea Lion Show to meet a California sea lionsuperstar! Watch the zookeepers train these magnificent animals to do amazing behaviors using positive reinforcement. You will learn the ins and outs of the main stage attraction and may even have the opportunity to touch one of the show’s stars!

Minimum of two guests and a maximum of six. Offered April thru November. Weekdays only.
Fee: $75 per person

Family Safari

Gather your family members or friends and head to the Children’s Zoo for a fun and informative behind-the-scenes tour. Guests are invited to meet, touch and take photos of some of our contact animals “up close and personal.” Explore the back rooms and kitchen area. Hear interesting stories about the Children’s Zoo residents, and learn educational conservation messages about them.

Ages one year and up, minimum of two guests and maximum of six. Includes Children’s Zoo admission.
Offered year-round: 10:30 a.m. or 3 p.m.
Fee: $55 per person

Creepy Crawlies

Come to the Monsanto Insectarium and see rare and amazing invertebrates from all over the planet. What do these animals have in common? No backbone! Go behind the scenes in the containment room where endangered American Burying Beetles live. Get up close and personal with a giant spiny stick! This is the perfect opportunity to learn about a variety of spineless wonders first-hand from the keepers that take care of them.

Minimum of two guests and a maximum of 12.
Fee: $25 per person

Rhino Ramble

This tour takes you behind River’s Edge to the hidden rhino/hippo barn. There you will be introduced to one of our stately black rhinos, hear stories about him from a zookeeper, learn about his species’ plight in the wild and feed this dinosaur-like vegetarian. You might even get to touch his armor-like skin!

Minimum of two guests and maximum of six.
Fee: $60 per person

Botanical Wonders

Have you ever seen an elephant ear? How about a bengal tiger canna? Let the experts, zoo horticulture managers Ted Hornbeck and Tony Range, guide you on a fascinating and educational one-hour walking tour. Experience the flora in the immersion exhibit River’s Edge, plus the beauty of colorful annuals and trees at the Zoo.

Minimum of four guests and maximum of 20. Offered Monday-Friday, April through October at 8:30 a.m.
Fee: $12 per person

Contact Meg White at white@stlzoo.org or (314) 781-0900 ext. 4840 to give your group a truly unique experience.

Brought to you by your favorite St Louis Realtor:

Tina Siebert  314-603-8555  TinaSellsStLouis@gmail.com

Barb Summers & Associates 314-644-1463  www.BarbSummers.com  

Find your St Louis Home with us.  “Bringing Neighbors Together Since 1966!”