Brookfield Zoo050

Visit every year, every month, every week, or every day! The Brookfield Zoo is always open.

The spring and summer months are the most popular times for visiting, but those "cooler" months are less crowded times, and the animals are usually more active. So, it's a very good time to go to the zoo too. (From October to March, zoo admission is free on Tuesdays and Thursdays!)

Begin a visit anytime of year by looking at the interactive map to plan your visit. Try to visit the most popular exhibits early.

In 2001, Brookfield Zoo opened the Hamill Family Play Zoo, a unique area where children and their families can play and interact with animals, plants, and people to help develop caring attitudes toward the natural world.

The two-acre Hamill Family Play Zoo consists of three major areas: Zoo Within a Zoo, Zoo at Home, and the Play Gardens. The innovative exhibit features approximately 300 individual animals representing 58 species.

Support areas in the Hamill Family Play Zoo include a Quiet Room for feeding a baby or calming a child, restroom facilities geared toward the needs of families, stroller parking, and considerable off-exhibit space for the many animals that are continuously rotated throughout the Play Zoo sections.

Hamill family Play Zoo charges an additional admission fee. Admission to the Children's Zoo is not included in the price.

At the Pet and Learn Circle in the Children's Zoo, visitors and staff talk about and touch turtles, rabbits, armadillos, and other small animals. The Big Barn is the place to watch chicks hatch, baby guinea pigs nurse, and zookeepers milk cows and goats. Kids can chat with keepers and volunteers about farm animals and how to choose an appropriate pet for their home. The Walk-In Farmyard brings you nose to muzzle with calves and goats.

The Children's Zoo charges an additional admission fee, as well as free admission November to March 1.

The zoo boasts its own carousel - one of the largest hand-carved wooded carousels in the country - featuring 72 animals and three chariots, and kids can take a ride for a small additional fee.

The Zoo also offers a summer camp program for children ages four to 13. Registration usually begins in February.

Family Membership are available, starting at $85/year.

Please Note: For the safety of animals and guests, wagons and strollers are allowed inside the zoo, but bicycles, skateboards, rollerblades, and skates are not.