Zoo visitors took the Critter Challenge this weekend

Were you at the Zoo this Saturday? Visitors could participate in our Critter Challenge event taking place throughout the day, whether it was learning about sense of smell as a survival tool, bird beak adaptations, challenges animals face in the wild as they try to “earn” a living and more.

Photos by Kelli O’Brien

This is the first docent event of 2012, so be ready for our other upcoming docent events: Earth Day (April 21), Discover Madagascar Day (June 23), Wonders of Water (July 14), Party Madagascar (21-and-older event, July 28), Snakes and Friends Day (August 25) and Genesee Trail Day (October 6).

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The Zoo will be at the Home & Garden Show this weekend!

Photo by Mark Butto

The Zoo will have a booth set up at the Home & Garden Show this weekend, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday (March 24) and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday (March 25) at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center.

Photo by Helen Dishaw

Education staff will be promoting the Zoo, our new A Step Into Africa Exhibit (opening May 17th), as well as our Butterfly Beltway Program. They will have Biofacts on hand as teaching tools, along with a cool creature for you to meet – the giant African millipede!

Aside from the Zoo, the Home & Garden Show will feature more than 200 exhibits on everything for your home and yard, as well as culinary demonstrations, wine tastings, seminars from industry experts and more. We hope to see you there!

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What a weekend for the Zoo!

The warm weather has been such a treat for everyone here at the Zoo. The animals are loving the sunshine as well as the larger-than-normal crowds! On Saturday, nearly 2,000 patrons came to the Zoo and on Sunday we had more than 3,000 visitors! Off site the Zoo the was making quite a splash this weekend, too.

More than 100 strong came out to represent the Zoo at the Rochester St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It has been reported that the 35th annual parade had an estimated 100,000 people in attendance with some spots of the route jamming in as many as a dozen people deep.

We were marching to let the community know that our new exhibit, A Step Into Africa, will open May 17! To read more about our recent announcement, click here. Many thanks to the marchers who came out to support the Zoo. They ranged from board members to Facebook fans, volunteers to students. We handed out beads, stickers and balloons. However, the crowd seemed to most enjoy our ‘lions.’ Take a look at the photos below.

Once again, we thank the entire community for their overwhelming support. The Zoo gearing up for a historic year and we can’t wait to share the experience with you all. We hope to see YOU at the Zoo.

Photos by Kelli O’Brien. Blog by Pam Cowan.

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Get ready for Zoobilation 2012!

The Zoo’s largest single-day fundraiser, Zoobilation, was launched in grand style at the Genesee Valley Club on March 1^st. This exclusive Kick-Off Party did a fantastic job building excitement for the Zoo’s fundraising gala, taking place on Saturday, June 2^nd, while also offering advance tickets to the event. Our guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres, drinks and a fabulous sundae bar while learning about the fun that is Zoobilation!

Our Kick-Off Party raised more than $22,000 in Zoobilation ticket sales, 7% over last year’s number, with additional sales of more than $3,000 the next day. We appreciate the support of all of our ticket buyers, from those who bought a couple tickets to those who bought enough tickets for a sports team!

We would like to thank our hosts and underwriters, Leonard and Lorraine Bayer and our corporate sponsor, Crosby-Brownlie, Inc. for their support on this successful evening.

We had great prizes for our guests that purchased the first-, second- and third-most tickets as well, including four tickets to “South Pacific” from the Rochester Broadway Theatre League; a Rochester Red Wings Suite; and dinner for two at The Rabbit Room. We appreciate all of these sponsors who donated these wonderful incentives!

Photo provided

The most artistic, eye-catching and decadent of the prizes was donated by Encore Chocolates. Once again, they created an amazing “Chocolate Zoo” for our Kick-Off Party.This year, they put a new spin on it by replicating our A Step Into Africa Exhibit with three lions (1 male, 2 females), two elephants and ten baboons. This delicious piece of art was one of the centerpieces of our event.

Finally, we would like to thank our excellent pianist for the evening, Scott Bradley, who is a member of the Bill Tiberio Band, as well as our Valet Parking sponsors, Rachel Baker August and Electronics & Innovation Ltd.

Please check our Web site for complete information about Zoobilation 2012 and all of the surprises we have in store for our guests this year.

- Michelle Picardo, Zoobilation Coordinator

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