Bronx Zoo
Bronx Zoo/Wildlife Conservation Park
Bronx, NY 10460
(718) 367-1010 General Information • (718) 220-5198 School Groups
www.bronxzoo.com/

The largest metropolitan zoo in the United States, the Bronx Zoo comprises 265 acres of parklands and naturalistic habitats -- home to over 4,000 animals, many of which are endangered or threatened species. The Zoo contains a number of unique habitats -- areas designed to replicate the homes of their inhabitants as closely as possible. Jungle World, for instance, is an indoor rain forest where Asian gibbons, hornbills, tapirs, and many other rare species live among equally rare and beautiful plants and trees.  Himalayan Highland Habitat is the home of the red panda, snow leopard and white-naped crane. 

Congo Gorilla Forest
The Bronx Zoo's newest exhibit features 6.5 acres of shady forest, treetop lookouts, rock promontories, streams and wading pools, bamboo thickets, and sunny meadows -- all home to a wonderful collection of animals, including two troops of lowland gorillas.  The Forest's dense and mysterious landscape comprises more than 15,000 plants, representing 400 species.  

Aside from watching the twenty-two gorillas in action, visitors can enjoy and learn about mandrills, DeBrazza's monkeys, and red river hogs living in naturalistic habitats throughout seemingly contiguous outdoor exhibits.  Indoor habitats are home to Wolf's monkeys, reptiles, fish, and invertebrates.

Congo Gorilla Forest is

• The largest African rain forest ever built
• Big!  The exhibit trail is nearly one-third of a mile long
• Home to Patty Cake, the first gorilla born in New York City
• Interactive, with high-tech, video, film, and CD ROM exhibits

Other features of the Bronx Zoo include: 

The Bengali Express
a two-mile-long monorail trip through the dark forests and open meadows of the elephant, rhino, antelope, and Siberian tiger 

The World of Darkness
where night is day for bats, bush babies, sugar gliders, and other nocturnals 

The famous Reptile House, where crocodiles, pythons, frogs, and others hop and slither about. 

There is also the Children's Zoo, where kids can pet and feed domestic animals. Here they can also be animals by climbing a spider's web, crawling through a prairie dog tunnel, trying on a turtle shell, or escaping like a lizard down a hollow tree. Pretty cool. 

The educational possibilities for School Groups are almost limitless. Just a few of the available programs are listed below. Windows on Wildlife (grades 4 - 6): focuses on endangered species and their habitats, while incorporating social studies, math, and language skills. Teachers can select up to five hands-on sessions. All classes participate in a 2-session, 6 hour core program 
Pablo Python Looks at Animals (K - 3): using animals, introduces children to concepts of size and shape, color, pattern and texture, sound, movement, and survival needs. All classes include a 2-session core program, with up to 6 sessions available, each 1 hour, 15 minutes long. 
Jungle Exploration (6 - 12): is a 2½ hour, hands-on instruction in the use of modern scientific equipment to study the wildlife and climate of the jungle.
Wildlife Careers Seminar (6 - 12): Teaches of the many and varied careers to be found in a modern zoological park, from conservation biologist to veterinarian and keeper to nutritionist. 2 hours long.

Classes must be single classes of up to 35 students and its teacher and chaperones for each session. Classes taking a program also receive free general admission to the zoo for the same day. Call for complete details. Note: all children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

Many other programs are available, including several special Programs and Saturday Seminars for Teachers.