Here come the penguins
“3M Penguins of the African Coast,” the new penguin exhibit at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, is set to open July 9. File photo
Penguin exhibit, other new features set to open this summer at Minnesota Zoo
by Andrew Miller
Thisweek Newspapers
After a year of construction, the Minnesota Zoo is set to unveil a host of new features this summer that include a penguin exhibit, an education center, and a new venue for its popular bird show.
“3M Penguins of the African Coast,” set to open July 9 near the zoo’s newly upgraded south entrance, will offer visitors above- and below-water views of black-footed penguins in a replica of their habitat on Boulder’s Beach in South Africa.
Microphones at the exhibit will allow guests to hear the penguins’ loud braying calls, which are the origin of their nickname, “jackass penguins.”
The penguin exhibit is among the new features planned through the Heart of the Zoo project, which zoo director Lee Ehmke said is part of a push to make the Apple Valley zoo one of the top 10 zoos in the country.
Construction began last summer on Heart of the Zoo-Phase One, which is slated for completion this July.
A new education center, the Cargill Environmental Education Center, will provide space for school groups and zoo camps, and a new indoor theater called the Target Learning Center, built on the site of the zoo’s old whale tank, will play host to the KAYTEE World of Birds free-flight show in the winter months.
Zoo guests, however, needn’t wait for winter to check out the Target Learning Center. This summer the indoor theater will be the site of “Odessa’s Magical Menagerie,” a 25-minute puppet show that will be performed three times daily on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from May 28 to Sept. 5. The family-friendly show about biodiversity is free with paid zoo admission.
More about events and exhibits at the Minnesota Zoo is at mnzoo.org.
Andrew Miller is at andrew.miller@ecm-inc.com.
