John told us that he started volunteering at a zoo in Indiana when he was 15 years old. He came to Lincoln 37 years ago and has been working in zoos for about 50 years.
John Chapo spoke to us about the Lincoln Children’s Zoo which was a vision of Arnott Folsom. In 1959, Arnott Folsom had a vision to create a family destination where thousands of children and adults could interact with nature. With a donation from himself and his wife as well as the help from community leaders, Lincoln Children's Zoo was founded. Opened in the summer of 1965, the Zoo became a place where children could get up-close to animals and surround themselves in scenic gardens.
Today, Arnott Folsom's vision has grown and in the process positively impacted generations of families in the community. Lincoln Children's Zoo is home to over 400 animals, more than 40 of which are endangered. Over 225,000 people attend the Zoo each year, making it the third most attended arts and science attraction in Nebraska. John told us that in 2022 over 350,000 people came to the zoo, which is now open throughout the year.
The Lincoln Children’s Zoo is place when everyone can learn about conservation, animals, and much more. The Zoo works with many agencies and helps those who could not afford to visit the Zoo by providing tickets to those agencies so that people can come to visit. The Zoo works with the Lincoln Public Schools by providing classes which are Focus/Science classes, Career Academy, which has a total of 100 students in these courses. Some of these courses deal with science and mathematics.
Conservation
Lincoln Children’s Zoo is committed to animal conservation efforts and saving animals from extinction. Home to over 30 endangered animals, the Zoo strives to provide the highest-quality care to these near extinct species. Lincoln Children’s Zoo partners with organizations throughout the world that manage captive animals and wild animals with a goal to create a plan to ensure endangered animals are saved and protected for future generations.
The Zoo is part of the Association of Zoos & Aquarium’s Species Survival Plan, which oversees the management of select species with the goal of enhancing conservation in the wild. Species Survival Plan is led by expert advisors who work together to manage the demographic distribution and long-term sustainability of nearly 500 species.
John told us that they move the animals around which helps with conservation. They work with other Zoos around the U.S., Canada and globally because there are some of species that have been born at our Zoo and another Zoo might need that specie to help multiple those species. John mentioned that he will be traveling over to Africa to work with a group on conservation later this year.
The Children’s Zoo this year had three new babies born and some of those babies may end up at another Zoo. John told us about the giraffe facility which is one of a kind. Many other Zoo personnel around the U.S. has come to visit it to see how it was built to accommodate giraffes. You must remember those giraffes have long necks. The Zoo is located on 14 acres today compared to years ago.
Each year the Zoo holds Boo at the Zoo during Halloween and at Christmas time, Lincoln Electric System offers people to come and visit all kinds of designs with lights.
Photo Ark Collaboration
Lincoln Children’s Zoo collaborates with National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore and his Photo Ark project. The Photo Ark is a groundbreaking effort to document species before they disappear and to get people to care while there’s still time. The Photo Ark started at Lincoln Children’s Zoo with the first photograph taken of a naked mole rat. To date the Photo Ark has documented 10,531 species. Joel is the founder of the Photo Ark, a groundbreaking effort to document species before they disappear—and to get people to care while there’s still time.
If any of you ever visited the Ager Building years ago, that was where the monkey were located and it definitely smelled from those monkeys. It has been renovated and there is no smell to it and it does house monkeys, especially spider monkeys.
The mission of the Lincoln Children’s Zoo isto enrich lives through firsthand interaction with living things.