The NEW Zoo welcomes schools and educational-focused groups of all kinds! If you choose to visit without booking a private educational experience (like a Zoo Class), you can plan the date of your visit by completing this request form. After completing the form, you will be contacted by zoo staff with more information. Requested dates/times will be honored in the order they are received. If we do not have capacity for your trip on the date you request, we will contact you with alternatives.
Request a Field Trip (No Private Program) Learn about Zoo ProgramsPlease note: We begin spring field trip planning annually in January and February. For fall trips, we begin annually in July. If you submit a request for a spring date in the fall, we will reach out to you beginning in January/February, according to the order the request forms are received.
Check out all the information below to plan your best visit!
Tickets
Due to a Brown County Resolution, the NEW Zoo is unable to offer reduced fees or lowered rates for group visits. We are committed to keeping prices low for everyone who visits our facility.
For March through December visits, groups are encouraged to purchase advanced online tickets (please note: there is an online service fee). You should purchase the minimum number of tickets you know you can use. For January & February visits, groups must pay on arrival. All groups are welcome to pay on arrival if purchasing tickets in advance is not possible for your group.
Tickets are required for all visitors entering the zoo ages 3 and up, including bus drivers, chaperones, teachers, etc.
When purchased in advance, you should print your eTicket barcodes and bring them to the Zoo to scan on arrival. Tickets will arrive in a separate email titled “NEW Zoo eTicket;” click on the link in that email to see your barcodes.
To purchase tickets on the day of your visit, send an adult representative into the Visitor Center with a group headcount: we need the number of adults and of children. We recommend sending the adult into the zoo before all students disembark your bus.
Tickets are non-refundable. During inclement weather, the zoo remains open and accessible unless a safety issue causes the zoo to close. Please plan accordingly for the weather.
Advance ticket purchasing provides your group with an efficient entry to the Zoo and reduces the time needed for check-in at the Visitor Center upon your arrival.
On Arrival
Send one representative into the Visitor Center for check-in.
Please do not bring your group into the Visitor Center; space is limited. Groups can gather on the green space outside of the Visitor Center to organize.
Bring your printed ticket barcodes with you and present them to the staff supervisor on duty.
You can purchase additional tickets for any “extra” children or adults at this time.
After check-in, when your group’s visit details have been verified with staff:
Disembark your group and gather/organize outside of the Visitor Center
Zoo staff will let you know how to enter the zoo (through the Visitor Center or through a side gate)
Staff may address your group to go over basic zoo visit rules
Chaperones
Your chaperones are here “to chaperone,” and we request that they watch the children/students in the group. Please remind chaperones about our basic zoo rules (see below!) that include not letting children climb on fences, climb the mining sluice, hang on rope fences, chase peacocks, run in the zoo, etc. We appreciate their help in ensuring students adhere to those rules
If your chaperones are paying separately, we recommend they purchase their admission tickets online in advance. Individuals can then print out their barcode(s) on paper or pull up a screen shot on their phone for zoo staff to scan upon entry. To purchase advance admission tickets, send them to our zoo tickets page.
We encourage you to collect the phone numbers of your chaperones in advance, in case your group members become separated. Phone lists are helpful!
Lunches & Carry-Ins
Carry-in meals and snacks are NOT permitted inside zoo gates. School groups that choose to bring bag lunches or snacks must leave them in your vehicles and eat them outside of the Zoo. We do not have space to store coolers.
Picnic tables are available near the Upper Parking Lot by the Adventure park, where buses park, and available across the street from the Zoo’s entrance by the Lower Parking Lot. Your group can leave the zoo to eat and then return afterwards. Please ask staff to stamp the hands of your chaperones for easy re-entry.
All trash is carry-out; Brown County Parks Department does not provide garbage cans in the parks.
The Mayan Restaurant inside of the zoo offers snacks and meals for individuals but cannot easily accommodate large groups without advance notice. A variety of beverage vending machines are located throughout the zoo during spring, summer, and fall months.
Leaving the Zoo
Groups that are meeting to leave at a specific time should meet by the pillar with gorilla statues on it, just beside the Visitor Center inside of the Zoo. The Visitor Center is small inside and we request groups do NOT plan to meet inside of or directly beside the building doors. For larger groups, we may be able to let your group leave together through a large side gate. Once your group is gathered near the gorilla pillar, please send a representative into the Visitor Center to let us know you are ready to leave, and someone will assist with letting you out that gate.
Restrooms
Restrooms are located in the Visitor Center, the Education and Conservation Center, the Mayan Restaurant (when open), and the Nutrition Center. Additionally, restrooms are located just outside the Pines Shelter by the park across the street and the Ski Lodge near the upper parking lot. If you have a large group that needs restroom visits, please split into smaller groups and visit different restrooms throughout the zoo to best accommodate your full group.
Parking
Bus parking is available ONLY in the upper lot located at the top of the hill next to the Adventure Park. There is a short walking path between the Upper Lot and the Visitor Center.
Buses may drop-off/pick up immediately in front the zoo by the bike racks or use the main parking lot across the street from the zoo for drop-off or pick-up of group passengers and then park in the upper lot.
Cars may park in the main lot across from zoo entrance.
Parking is free for all cars and busses.
Hours
Zoo Hours are posted here: NEW Zoo Hours
Adventure Park Hours are posted here: Adventure Park Hours
Canopy Tour Hours are posted here: Canopy Tour Hours
Helpful Hints
9am is the busiest arrival time! You may not receive that as a preferred visit time if other schools are arriving at that time already on your chosen date.
If you reserve a private zoo program, you must plan to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to your program start time for check-in. Late arrivals will affect the length of your program.
All education programs are coordinated by the zoo’s Education Department and are booked through advanced reservations only. Space is limited! To inquire about a private program, review our Zoo Classes & Tours Page as soon as possible for planning purposes.
Public Wi-Fi is available and boosted best near the Visitor Center building, the Education & Conservation Center, and the Mayan Restaurant.
The Zoo expects group chaperones to act as chaperones, which means they are expected to ensure their students follow zoo rules and behave properly on-site. For the safety of your group members, in addition to zoo animals and staff, please be sure your chaperones understand their role and responsibilities. Students and chaperones that disregard zoo rules, such as no climbing on fences, no feeding animals, and more, may be asked to leave and remain outside of the zoo for the duration of your group visit.
Zoo Rules
The NEW Zoo asks all guests to follow the rules below, to ensure a safe and comfortable environment for all visitors and for our animal residents. Thank you for your cooperation!
Zoo Reminders
- Carry-in meals are NOT permitted inside of Zoo gates.
- Do not feed zoo animals unless participating in the zoo’s paid feeding experiences. Food brought from outside the Zoo can make animals ill.
- Do not cross fences.
- Do not climb on fences, benches, or other zoo structures, like the Mining Sluice.
- Do not throw or drop things into animal habitats.
- Do not shout at animals.
- Walk on guest pathways. Do not pick vegetation.