Gather your ghoulfriends, little ghosts, and goblins for a howling good time at Brookfield Zoo’s annual Boo! at the Zoo, a family-fun Halloween celebration. On Saturdays and Sundays from October 8-23, zoogoers of all ages can enjoy creatures, memorable photo opportunities, sweet treats, and fall fun.
At Howl-O-Scenes, sponsored by Faegre Drinker, there will be plenty of photo opportunities, such as a large inflatable spider on a web; not-so-scary cut-out characters of ghosts, dragons, witches, vampires, and alien creatures as well as hay bales and pumpkins. Additionally, throughout the park there are Halloween-themed photo frames, cut outs, and peek boards featuring the likes of a black cat, snake, stacked pumpkins, scarecrow, and a monster. After visiting Boo! at the Zoo, guests can share their photos on social media with the hashtag @BrookfieldZoo.
Guests can take their chance at finding their way through the “Crazed Maize” Corn Maze or take a spin on the Carousel (fee applies), which will be all decked out with Halloween-themed décor. Seasonal fall food and drinks are on sale at the food carts around the zoo for those who work up an appetite.
Over the three weekends at 10:30 a.m., several of the zoo’s animals will be treated to pumpkins that they can play with, eat, and smash as part of the zoo’s enrichment program. Animals include:
· Capybara on October 8 at Pachyderm House
· Polar and brown bears on October 9 and 23 at Great Bear Wilderness
· Goats on October 15 at Hamill Family Wild Encounters
· Sloth bears and big cats on October 16
· Western lowland gorillas on October 22 at Tropic World: Africa
The animals will not be the only ones receiving Halloween treats—guests will receive goodies courtesy of Ferrara® as they exit the park until 4 p.m.
Discover fun facts about creatures of the night during special Zoo Chats, held each day during Boo! at the Zoo. Hear about the screech owl at 11:00 a.m. at Hamill Family Play Zoo, snakes at 11:30 a.m. at Feathers & Scales, ravens at 1:00 p.m. at Hamill Family Play Zoo, and the Rodrigues fruit bats at 3:30 p.m. in Australia House.
And, this is the last chance to experience Ice Age Giants before the limited-time exhibit goes extinct on October 30. Encounter more than 30 life-sized animatronic re-creations of giants that once roamed North America and Eurasia, including a 15-foot-tall woolly mammoth, an oafish 20-foot-long giant ground sloth, a 12-foot-tall giant bird, a fearsome 5-foot-long saber-toothed cat, and many more.
Admission to Brookfield Zoo is $24.95 for adults, $17.95 for children 3-11, and $19.95 for seniors 65 and over. Parking is $15. To avoid confusion with Brookfield Zoo’s costume characters, full-body costumes that cover faces are not permitted for guests over the age of 13. To learn more, visit CZS.org/BooAtTheZoo.
