Founded in 1889, its mission is to "provide engaging experiences with animals and create and share knowledge to save wildlife and habitats". It is part of the Smithsonian Institution and does not charge admission. The National Zoological Park, commonly known as the National Zoo, is one of the oldest zoos in the United States. And we also learned that we still have to help out financially, so we need the community to help support this to bring the rest of it to a reality." "Love the new logo, love hearing about the Sea Lion Splash - just a gift to our community. "We're here because we're just tremendously excited about the growth and development here and what we heard today is not just one announcement, but many announcements," said Anita Wolgast. Several local leaders attended the news conference, which was held in one of the areas of Camp Cowabunga that is undergoing construction. The zoo also unveiled new branding created by Bajillion Agency. Zoo visitors will then have the opportunity to vote on the final name. Shawnee County elementary school students will submit the initial round of potential names - to be gender neutral since they don't know the sex of the baby - and then staff will narrow the list to 10. On Tuesday, Wiley said the public will have a chance to help choose Abi's calf's name. In March, the zoo revealed giraffes Hope and Abi are expecting. KTWU executive director Eugene Williams called the livestream "Baby Watch." The livestream, which utilizes four webcams, went online at noon on Tuesday and can be viewed on the website for the Topeka Zoo or KTWU. Wiley also announced a partnership between the zoo and KTWU enabling a 24/7 livestream of the zoo's giraffes, two of whom are pregnant. "This project is the largest project in the zoo's history." "This is a situation where every gift truly matters," he said. Wiley announced the launch of the public portion which has a goal of collecting $250,000. "This fundraising process has been an amazing journey," Wiley said, noting that funds have come from public and private sources. Wiley said they have $480,000 remaining to raise. Its creation was inspired by zoo director emeritus Gary Clarke.
The proceeds will benefit Camp Cowabunga.Ĭamp Cowabunga is a $4.5 million project that broke ground in July 2017, designed to make visitors feel like they are on safari. Admission for the Thursday events is $5 for everyone over age 2.
Every Thursday while the sea lions are in town, the zoo will be open from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The traveling sea lion production will be in Topeka from May 26 through June 17. "Sea Lion Splash" features two Patagonian sea lions and two California sea lions, Wiley said. Zoo director Brendan Wiley made a slew of announcements Tuesday including the arrival of a temporary sea lion exhibit that will open May 26. Traveling sea lions, pregnant giraffes and the launch of a campaign to fund the completion of Camp Cowabunga has Topeka Zoo leaders feeling optimistic as they head into the summer.