Seneca Park Zoo - Rochester, New York - small city zoo and park

The Seneca Park Zoo is one of the oldest zoos in the country, dating back to 1893 as one of the parks designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead. Animals have been displayed at Seneca Park since 1894, when the park featured deer, birds and an open-air aviary. In 1931, the city opened the main zoo building to display exotic animals menagerie style. The animals included chimpanzees, tigers and lions. Over the years, the Seneca Park Zoo has added a polar bear grotto (in the 1970s), a nature trail (in the early 1990s) and the Rocky Coasts exhibit (1997). Today, the zoo boasts annual visitors numbering about 500,000 and includes the Kodak Discovery Center and an Animal Health and Education Complex.

The animal exhibits at Seneca Park Zoo include the Polar Bear Grotto that was built in the 1970s, funded by penny and nickel collections of Rochester schoolchildren. The polar bear grotto has been refurbished in the 40 years since it was built and now includes viewing windows so that visitors can watch the polar bears swim and play in their Arctic tank. There are similar accommodations at the sea lion exhibit and the penguin exhibit, both parts of the Rocky Coasts exhibit.

The Zoo's main attraction, however, is its involvement with the community. Since the early 1970s, Seneca Park Zoo has been committed to education and conservation, and their outreach shows their commitment clearly. The zoo's educational offerings go far beyond the typical school group visits, summer camps and traveling zoo exhibits to offer special classes and outreach activities for families and age-appropriate activities for parents and their children.

In addition, the Seneca Park Zoo offers numerous monthly and seasonal activities for the community. Among the most popular are Family Fun nights which include dinner, beverages and hands-on activities to introduce children to animals and information about the world around us. Nearly as popular are Family Overnights, which bring families together for a dinner, late night snack and a full night of activities at the Zoo, and includes a night spent in the Rocky Coasts Gallery.

The Zoo also features activities for adults. The most popular of these is the Zoo Brew, a monthly live music event held at the zoo for people age 21 and up. Each event includes live music by an area band, adult beverages and a down-home barbecue.

The Seneca Zoo also offers a number of themed birthday parties for groups of children aged 3 to 12. Each birthday party package includes invitations, pizza, zoo admission and a special birthday gift for the birthday child. Themes include Creepy Crawlies, Ferocious Forest and Radical Rainforest.

The Seneca Zoo is involved in numerous conservations projects, including the Butterfly Beltway garden project and the Grow Native program to encourage local gardeners to grown native plants in their gardens and avoid introducing alien plant life into the environment.

The Seneca Park Zoo is open year round. Hours and admissions vary by season. For up to date information about hours and admission rates for the Seneca Park Zoo, contact the zoo at (585) 336-7212.