Santa Barbara Zoo

Select a month or scroll down to view all the exciting events this year at the Santa Barbara Zoo.

	Animal Event
	Social Event
	Education


Science Day
Saturday, September 25
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Calling all science enthusiasts! Science Day at the Santa Barbara Zoo is a fun way for teachers, parents, and students to discover their community's world of science, from tracking animals through the wilderness to exploring the science behind gardening. Fun, hands-on activity stations are located throughout the Zoo and keepers will give special presentations. Science Day maps, including event schedule and activity station locations, to be distributed at Admissions. This event is sponsored in part by Rusty's Pizza. Cost: free with Zoo admission. Free admission and parking for teachers with advance reservation; please fill out this form. Visit our Science Day page or contact the Conservation Education Department at (805) 962-5339 for more information. go to top

Member Appreciation Month
Month of October
Join us as we celebrate the wildest family on California’s Central Coast! As a thank you to our Members, this month will feature various special perks just for Santa Barbara Zoo Members. Details will be in the Fall 2010 issue of Zoo News, our quarterly Member magazine.
For Santa Barbara Zoo Members only.
Member Morning
Saturday, October 2
8:00 – 10:30 a.m.
Take this rare opportunity to experience the early morning activities of both our animals and animal care team. Talks and activities will highlight the many unique ways in which the animals are encouraged to play, exercise, solve puzzles and engage in their natural behaviors. Explore the Zoo before we are open to the general public, plus, receive your very own passport to use during your travels around the Zoo! Breakfast items will be available for purchase at our Ridley-Tree House Restaurant.
Cost: free for Zoo Members and Foster Feeders. Tickets for additional guests may be purchased for $12/adult, $10/chidren 2-12 and seniors 60+.
Slimy & Scaly: Reptile and Amphibian Appreciation Day
Sunday, October 3
11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Come meet, up close and personal, a variety of reptiles and amphibians from California and around the world. There's recently been a warming of attitudes toward these cold-blooded brethren, but misinformation still abounds (nope, you can't get warts from toads). Let's put these rumors to rest at a day-long celebration of the slimy and the scaly such as snakes, lizards, frogs, toads, turtles, salamanders, and many more. (By the way, snakes aren't "slimy" - their skin is actually quite dry and warm - and they keep the world's rodent populations from getting out of control.) Meet the Zoo's herpetologists and other "herp" enthusiasts, enjoy animal encounters, take part in hands-on activities, explore the Eeeww! exhibit, and maybe face a few fears. Learn to appreciate - and enjoy -- these often maligned creatures.
Cost: free with Zoo admission.
Boo at the Zoo
Friday, October 22
5:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 23
4:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 24
4:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Have a spooktacularly good time as the Zoo transforms for three nights of safe, traffic-free trick-or-treating during this merry-not-too-scary event. Features monster-ous thrills and chills including a Trick & Treat Trail, Boo-Choo-Choo train rides, Creepy Crawly encounters, Spooky Storytelling, Goblin Games, nightly Costume Parades, Ghoulish Goodies and much more.
Cost: $12/adults, $10/children 2-12. SB Zoo Members get $1 off. Boo-Choo-Choo priced separately: $3/adults, $2.50/children 2-12. Parking for non-members is $5. This event is for children 2-12 (accompanied by an adult). Tickets will go on sale Oct 1, 2010. For the safety of our visitors, no adult guests (12+) will be permitted into the Zoo with masks or painted faces.
Early Closing: the Zoo will close at 3:30 p.m. on all three days of Boo at the Zoo. General admission ticket sales will end at 2:30 p.m., and Zoo Member admission ends at 3:00 p.m. go to top

Emergency Responders Week
Tuesday - Monday, November 16 - 22
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Join us for our second annual Emergency Responders Week, where we show our thanks for local EMTs, firefighters, police, and sheriff. During this special week, every day is a free dayfor the emergency responder plus 1 adult and 2 children.
Cost: free with Zoo admission.
Open Thanksgiving Day
Thursday, November 25
10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Get the kids out of the house this Thanksgiving and come to the Zoo for a smashin’ good time! Watch as the elephants, gorillas, and more of your favorite Zoo animals get pumpkins to play and interact with.
Lots of animals will get to play with pumpkins today! Tentative schedule includes: 10:15 Elephants w/talk; 11:00 Lions w/talk; 12:00 Gorilla w/talk; 12:30 Ground Hornbill w/talk; 1:00 Turkey Vulture w/talk; 1:00 Elephants (again) w/talk; 1:30 Barnyard w/talk; 1:45 Desert Tortoise w/talk; 2:00 Otters w/talk; 2:00 Channel Island Fox w/talk. All talks will be held at the animals' exhibits. Other animals will receive pumpkins throughout the day, but will not be associated with a specific time or keeper talk.
Cost: free with Zoo admission; must show photo ID.

Snow Leopard Festival-Sledding at the Zoo!
Sunday, December 5
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.;(9:00 a.m. early entrance for SB Zoo Members only)
It's a winter wonderland beneath palm trees overlooking the Pacific Ocean at the Sledding at the Zoo & Snow Leopard Festival. More than 75 tons of snow fashions sledding runs, creates a children's play area, and is placed in exhibits for snow leopards, elephants, gorillas, lions, otters and other animals. Kids zoom down the hilltop on several age-appropriate routes, play in the fresh powder, see the Zoo's two snow leopards and learn about the plight of these highly endangered creatures. There are also snow-related arts and crafts and more.
Cost: $3.00 additional cost per person for kids & parents to play, romp, or sled in the snow. Sledding for children 12 & under. go to top
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