Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium

3701 S 10th St
Omaha
NE 68107
USA

Open minimum 10am-5pm, closed christmas day

Entrance fee

• Adult 26.95 dollars
• Child 19.95 Dollars

Annual card (including shows and special exhibitions)

• Adult minimum 99,- dollars
• Household* minimum 185,- dollars

*Houshold cards are valid for 2 adults and up to 6 children living under the same roof

There are several daily feeding shows, for the time please ask at the till station.


Chronic
 

• 1894: Riverview Park was founded by the City of Omaha.
• 1898: The park had an animal population did included deer, grizzly bear, two bison on loan from Colonel William F. Cody and 120 other animals.
• 1920's: New cat cages were donated by Gould Dietz.
• 1930's: New cat and bear exhibits were built by WPA.
• 1900-1952: New exhibits and other improvements were made ​​to support the growing number of animals in the park. In 1952, the Omaha Zoological Society which organized to Improve the Zoo and to Provide administrative help to the City.
• 1963: Margaret Hitchcock Doorly donated $ 750,000 to the zoo with the stipulation did the Zoo be named after her late husband, Henry Doorly, chairman of the World Publishing Company.
• 1965: The Omaha Zoological Society which Reorganized to plan, construct, operate and maintain the Zoo for the city as a non-profit organization. The first phase of the zoo which dedicated to Henry Doorly. The bear grottos, gorilla, orangutan buildings and Ak-sar-ben Nature Kingdom were part of this phase.
• 1968: With help from Union Pacific, 2 1 /2 miles of track laid through what the Zoo. Omaha 's Zoo Railroad made ​​its inaugural run in July. Eppley Pachyderm Hill which opened in November on the old baseball diamond site.
• 1972: The Ak-sar-ben waterfall constructed. In August 1916 the public swimming pool that had been buried in 1944 and rediscovered in 1970, was reconstructed and Became the Owen Sea Lion Pavilion complete with a new concession building, public restrooms and a gazebo.
• 1973: Owen Swan Valley and the Primate Research Building were completed.
• 1974: The new diet kitchen and educational classrooms were completed.
• 1977: The largest Cat Complex in North America opened. 
• 1979: The hospital and nursery opened.
• 1981: The giraffe and hoofstock complex opened.
• 1983: The world's second largest walk-through aviary opened, Lee G. Simmons Free-Flight Aviary. 
• 1984: A 70,000 gallon salt-water aquarium opened in what had been the museum. 
• 1985: The gorilla and orangutan buildings were completely renovated and named in honor of the Owen Family. 
• 1986: World-Herald Square was completed and First Tier Wolf Woods opened. The maintenance building and haybarn were relocated to the northeast area of the Zoo.
• 1987: Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Pavilion, a hands-on education building, was completed and US West Plaza, a visitor services area, opened. A new main entrance at the south end of the parking lot was opened. 
• 1988: Construction began on the $15 million Lied Jungle®. The Zoo was selected as one of three sites for the endangered black-footed ferret breeding program. The Zoo’s greenhouse was built near the maintenance shop. 
• 1989: Durham Family’s Bear Canyon was dedicated. Doorly’s Pride, a heroic bronze sculpture of a pride of 12 lions, was installed in the entry plaza area. The Zoo received the prestigious AAZPA Bean Award for its long-term gaur propagation efforts. The black-footed ferret building constructed. 
• 1990: Dairy World, featuring a children’s petting zoo, educational exhibits and concession area, opened. The world’s first test-tube tiger was born at the Zoo. 
• 1991: The Birthday House, a building for children’s birthday parties and education classes opened. The world’s first artificially-inseminated tiger was born at the Zoo.
• 1992: The Lied Jungle®, the world’s largest indoor rainforest at that time and Durham's TreeTops Restaurant and Education Center opened. Simmons Plaza, near the main entrance, was completed. 
• 1993: The old aquarium was closed and construction of the new aquarium began. The Zoo received two AAZPA awards: the Conservation Award for its black-footed ferret management program and the Significant Achievement Award for the Lied Jungle. The world’s first artificially-inseminated gaur calf was born at the Zoo.
• 1994: The Union Pacific Engine House for the Omaha Zoo Railroad was completed.
• 1995: The Walter and Suzanne Scott Kingdoms of the Seas Aquarium opened and the Zoo had more than 1.6 million visitors. Land was acquired for an off-site breeding facility and drive-through park. Construction began on the Lozier IMAX® Theater. The Zoo participated in the propagation of the world’s first test-tube gorilla birth (Timu was born at the Cincinnati Zoo). 
• 1996:The Bill and Berniece Grewcock Center for Conservation and Research (CCR) opened. Timu, the world’s first test-tube gorilla moved to Omaha’s Zoo. 
• 1997: Lozier IMAX® 3D Theater opened.
• 1998: The Garden of the Senses, a therapeutic formal garden area where guests can see, hear, touch and smell plants and surrounding elements, opened. The Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park & Wildlife Safari, 22 miles west of Omaha’s Zoo at Nebraska’s 1-80 Exit 426, opened. A new diet kitchen was completed. Construction began on a new pathology lab and keepers lounge. 
• 1999: Sue's Carousel, a 36' carousel featuring 30 wild animals and horses, opened near Dairy World. Construction began on the world's largest Desert Dome. The Zoo hosted a temporary Komodo Dragon exhibit. 
• 2000: The new North Entrance Plaza was completed featuring a new gift shop, warehouse, entrance plaza and visitor gazebo. Joining the Okapi Species Survival Program, allowed the Zoo to be one of only 18 zoos in North America to display rare okapi. A traveling koala exhibit visited the Zoo. 
• 2001: Cheetah Valley opened. New bongo and new tree kangaroo exhibits were constructed. The Zoo hosted a traveling white alligator exhibit. 
• 2002: The Desert Dome, the world’s largest indoor desert, opened to over 1.5 million visitors. This facility exhibits three different deserts of the world, the Namib, the Central Australian and the Sonoran, under a glazed geodesic dome that is the largest of its kind. Construction began on Hubbard Gorilla Valley. 
• 2003: Eugene T. Mahoney Kingdoms of the Night®, the world’s largest nocturnal exhibit, opened beneath the Desert Dome. It features caverns, bat caves and the world’s largest indoor swamp.
• 2004: Hubbard Gorilla Valley, where gorillas roam free, opened. A tower with two high-capacity elevators to take visitors from the main level of the Zoo near the Desert Dome down 44' to Hubbard Gorilla Valley opened. 
• 2005: Hubbard Orangutan Forest, the best view in the Zoo, opened in two phases in May and August. A giraffe feeding station opened in the spring. Construction began on an addition to the Grewcock Center for Conservation and Research. 
• 2006: A new Guest Services building and two additional gates at the main entrance opened. The Hubbard Research wing expansion to the Grewcock Center for Conservation and Research opened. Budgie Encounter, a walk-through exhibit, opened. 
• 2007: Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Pavilion is transformed into the Exploration Station. Construction on the Butterfly and Insect Pavilion begins.
• 2008: Berniece Grewcock Butterfly and Insect Pavilion opens. Construction on Skyfari and Expedition Madagascar begins. 
• 2009: Skyfari, an aerial tram opened to the public. 
• 2010: Expedition Madagascar, featuring the only lemur walkway, opened to the public on May 7, 2010. Expedition Madagascar showcases the conservation work Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium dedicates to Madagascar. 
• 2011: The Omaha Steaks® Grill and Patio, located between Durham TreeTops Restaurant and the Lied Jungle, opened. The Durham Lodge and Birthday House renovations were completed. Construction began on the capital campaign, Gateway to the Wild, including the renovations of the Scott Aquarium and addition of the Education and Conference Center at the Scott Aquarium. 
• 2012: The newly renovated Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium opened on April 5, 2012. The new Main Entrance opened with new Ticketing Gates, Guest Services and Redemption Gates. Construction on the Gateway to the Wild capital campaign continued. The updated Red Barn Park area was completed with the new Prehistoric Play Park and Fossil Dig site.
• 2013: A new gift shop opened, the IMAX facility was remodeled, and the Infield At The Zoo and Gateway to the Wild exhibits were completed.
• 2014: "Stingray Beach opened to the public. The seasonal interactive exhibit, located by Sue's Carousel, provides visitors the opportunity to touch and feed cownose, Atlantic and Southern stingrays. Camel rides, also located by Sue's Carousel, opened to the public. Construction on Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium's largest project to date, the African Grasslands, began."
• 2016: Six African elephants arrived at the zoo from Swaziland to escape a drought on March 11. On May 27, the African Grasslands opened after two years of construction. This, coupled with Memorial Day weekend, caused what local media dubbed "Zoopocalypse". Within two hours of opening the zoo saw over 8,000 visitors enter the main gates; a normal Sunday sees 4-5,000 people all day. Hours later, the entrance count was up to over 20,000 people.
• 2019: Asian Highlands open