Fort Wayne Children's Zoo

A great, big thank you to Julie Scardina for visiting the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo and speaking at our Corks for Conservation fundraising event last week! Julie has spent over 30 years in the wildlife and conservation fields. From working as an aquatics animal trainer at SeaWorld San Diego to co-founding her own conservation organization called Mission Wildlife, her commitment to teaching and inspiring others to care about the world around us shines above all else.

Claps and cheers were heard everywhere at our 2024 Milestones Celebration! Celebrating employees who have worked at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo for five years all the way to 35 years, we were proud to come together to applaud years of hard work, dedication, and always fulfilling our mission of connecting kids and animals, strengthening families, and inspiring people to care.

Cheers to a great Zoofari! While we are still tallying the number, with the help of our community, we were able to raise nearly $300,000. Thank you to everyone that made our fundraiser a huge success! Your generosity helps fulfill our mission of connecting kids and animals, strengthening families, and inspiring people to care.

Happy Flag Day and Military Appreciation Day! Joined by the National Honor Guard and the Fort Wayne Police Department this morning, today, we honor those who have served our country. If you visited the Zoo today, thank you for joining us in honoring your favorite service person in our Field of Honor across from Peacock Café.

Thank you to everyone who attended our annual Legislator Breakfast at the Zoo yesterday morning. We appreciate your support!  Pictured: Amy Lazoff, Kyle Miller, Melissa Beber, Martin Carbaugh, Tyler Johnson, Paul Lagemann, Josh Hale, Tanner Spencer, Rick Schuiteman Not Pictured: Ronald Turpin, Michelle Chambers, Phil GiaQuinta

Thank you so much to Kayla Connelly and Eddie Bittner from the Projects and Facilities team for their hard work on the brand new Turkey Vulture habitat across from the American alligator exhibit! For overseeing the constructions of this space from the ground up, and providing guests the opportunity to connect with this amazing native species, the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo is proud to present them both our Beyond Excellence Award! Their love of the Zoo, combined with their expertise, will create even more opportunities for us to carry out our mission of connecting kids and animals, strengthening families, and inspiring people to care. 

Thank you so much to Lassus Handy Dandy for your incredible support! With passionate employee support and customers generously donating, our community raised $100,000 for the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo! You all made a huge splash and those dollars are already hard at work helping us fulfill our mission of connecting kids and animals, strengthening families, and inspiring people to care.

Congratulations to Fort Wayne Children's Zoo Executive Director, Rick Schuiteman, on winning the Power of Tourism award! This award recognizes individuals who have distinguished themselves in the Fort Wayne/Allen County tourism industry through exemplary leadership and service. Way to go, Rick! 

We recently sent out award letters to nearly 100 area social service organizations who applied for free tickets as a part of our Zoo for All: Community Ticket Grants Program. These agencies bring children and adults to the Zoo as part of their programming. For most, if it weren’t for this program, they’d never have the opportunity to visit Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo.   One of our award winners, Wellspring Interfaith Social Services, shared a touching story about their visit from last year. “We provide a free Summer Day Camp program for low-income residents of Allen County…many of our younger kids shared they have never been to the zoo before. It was a blast for all, especially the youngest ones. In fact, our surveys showed the number one activity that kids enjoyed was the zoo."

The ribbon has been cut and the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo is officially open for its 60th season! Thank you to the Donahue family for helping cut the Zoo ribbon, the students at Franke Park Elementary for singing the national anthem, and all of the Zoo guests who made today's ceremony extra special with a birthday celebration for Rick Schuiteman, Zoo Executive Director!