Roger Willliams Park Zoo - Rhode Island Aquariums & Zoos

Roger Willliams Park Zoo
1000 Elmwood Avenue . Providence, RI 02907 . 401-785-3510

THE ONE-MINUTE ZOO

Nationally acclaimed and award winning
Roger Williams Park Zoo has received accolades from all over the country

“The Roger Williams Park Zoo is not only one of the top tourist attractions in Rhode Island, but also, in our humble opinion, the best zoo in the region.” - America’s Best Zoos: A Travel Guide for Fans & Families, copyright 2008

“…the finest zoo in New England.” – The Boston Globe, May 2008

"...one of the best zoos in the country for its conservation efforts." – The New York Times

“Editor’s Pick” – Yankee Magazine’s Travel Guide to New England

The Zoo has been the recipient of several conservation awards from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), including the Bean Award, the North American Conservation Award and the International Conservation Award.

Roger Williams Park Zoo is home to approximately 130 species of rare and fascinating animals from around the world including elephants, giraffes, snow leopards, kangaroos, moon bears, gibbons and many others, all in naturalistic settings.

Our nation’s third oldest zoo (opened in 1872), Roger Williams Park Zoo is also one of Rhode Island’s top tourist attractions, welcoming nearly 600,000 people annually from throughout New England and beyond.

Today, awareness and appreciation of wildlife, in addition to recreation, serve as major goals of Roger Williams Park Zoo. Zoo staff engages in conservation field work both around the world and right at home in New England with many endangered species including the American Burying Beetle, the Karner Blue Butterfly and efforts to address the worldwide amphibian crisis through the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center in Panama.

As an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Zoo is a partner in the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a national system of research, record-keeping and breeding for threatened and endangered animals. The Zoo currently cares for 20 SSP species, including the red wolf (once extinct in the wild), African elephant, lemurs, snow leopards, Matschie’s tree kangaroos, the red panda and others. Without this human intervention, many of these species would face certain extinction.

Roger Williams Park Zoo is a valuable center for science and environmental education. Over 30,000 visitors engaged in on-site education programs in 2007, including Zoocamp, activities at the Zoo Lab and interpretive presentations. An additional 23,000 people were touch by the Zoo through off-site programs such as the Zoomobile. The Zoo’s formal education programs are aligned with science Grade Span Expectations (GSE’s), and over 100 teachers participated in the Zoo’s science and conservation education workshops.

Great new things are coming to the Zoo in the next several years, thanks to a $35 million “New Zoo” master plan and capital campaign. Find out what’s new and what’s next at www.thenewzoo.org.

Roger Williams Park Zoo is owned and operated by the City of Providence and is supported by the Rhode Island Zoological Society.

© 2000 - 2008 Roger Willliams Park Zoo and RI Zoological Society.