Saginaw Children's Zoo

About Saginaw Children's Zoo

Saginaw Children's Zoo is a zoo at 1730 South Washington Avenue in Saginaw, Michigan, at the corner of M-46 and M-13. Its formal name is the Children's Zoo at Celebration Square. The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and its website displays the AZA accreditation and Species Survival Plan logos.

The zoo's history page says it occupies 10 acres of parkland that also hold gardens, a miniature train and a hand-carved carousel, and houses over 150 individual animals. The zoo's visit page describes more than 10 acres of parkland and more than 50 animal species. The zoo is managed by the Saginaw Zoological Society.

History

According to the zoo's history page, the Saginaw Children's Zoo was established in 1929 by Commissioner George Phoenix of the Parks and Cemeteries Department at Ezra Rust Park. In the spring of 1930 the collection consisted of a beaver, a coyote, a fox, bears, raccoons, timber wolves, owls, hawks and a deer.

The zoo was run by the city for much of its life. The Saginaw Zoological Society took over management from the city in 1996 and continues to operate the zoo. The history page credits a county millage approved by voters in 2014 and renewed in 2024, along with members, volunteers and donors, for the zoo's support, and notes that the zoo is approaching 100 years since its founding.

Wikipedia records several landmark additions. The Iberschoff Special train, a model S-24 locomotive, first opened in 1967 with contributions from the estate of Carl H. Iberschoff. The hand-carved carousel opened on July 18, 1998. Wikipedia says building it took about 40,000 volunteer hours, with figures carved by the Tri-City Wood Carvers. The Fossil Find play area, built around paleontology, also opened in 1998, and the Wetland Experience opened in 2006 with Michigan native plants and underwater viewing.

Exhibits and habitats

The zoo's animals page groups its collection into mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates and refers visitors to an Animal Habitats section and an Ambassadors page for detail. The home page lists mammals including African pygmy goats, alpacas, black-tailed prairie dogs, cotton-top tamarins, Mexican wolves, North American river otters, white-throated capuchins, Hoffmann's two-toed sloths, llamas, miniature horses and white-tailed deer, along with domestic livestock.

Birds on the home page list are African penguins, bald eagles, barred owls, cockatiels, eclectus parrots, Moluccan cockatoos, red-tailed hawks, turkey vultures, umbrella cockatoos, scarlet macaws, Cuban Amazon parrots and masked bobwhites. The reptile list includes American alligators, ball pythons, blue-tongued skinks, red-tailed boa constrictors, leopard tortoises, sulcata tortoises, red-eared sliders, eastern box turtles, Egyptian tortoises and spotted turtles. Amphibians and invertebrates listed include Asian giant toads, poison dart frogs, Madagascar hissing cockroaches, Mexican red-knee tarantulas, honeybees and African giant millipedes.

The visit page mentions a W.I.N. Building that closes at 4:45 p.m., and animal chats with zookeepers.

Conservation and programs

The zoo's home page displays the Species Survival Plan logo, and some animal profiles carry Species Survival Plan and Saving Animals From Extinction logos. The site has a Save Species section on conservation projects and invites support through animal adoption. Education offerings listed on the site include school field trips, camps, a program called Hatchlings, group trips, private event rentals, parties, a Living, Learning Lab and a virtual tour. The zoo provides teacher resources and lists a ZooCrew program, which Wikipedia describes as a volunteer program for teenagers ages 13 through 18.

Planning your visit

Wikipedia describes the zoo as open May through September with limited hours in April and October. As listed on the zoo's visit page, the zoo is open Saturdays and Sundays only during October for Zoo Boo, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Zoo Boo 2026 running October 3 to 25. The zoo's website says it is open rain or shine, although the train and carousel may pause during lightning.

Ticket categories on the website are adults, children ages 1 to 17, and children under 1, who are free. Discounts are listed for Saginaw County residents, military and veterans with ID, and Michigan Bridge Card holders. Ticket prices are on the zoo's website.

The website says parking is free in the upper and lower lots and along lower Hoyt Park Drive. It lists a hand-carved carousel, a miniature train and a Kona Ice concession, and says accessibility rentals are available. The rules say no smoking, no feeding the animals, no firearms, and that visitors should respect habitat barriers and keep belongings secured. The phone number is 989-759-1408.