How to go
What: Grand opening of The Discovery Zoo
When: 12:15 p.m. today, Sept. 12
Where: Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, 2600 DeWeese Parkway, Dayton
Museum hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday
Admission: $7.50 for children ages 2-12 and seniors, $8.50 for adults. Admission is free today for children accompanied by an adult.
More information: (937) 275-7431 or www.Boonshoft Museum.org
DAYTON — When you hear what it takes to relocate a zoo full of animals, you’ll never complain about moving again.
It’s all just been accomplished at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, where the new $1.1 million Discovery Zoo is about to be unveiled. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony takes place Sunday, Sept. 12, at 12:15 p.m. amidst moms and dads and wood ducks, grandmas and grandpas and porcupines, toddlers and teens and striped skunks.
Admission is free Sunday for children accompanied by an adult.
In addition to the homecoming celebration for old friends like Shiloh and Sushi (the river otters) and Madison (the bobcat), there’s reason to celebrate the exotic, new additions as well. They range from a spiny tailed iguana and veiled chameleon to brightly hued lorikeets and a red-rumped agouti. The meerkats are sure to be a major attraction: It’s the first time the museum has had the little Afrsaidican mammals popularized on “Meerkat Manor,” British TV’s animal soap opera.
“Animals are endlessly fascinating,” said museum president and CEO Mark Meister. “We’ve expanded Wild Ohio by adding new animals from all over the world.”
The museum has always featured live animals, including the “Animal Fair” petting zoo that opened in 1968. In recent years, animals from Ohio were the focus.
But this time around — in part to maintain the standards set by the Association for Zoos and Aquariums that reviews accreditation every five years — the museum aimed to upgrade the living facilities and broaden its list of residents.
Meister said Dayton was fortunate to have experienced zoo exhibit designers and contractors in the area because of our proximity to the Cincinnati and Columbus zoos.
Mark Mazzei, curator of live animals at the museum, said the project has been both “exciting and exhausting.”
The 6,000 square-foot bright and colorful exhibit took six months to complete and involved a wide range of challenges. The complicated move required each animal to be housed elsewhere during the renovation.
Otters Shiloh and Sushi, for example, traveled together to The Good Zoo in Oglebay Park, W.Va. They were accompanied by staffers and 306 pounds of their favorite munchies: 2,520 smelt, 90 pounds of sardines and 180 homemade otter patties.
Some — like Houdini, the screech owl, and Isaac, the red spotted newt — remained at the museum so visitors could still enjoy a live animal experience. Murphy, the wheel-walking opossum became a favorite.
“That’s the most awesome possum I’ve ever seen!” one little girl was heard to exclaim as she watched Murphy on his treadmill.
Interstate permits were required for every state an animal had to pass through on its way to the Boonshoft; 30 day quarantines were necessary at the museum before a new animal could be put into new habitat. There were veterinary examinations and Mazzei said introducing each species to its new neighbors was also a complicated procedure.
“None had met each other,” he said. “First we gave them the opportunity to smell each other, and see each other through glass barriers. “
At one point, as animals were brought into the same exhibit, a confused porcupine shot a quill into a surprised agouti.
While the Discovery Zoo is about the size of the previous space, Mazzei said it offers its residents more room to run around in habitats that will feel more realistic and comfortable for them.
“The otters now have a lot of land space outside of the water and can get more land-based exercise,” said Mazzei, noting that Shiloh and Sushi seem to be “curious, happy and active” in their new home.
He believes the otters — who were away for six months — recognized the staff when they returned.
“I think they are intelligent enough to know they were back,” he said.
Mazzei said staffers can now make things more interesting for the 100 animals on the roster by changing their climbing spaces by moving perches. Larger enclosures are shared by species that are compatible and might actually be found together in the wild.
Animal talks and demonstrations will be part of the fun, and so will feeding time. New viewing windows have been installed for the little ones who can now come face-to-face with many of the animals. Interactive kiosks feature video and touch-screen computers that let kids learn more about the animals they’re observing.
“Our goal is to provide each visitor and school group with an interactive experience,” said Mazzei, who added the zoo is now arranged by theme. “We’re trying to highlight the ways animals adapt that helps them survive in their habitat.”
The nocturnal area gives visitors a chance to get to know animals that are active at night and sleep during the day, like kinkajous, striped skunks and fruit bats.
The songbird aviary is home to a wide variety of birds — from the red-bellied woodpecker and the wood duck to the grey catbird and the Baltimore oriole.
The rainforest exhibit has a variety of interesting animals — from prehensile tailed porcupines and a cattle egret to the gorgeous lorikeets.
Amphibian and reptile exhibits are scattered throughout the display.
Funding for the project came from foundations, federally directed funding, a state capital budget appropriation administered by the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission and individual donations.
The Boonshoft is one of only four museums in the nation that can also officially call itself a zoo. That’s good news for folks in the Miami Valley: a $79 basic family membership in Dayton will get you free or reduced admission rates at many other zoos and aquariums throughout the country including Cincinnati and Columbus. For the $100 Adventurer membership, there’s reciprocity at other children’s museums, as well.
One of the zoo’s goals, said Meister, is to ensure that the community is taking conservation messages to heart.
“This is a new opportunity for Dayton,” he said. “We’re hoping the schools will take advantage of the new zoo with tours and will incorporate information into their curriculum.”
Mazzei said humans tend to think they are a lot different from animals.
“But if you look at these animals,” he said, “we’re not as different as you might think.”
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