Brookfield Zoo is located on First Avenue between Ogden Avenue and 31st Street in
Brookfield, Illinois. It was one of our most favorite places to go visit during
summer
vacation when we were growing up.
We always went to the zoo on Tuesday or Thursday because it was free day if
you went on those days during the months of January, February, March,
October, November, and December.
Otherwise you would have to pay the admission fee of $8.00 for adults ages
12 to 64, $4.00 for senior citizens and children under 12 years of age. Their
parking fee is a little expensive at $8.00 to park, but once inside the zoo, it was
worth the fee. We would always be there when they opened at 10am and would
stay
until they closed at 5pm.
Brookfield Zoo is open every day of the year. They are open
from 10:00am -
5:00pm weekdays and 10:00am - 6:00pm on weekends. Their hours may vary a little
due to weather and heat. I would suggest calling them at their toll free number (800) 201-0784 before you plan
your trip.
I remember as a young child, I was fascinated by the
elephants and the
giraffes because they were so large. We would spend a whole day just wandering
around the zoo, going from one animal house to another. Inside each of the
animal houses they had a machine that would make a wax impression of whatever
animal's house you happen to be in. In all, if you visited all 15 of the animal
houses, and had enough quarters, you would have a complete collection of wax
animals. The machine that made them was loud and smelled horrible because of the
hot melting wax going into the mold, but every time I smell melting wax to this
day, I still think about being a young child standing there with my face pressed
to the glass waiting for my wax penguin to pop out.
It is over 200 acres of non stop animals from around the world, picnic areas,
games, exhibits and the great dolphin show. There were so many things to see and
do that you could get lost in the zoo. So, they gave you a map of the zoo and all
of its attractions to help guide you around and maximize your day at the zoo.
If you didn't feel like walking around the whole zoo, you could catch a
ride on the Motor Safari tram ride. It would go from venue to venue, where if
you wanted to get off the tram and go into the animal display you could, and
simply catch the next tram that came by, since they run on a 5 minute schedule.
It was never a long wait to catch one.
Some of the places you could visit at the zoo either by foot or by riding the
Motor Safari include:
One of the biggest attractions the park had was the dolphin show. It was
always a fun show to watch. You had to pay a small fee to get into the show, but
it was well worth it. We would make sure we always sat towards the front row,
especially on a hot summer day, the dolphin trainers would always make sure that
the dolphins would splash water all over the people in the first few rows, and
we loved it.
After spending most of the day wandering around the zoo in the hot summer
sun, we would go to one of their many open air restaurants. We could see most of
the exhibits from our outdoor table, and some people would even have a relaxing game
of chess or checkers that the zoo kept on a large table on the patio.
On several occasions the zoo would have what they called "Music At The
Park". We have seen bands such as The Beach Boys, Three Dog Night, and
Chicago were just a few of the bands that played there.
If you are ever in Northern Illinois and you and your
family are looking for something fun to do, I suggest you visit Brookfield Zoo.
It is a day trip that you won't regret taking.
glindsey says You may also want to note that Brookfield was one of
the first zoos in the US to house animals in realistic environments, instead of
cages.
Brookfield Zoo. 24
Jul 2004 <http://www.brookfieldzoo.org>.