The Minnesota Zoo is located just south of the Twin Cities in Apple Valley, Minnesota.

This zoo is home to over 2,000 animals (representing 408 species) on 500 acres of Minnesota countryside. Along with Minnesota natives like the puma, wolverine, and otters, the zoo is home to animals from points afar like the Japanese Macaque (snow monkey), Amur (Siberian) Tiger, and hissing cockroaches from Madagascar. Tired out from running wild at the zoo? No problem. Sink into a comfy chair for an IMAX movie and really let nature come to you!

The Minnesota Zoo's roster of fun programs lets animal-crazy kids learn all about critters large and small. Take a Behind-the-Scenes Tour to see the kitchens where diets are prepared and the holding areas where the animals are kept at night. Bring your family along for the Dolphins Dusk to Dawn, Owl Prowl, or Farmyard Slumber overnight stays. Attend a Zoo Career Day to meet working zoo professionals and find out about cool science jobs like veterinary medicine, zoo keeping, education, fish management, dolphin training, and animal handling. Check out Zoo Camps, which are scheduled throughout the summer and over fall and winter breaks. Or, for a truly unique zoo adventure, sign up for a Dolphin Encounter and go poolside with a marine mammal trainer!

Tour the Minnesota Zoo online at www.mnzoo.org. Be sure to visit the Kids Zone to play The Zoo Matchmaker, a cool game that lets kids in grades 7-12 to apply their knowledge of genetics to the real life choices zoos struggle with in order to keep endangered species alive.

	Go to the DFTV Boards and tell us about your science center visit.