Daywatch: Brookfield Zoo announces new name and next step in major redesign
Good morning, Chicago.
More space for animals, less space for humans.
Sure, it’s not as snappy as “connect, care, conserve,” the new tagline for the entity formerly known as the Brookfield Zoo, now to be renamed Brookfield Zoo Chicago. But that ethos, broadly speaking, drives a major renovation project for the rebranded suburban attraction, announced this morning and timed to its centennial in 2034.
“It’s really a flip from where zoos were at 100 years ago, when it was all visitor-centric,” says Mike Adkesson, the former vice president of veterinary care at the zoo and now its president and CEO. “You had these big, expansive, central galleries that looked into small diagrams where the animals were displayed. As zoos have evolved over the last century, we’ve moved away from that entirely.”
The first phase of that plan is already underway. Later this month, Brookfield Zoo will unveil its $10 million dolphin habitat renovation, and in spring 2025, its $66 million new Tropical Forests exhibit will open to the public after breaking ground last March.
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