Minnesota Zoo Reports Record-setting Attendance

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A record number of people attended the during its most recently finished fiscal year.

Attendance totaled 1,369,515 from July 1 last year through June 30 this year, the most attendees in the zoo's 34-year existence, according to a press release.

Zoo memberships also are at an all-time high, with more than 45,000 households and 175,000 individuals represented in memberships.

Last summer's exhibit, spring's , an upgraded tropical reef exhibit and the May all contributed to the attendance gains, the release says.

“Over the last five years, new and renovated exhibits and public spaces have transformed the Minnesota Zoo,” said Zoo Director/CEO Lee Ehmke in the release. “We are gratified that our guests are responding to these changes in a big way: the three years of highest attendance in the Zoo’s history have all
happened since 2009.”

Many zoos across the country have experience record attendances this past fiscal year, the release says.

Coming to the zoo during its current fiscal year will be a new black bears exhibit, scheduled to open Sept. 15, and a seasonal Africa exhibit slated to return next summer, according to the release.

Did you visit the Minnesota Zoo last year? What are your favorite exhibits? What would you like to see at the zoo? Leave a comment below.