“Get Closer” than ever before!
This unique experience offers an up-close-and-personal interactive opportunity and a chance to talk one on one with a zookeeper. Choose between meeting our Galapagos tortoises, goats, animal ambassadors, river otters or grizzly bears, plus enjoy admission to the zoo following your experience.
NEW - River Otters
Get ready for an otterly unforgettable experience at Akron Zoo! Come meet our playful otters, Molly and Stratton, up close and personal. In this exclusive Get Closer experience, you'll have the chance to feed these adorable otters and learn all about their wild ways, how we care for them and how we conserve their local waterways. But that’s not all! Take a special tour of their indoor space and see where they live, swim, and play. And for the grand finale? Watch Molly and Stratton chow down on their favorite treat: a delicious fish-sicle! It’s a truly otterly magical experience that you won’t want to miss.
- $150 per person
January - Eve of Thanksgiving: Offered Sundays or Fridays at 1:30 p.m.
up to 2 guests – ages 5+
Guests are asked to walk up stairs for this Get Closer tour.
Grizzly Bears
Meet Cheyenne and Jackson, our grizzly bears, and enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime experience of feeding them some of their favorite treats! During this Get Closer, guests will have the opportunity tour Cheyenne and Jackson’s Grizzly Ridge home, which includes our grizzly bear bedrooms, our deluxe keeper kitchen and a special behind the scenes night yard. Guests will also enjoy a training session and hear some amazing memorable stories about our bear siblings!
- $150 per person
January - March: Offered Saturdays or Mondays at 1:30 p.m.
April - September: Offered Mondays at 1:30 p.m.
October - Eve of Thanksgiving: Offered Saturdays or Mondays at 1:30 p.m.
2 to 6 guests – ages 5+
Purchase Grizzly Bear Get Closer
Galapagos Tortoise
During this experience, you’ll have special access to our Galapagos tortoise habitat, learning about our gentle giants Pagos and Boxie. This unique experience includes the opportunity to interact with them by giving them a nice tortoise rub down and feeding them their favorite foods.
- $75 per person
Offered Friday, Saturday or Sunday at 3 p.m.
2 to 4 guests – ages 5+
Available January - November*
Purchase Galapagos tortoise Get Closer
Animal Ambassadors
Interact and have fun with 3 of our education animal ambassadors, like Dasy the armadillo, Forest the porcupine, Chloe the kinkajou and many more animals!
- $55 per person
Offered Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday at 10:30 a.m. (Offered Saturday & Sunday ONLY in June, July & August)
2 to 6 guests – ages 5+
Available year-round
Purchase Animal Ambassador Get Closer
*Get Closer experiences are not available from Thanksgiving - New Year's Day.
For questions about Get Closer Experiences, please contact programs@akronzoo.org or call 330-375-2550 ext. 8973. All Unique Experiences must be scheduled two weeks or more in advance.