Plan Your Visit

Pick up a Zoo Map for the latest schedule of cool stuff going on this week!

School Field Trip Season

The Maryland Zoo is a popular field trip destination, especially in April, May and early June.  If you want to avoid the field trip crowds, plan your visit for Mondays or Tuesdays when there are generally less school groups.  Alternatively, most groups leave the Zoo around 1:00pm or 1:30pm, so you might want to visit in the Spring afternoons which are less crowded.

Giraffe Feeding Station
Daily from 10:30am – 3:00pm.  The Giraffe Feeding Station is open regularly in the regular season starting March 1st. Stand eye-to-eye as you feed a giraffe at the Zoo’s Giraffe Feeding Station. $2 per branch of leafy browse. Click here to learn more.

Goat Grooming
10:00am – 4:00pm
Stop by the Kid Zone to brush African Pygmy and Nubian goats!  (Maryland Wilderness Farmyard)

*The tractor interactive area is currently undergoing maintenance and will reopen soon.

Creature Encounters

Fridays thru Mondays from 10:00am – 12:00pm
Stop by to see live Animal Ambassadors, investigate animal artifacts, and learn more about wildlife. During the winter and early spring season, visit Creature Encounters inside the Zoo’s Chimp Forest or the Meeting Barn.  Click here to learn more.

WILD Encounters 
Zoo educators in African Journey share fascinating facts about some of our most popular animals.  Days and times vary, check the Daily Activity Schedule for more details.

Scavenger Hunt

Make your day at the Zoo a little more fun (and challenging)!  Take our Zoo Scavenger Hunt along with you.  See how many questions you can find the answer to. It’s a great way to get involved and make your visit even more educational.  Click here to download and print the Zoo’s Scavenger Hunt form.

Animal Training Demonstrations

Fridays and Mondays at 11:30am, Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30am (near Eagle Gate)
Join a Zookeeper from the Zoo’s Animal Embassy for a special public training demonstration.  Get an up close look at animals as they exhibit species-specific behaviors.  A great chance to ask questions and see something really wild.

Keeper Chats

The current keeper chat schedule is for visits between May 27th and September 2nd . Take advantage of the chance to ask questions about the animals or just chat with one of our expert keepers. (Chats last approximately 15 minutes).

Daily 10:30-3:00 Giraffe Feeding Station Daily 10:30-3:30 Kid Zone Daily 11:00am Polar Bear Watch Tuesday, Thursday & Sunday 11:00am Bat Wednesday & Saturday 11:00am Otter Monday & Friday 11:00am Hellbender Monday, Tuesday, Thursday-Sunday 11:30am Penguin Feeding Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday 12:00pm Cheetah Monday-Thursday & Sunday 1:30pm African Watering Hole Friday & Saturday 1:30pm Leopard Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday 2:00pm Okapi Daily 2:00pm Warthog Wednesday-Sunday 2:30pm Chimp Saturday & Sunday 3:00pm Farmyard Daily 3:30pm Penguin Feeding

Please note:  Due to the needs of our animals and the work required to care for them, keeper chats and wild encounters may not start precisely on time.  Every effort is made to ensure these programs begin on schedule.  All activities are weather and staff permitting and are subject to change or cancellation without notice.