 1928 – Detroit Zoo opens to the public on August 1.  Habitats include bear dens, lion dens, bird house, elk yard, raccoon and wolverine habitats, African veldt and completely stocked lakes.
 1928 – Zoo closes on December 3 for the winter, having entertained 1.5 million visitors in its first four months.
 1930-32 – New animals and habitats are added, including elephants, rhinos, giraffes, bison, Baboon Rock, Prairie Dog Village, a farmyard and the first reptile habitat.
 1931 – Miniature railroad opens, donated by The Detroit News.
 1932 – First chimpanzee show debuts, starring the famous Jo Mendi.
 1933 – Zoo begins truck gardens to help alleviate Depression food shortages.
 1933-34 – Civil Works Administration and Federal Emergency Relief Administration provide funds and manpower to build hippopotamus house, beaver habitat and other animal habitats.
 1935-37 – The federal Work Projects Administration (WPA) builds animal hospital and administration building and provides major landscaping. 
 1939 – Horace Rackham Memorial Fountain is dedicated.
 1940 – Paulina the elephant retires after 500,000 riders.
 1947 – Belle Isle Children’s Zoo opens, donated by Zoo Commissioner James S. Holden.
 1955 – Holden Amphitheater and Great Ape House open.
 1960 – Holden Museum of Living Reptiles opens.
 1962 – Regular TV broadcasts of “Sonny Eliot at the Zoo” begin.
 1968 – Penguinarium opens, the first zoo building in the world designed entirely for penguins; includes underwater viewing and continuous swim loop for the penguins.
 1969 – Detroit Zoo opens to the public year-round. 
 1977 – Bird House free-flight wing built with funding from Matilda R. Wilson.  Docent (volunteer teacher) program begins.
 1980 – Belle Isle Zoo is renovated.
 1982 – Chimpanzee shows end as Zoo’s philosophy about animal management changes.
 1989 – Chimps of Harambee habitat opens.
 1993 – Dinosauria! exhibit debuts at Detroit Zoo.
 1994 – Mandrill habitat opens.  Renovated giraffe house opens to the public after 32 years.
 1995 – Wildlife Interpretive Gallery opens, a renovation of the original bird house.
 1997 – Edward Mardigian, Sr. River Otter habitat and Gerry Rissman PlayVenture open.
 2000 – Amphibiville, home of the National Amphibian Conservation Center, opens in June.
 2001 – Wild Adventure Ride, the nation’s first zoo simulator, opens in May.  Arctic Ring of Life, North America’s largest polar bear habitat, opens in October.
 2001 – Madeleine Berman Academy for Humane Education is established.
 2002 – Detroit Zoo receives the 2002 AZA National Exhibit Award for Amphibiville.
 2004 – Ruth Roby Glancy Animal Health Complex is completed.
 2005 – Ford Education Center opens.
 2006 – Detroit Zoological Society assumes daily operations and financial management of Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo.
 2006 – Australian Outback Adventure opens.
 2008 – Detroit Zoo celebrates 80th anniversary.

The Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo.  Situated on 125 acres of naturalistic exhibits, the Detroit Zoo is located at the intersection of Ten Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, just off I-696, in Royal Oak.  The Detroit Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October (open at 9:30 a.m. Memorial Day through Labor Day) – with extended hours until 8 p.m. Wednesdays during July and August – and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March.  Admission is $11 for adults 13 to 61, $9 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $7 for children ages 2 to 12; children under 2 are free.  For more information, call (248) 541-5717 or visit www.detroitzoo.org.  The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round and provides educational programming with interpretive staff support from the Huron-Clinton Metroparks.  For more information, call (313) 852-4056. 

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