Kids Win Behind-the-Scenes Opportunity at Penguinarium and Wildlife Interpretive Gallery

ROYAL OAK, Mich., July 9, 2008 – Mary Logsdon, 10, of River Rouge and Braeden Martin, 7, of Ann Arbor have won an exclusive behind-the-scenes experience with keepers at the Detroit Zoo in the Detroit Zoological Society and Fox 2’s ZOOKEEPERS Sweepstakes.

On Saturday, July 12, the winners will assist keepers at the Zoo’s Penguinarium and Wildlife Interpretive Gallery.  The honorary zookeepers will prepare fish treats and feed and interact with the rockhopper and macaroni penguins.  They will also help pin newly arrived butterfly chrysalises into a display area in the Butterfly Garden and transfer emerged butterflies into their new habitat.  In addition, the kids will feed the birds in the Free Flight Aviary.    

Twelve winners were selected at random to be honorary zookeepers at the Detroit Zoo in the ZOOKEEPERS Sweepstakes, which ended July 8.  Parents can still click on the ZOOKEEPERS icon at www.MyFOXDetroit.com through July 20 to download an official certificate for kids ages 2-12, redeemable for a ZOOKEEPERS lanyard at the Zoo.  The lanyard contains coupons for a free child’s ZOOKEEPERS tee-shirt (while supplies last), small soft drink and one-way ride on the Tauber Family Railroad. 

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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