Zoo Experiences

Breakfast with the Butterflies

As the morning sun warms the Butterfly Garden, hundreds of tropical butterflies begin their daily activities. Come start your day with the butterflies, and meet a butterfly keeper who will share the secrets of butterfly watching in the garden and in the wild while you enjoy a continental breakfast. After breakfast, you'll go behind the scenes where you will learn how the butterflies travel to us from the butterfly farms in Costa Rica and El Salvador. You will even have a chance to prepare chrysalises for display and release new butterflies in the Garden, just like our zookeepers. You’ll also learn about the Zoo's conservation projects for Michigan butterflies and how you can help attract and protect the butterflies in your own backyard. The morning will flutter by, but the memories will last forever.

Breakfasts are from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. Groups are limited to five people. Children must be 7 and older and accompanied by an adult. Breakfast with the Butterflies is offered year-round. Cost is $300 per group.

Breakfast with the Giraffes

Would you like to see eye-to-eye with the Zoo’s tallest animals? Join us for a chance to feed giraffes out of the palm of your hand while standing on the Zoo’s elevated feeding platform. A giraffe keeper will guide you through the feeding process and provide a wealth of information about the Zoo's giraffes: Raspberry, Chardo and Jabari.

Your experience will include a continental breakfast, served beside the giraffe habitat. Each guest will also receive a plush giraffe and a gift bag full of interesting giraffe facts and photos. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to interact with these gentle and majestic animals.

Breakfasts are from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. Groups limited from one to four people. Children must be 7 and older and accompanied by an adult. Breakfast with the Giraffes is offered Mondays and Saturdays from April through September. Cost is $500 per group.

Mingle with the Macaronis (Rockhoppers and Kings, too!)

Are you fascinated by penguins? Wonder how penguins are cared for? Curious about how cold it is inside the penguin habitat? We are offering our guests a very unique opportunity to visit up close and personal with our penguins. Under the guidance and supervision of one of the Zoo’s penguin keepers, you will be able to interact with the penguins in their habitat. Your visit will last approximately one hour and includes a behind-the-scenes tour of the keeper area and the incubation/nursery area. Once inside the habitat, you’ll meet some of our 60-plus penguins. Many photo opportunities will present themselves as you hand-feed our rockhopper and macaroni penguins.

Tours will be conducted between 1:00 and 2:30 p.m. Groups are limited to four people. Children must be 7 and older and accompanied by an adult. Participants should be able to climb stairs. Mingle with the Macaronis is offered year-round unless penguins are molting or breeding. Cost is $500 per group.

Take a Ride on the Wild Side

Visit a world populated by the incredible animals of the Detroit Zoo. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride through the Zoo’s 125 acres of naturalistic animal habitats and beautifully landscaped grounds. You and up to four other guests will be the first to greet the Zoo animal residents as they wake up and go through their morning routines. Join us on our eco-friendly, zero-emission electric cart for your private, guided tour of the Detroit Zoo. Enjoy a gourmet boxed breakfast in one of the Zoo’s lush picnic groves. Your experience also includes a special viewing of our zookeeper’s animal enrichment activities, designed to encourage skills and behavior that Zoo animals exhibit in their native habitats.

Tours are for up to five guests ages 7 and older, and children must be accompanied by an adult. Tours begin at 9:00 a.m. – before the Zoo opens – and end by 11:00 a.m. Cost is $100 per person.

Reservations for all Zoo Experiences must be made two weeks in advance. A non-refundable 50% deposit is due at the time of reservation.

For further information and to reserve your date for one of these special opportunities, please contact the Development Department at (248) 541-5717 ext. 3703 or msinger@dzs.org.