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.
Breakfast with the Butterflies
Ever dream of sitting amongst hundreds of tropical butterflies as the morning sun warms their wings? 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 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.
Take a Guided ZooTour
Ride in comfort while enjoying a private, guided tour of the Zoo. Just sit back and let your senses take in 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. 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 and are non-refundable.
Schedule your special experience today! 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.
Want to know how penguins stay warm, eat and play while living in their icy cold habitat? Get up close and personal with them at the Zoo! 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.