Knoxville Zoo is set to open a new addition in its popular kids area on May 1. The Barn Loft is an area for children and adults to learn more about some animals often found in a barn’s rafters.
The Barn Loft features rats, mice, snakes, spiders and barn owls. In addition to having the opportunity to see these animals close up, this exhibit will include fun interactives about these animals and their roles in our environment. There are also photos and artifacts about different types of barns and equipment used throughout East Tennessee history.
The Barn Loft is part of the Clayton Family Kids Cove that opened in April 2005. Kids Cove is a zoo place to play based loosely on an early 1900s Appalachian farm. It features a play cabin, playground with a giant sandbox, custom-built animal carousel, water play area, a model cow kids can milk, the very popular contact yard where kids can pet and brush goats and sheep, a beaver exhibit where visitors can get a first-hand look at how beavers build their dams and much more. The zoo plans to continue to expand and improve Kids Cove this year. In October the zoo will open the Night Club at Kids Cove. This new exhibit is being designed as an abandon mine shaft featuring bats, skunks and raccoons.Now is also a great time to visit the zoo’s new special exhibit of naked mole-rats in the Pilot Traveling Exhibit Center. These little creatures have been an instant hit with zoo visitors. Get a preview of them on the WBIR Naked Mole-Rat Web-cam by visiting the zoo’s Web site at www.knoxville-zoo.org.
Knoxville Zoo is located off exit 392 from Interstate 40 and is open every day except Christmas Day. The zoo is nationally accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and is committed to the highest standards in animal care and well-being, ethics, conservation, and education. Currently, the zoo is open weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on weekends from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission and ticket sales stop one hour before the zoo closes. Next-day admission is free after 3 p.m. For more information, please call 865.637.5331
ext. 300.