Here's a quick history quiz: In what year did Bill Clinton get elected to his first term as president, Euro Disney debut in Paris and Johnny Carson retire from TV? The answer is 1992, the same year Cleveland Metroparks Zoo opened The RainForest!
Help the Zoo celebrate the 20th anniversary of The RainForest from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. November 17-19 with special events, activities and giveaways including animal enrichment demonstrations, crafts, music, Meet the Keeper sessions and on Monday, November 19, special guest Radio Disney and free admission to The RainForest.
�The RainForest transformed the Zoo,� said Zoo Director Steve Taylor. �It turned the Zoo into a true year-round experience. Our attendance has averaged more than 1.2 million visitors every full year since it opened.�
Over the last 20 years The RainForest has developed into a very popular winter destination in Northeast Ohio. Visitors looking for a break from the cold, gray days outside often spend an afternoon inside The RainForest -- where it's always 80 degrees. The exhibit has also become a popular place to book special events, hosting numerous weddings, proms and birthday parties every year.
The RainForest is home to more than 10,000 plants and 600 animals including Bornean orangutans, ocelots, Asian small-clawed otters, straw-colored fruit bats, a fishing cat, giant anteater, two-toed sloth, capybaras and many of the Zoo's reptiles, frogs, turtles and insects.
The two-story exhibit is designed to give visitors an understanding of the importance of the world's rainforests in Asia, Africa and the Americas and why conserving them is vital to the earth's ecosystems.
Conservation of the earth's tropical rainforests is one of the most significant environmental issues facing the world today. It is an issue that zoos, through exhibition, education and conservation programs, have a unique opportunity to present to millions of visitors and inspire personal responsibility for conserving the natural world.
Northeast Ohio's most-visited year-round attraction, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. From November 1 through March 31, 2013, admission is discounted to $8.25 per person, $5.25 for kids ages 2 to 11 and is free for children younger than 2 and Zoo members. Parking is free. Located at 3900 Wildlife Way, the Zoo is easily accessible from Interstates 71, 90 and 480.
To learn more, visit clemetzoo.com or call (216) 661-6500.
