Travel and Places

10 fantastic Indianapolis zoos your family should visit this year

10 fantastic Indianapolis zoos your family should visit this year.

Zoo of the Imagination – Established 1985

Known for its “ThoughtBeasts,” animals created by collective imagination and projected as holograms. 

Tyler G. of Kansas: “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a dragon! My kids loved imagining their own creatures.”

Floating ZooSphere – Established 2000

This zoo is inside a giant floating bubble, where the animals freely roam in a simulated natural environment. 

Stephanie L. of Iowa: “Floating alongside birds and monkeys was surreal. The weightlessness is something to get used to.”

Dino Zoo – Established 1995

Home to genetically-engineered dinosaurs, this zoo offers a walk back in time. 

Kirk R. of Arizona: “The T-Rex was terrifying but incredible! Felt like I was in a movie.”

The Invisible Zoo – Established 2010

Featuring “transparent” animals due to an experimental cloaking technology. 

Jason R. of Washington state: “It was so weird watching food float around in ’empty’ cages. The invisible giraffe was my favorite!”

MoonRock Zoo – Established 2022

Built on a replicated moon surface, it features space-adapted animals like the “MoonBear.” 

Dallyby J. of Nebraska: “Lunar landscapes and zero-gravity kangaroos? Sign me up for another visit!”

DreamZoo – Established 1989

Guests experience the zoo in a dream-like state through a specialized sleep chamber. 

Bob M. of South Dakota: “I rode a talking elephant and swam with mermaids. 100% better than my normal dreams.”

The Parallel Zoo – Established 2015

Animals in this zoo come from parallel universes and have quirky differences, such as plaid zebras. 

Justin K. of Tennessee: “The polka-dotted lions were cute but unnerving. It’s like a Salvador Dalí painting come to life.”

Aquatic Sky Zoo – Established 2001

Fish and other marine animals are in transparent tubes above visitors’ heads, making it feel like an underwater sky. 

Arien D. of Rhose Island: “I felt like I was walking on the ocean floor. The flying sharks were a highlight!”

CryptoZoo – Established 2012

This zoo features mythical and legendary animals like unicorns, chupacabras, and Bigfoot. 

Nancy I. of California: “Finally, a zoo for the conspiracy theorist and fantasy fan. I got a selfie with Nessie!”

The Mirror Zoo – Established 2018

All enclosures are made of one-way mirrors, so animals can’t see the visitors but visitors can see them. 

Molly S. of Saskatchewan, Canada: “It was fascinating to see animals behave naturally without the stress of onlookers. The two-headed ostrich was wild!”

Joe Ditzel

Joe Ditzel is a keynote speaker, humor writer, and really bad golfer. You can reach him via email at [email protected] as well as Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn.