Field Trip to the NC Zoo and Botanical Gardens
4/7/2026
Zoo opens at 9am
Costs:
$20 Adult (13-61) On-site
$18 Adult (13-61) Online
$18 Senior (62+), College Student, Military On-Site
$16 Senior (62+), College Student, Military Online
$16 Child (3-12) On-site
$14 Child (3-12) Online
Free Childre 2 and under
$5 NC EBT
$3 Carousel
$5 Acacia Station Giraffe Deck
$3 Tree House Trek
$18 Air Hike Ropes Course
The North Carolina Zoo is home to 1,700 animals of more than 200 species. The zoo is home to one of the largest chimpanzee troops of any zoo in America as well as the largest collection of Alaskan seabirds in the country. The Zoo is also one of only a few AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums) in the U.S. with a breeding pair of polar bears which is part of the Species Survival Plan. As of 2022, the pair have yet to produce any offspring.
Layout
The North Carolina Zoo consists of Africa, North America, and a global Desert. There are parking lots located on each end of Africa and North America, so, during peak season, visitors can start their day from either side. With approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) of walking paths, the Zoo also provides trams and air-conditioned buses for visitors.
The North Carolina Zoo's founding philosophy was that of having natural habitats – presenting animals together with plants in habitats that resemble the habitats in which they would be found in the wild. The 40-acre (160,000 m2) Watani Grasslands habitat alone is as large as many entire zoos.
North America
The Cypress Swamp area is home to American alligators, alligator snapping turtles, cougars and a variety of reptiles and amphibians. The Rocky Coast depicts the rocky coasts of the Pacific Northwest, with North American porcupines, polar bears, harbor seals, Arctic foxes, thick-billed murres, parakeet auklets, and horned puffins. The streams of North Carolina can be seen in the Streamside habitat with bobcats, North American river otters, barred owls, and several snakes including cottonmouths, eastern copperheads and timber rattlesnakes, and fish. At the Prairie habitat, visitors can see American bison and elk. American black bears, grizzly bears and red wolves also each have their own habitats.
Desert
The Desert Dome.
The flora and fauna of deserts are on display in the glass-domed "Mangum Desert". Outside are ocelots, while inside are a variety of reptiles such as blue-tongued skinks, spiny-tailed monitors, ornate uromastyx, Gila monsters, Mexican beaded lizards, desert tortoises, pancake tortoises, and birds such as burrowing owls, greater roadrunners, Von der Decken's hornbills, laughing kookaburras, white-winged doves, Gambel's quail, white-headed buffalo weavers, and crested couas. A separate enclosure within the dome houses sand cats. A nocturnal section contains common vampire bats, gray mouse lemurs, brush-tailed bettongs, and sidewinders.
Aviary
The R. J. Reynolds Forest Aviary recreated the hot, humid conditions of a tropical forest. The aviary displays more than three thousand tropical plants and allowed visitors to walk among different species of free-flying tropicbirds including, sunbitterns, Victoria crowned pigeons, masked lapwings, Nicobar pigeons, Asian fairy-bluebirds, among many others including Madagascar ibises. The North Carolina Zoo's Aviary was listed among the bird exhibits in the US by USA Today. On April 21, 2022, the Zoo announced the permanent closure of the R.J. Reynolds Forest Aviary due to structural deterioration caused by high humidity and wet conditions. The aviary had previously been closed since January 2022 due to avian influenza being detected in wild birds in North Carolina. A Chilean flamingo exhibit located outside of the aviary was the last part of the building to be open, but the flamingos were eventually sent to the Greenville Zoo in Greenville, South Carolina. However, efforts are ongoing to potentially rebuild the Aviary in a different part of the zoo.[20]
Africa
The Forest Edge habitat is a 3.5-acre (14,000 m2), lightly wooded grassland enclosure with plains zebras, common ostriches, and reticulated giraffes. The Watani Grasslands Reserve mimics the great savannas of Africa, totaling 47-acre (190,000 m2) and is home to a herd of African elephants. Nearby southern white rhinoceroses, Thomson's gazelles, addra gazelles, waterbucks, fringe-eared oryxes, greater kudu, and bongos all share a habitat, designed to look as one continuous expanse with the elephants looking out at the rhinos and the antelope. Chimpanzees can be seen in the Kibale Forest habitat. Western lowland gorillas inhabit the Forest Glade exhibit. Lions, hamadryas baboons, and red river hogs each have their own habitats. Red-ruffed lemurs from neighboring Madagascar were also in the Africa region after a refurbishment of the former patas monkey habitat.
Art
The North Carolina Zoo is home to a large collection of art, primarily sculpture. Also murals, mosaics, and paintings. Primarily depictions of animals and their habitats, the artwork uses a variety of materials including marble, steel, bronze, fiberglass, limestone, glass, cement, and others. The Zoo's art is intended to enliven and enrich the guest experience and help fulfill its mission by "promoting individual discovery and new ways of thinking." but a few rusted cubes memorialize extinct species. The second, "The Elephant Group" depicts several large elephants in bronze. The works were installed in 1998.
The two largest sculptures are located at the Zoo's main entrances. One, "Sum of the Parts" is a pile of large metal cubes, about 1 yard (0.91 m) on a side. Most of the cubes are shiny and depict extant species.
Gardens at the Zoo
Conserving Biological Diversity
Growing Wild Places
The North Carolina Zoo’s impressive plant collection is focused on providing a representation of an animal’s native habitat for the education of its visitors and the well-being of its animals. The horticulture staff creates these living pictures of wild places using southeastern native and exotic plants so guests might have more respect for animals, care about them, and transfer their care into action in conserving biological diversity.
Also check out other Arts events in Asheboro, Trips & Adventurous Activities in Asheboro, Workshops in Asheboro.
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