About
Summer Zoo Camp includes hands-on fun, animal encounters, and STEAM-based lessons. Campers take part in activities that involve direct interaction with animals and lessons that connect science, technology, engineering, art, and math.
• Ages: 5–12 years old
• Schedule: Zoo hours daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours until 8 p.m. every Wednesday in June, July, and August
Lincoln Children’s Zoo opened in the summer of 1965 after Arnott Folsom’s 1959 vision to create a family destination where children and adults could interact with nature. The Zoo is home to over 400 animals, including over 40 endangered animals such as the Sumatran tiger and Matschie’s tree kangaroo, and offers chances to feed a giraffe, watch a cheetah run, and meet penguins, red pandas, and meerkats. Over 375,000 people attend the Zoo each year, and it is accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. The Zoo’s mission is to enrich lives through firsthand interaction with living things, and it also offers a “High School at the Zoo” and summer classes for children.
With a donation from Arnott Folsom and his wife, along with help from community leaders, Lincoln Children’s Zoo was founded. Sue Brouse, Arnott Folsom’s granddaughter, has said that educating children about animals and nature was very important to him and that there are now summer classes for children. She has also said that listening to her grandfather’s vision for the Zoo, going there with him, and watching it come to life are treasured memories, and that it is a zoo for children and a place that they love.
Last updated July 17, 2026.
• Ages: 5–12 years old
• Schedule: Zoo hours daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours until 8 p.m. every Wednesday in June, July, and August
Lincoln Children’s Zoo opened in the summer of 1965 after Arnott Folsom’s 1959 vision to create a family destination where children and adults could interact with nature. The Zoo is home to over 400 animals, including over 40 endangered animals such as the Sumatran tiger and Matschie’s tree kangaroo, and offers chances to feed a giraffe, watch a cheetah run, and meet penguins, red pandas, and meerkats. Over 375,000 people attend the Zoo each year, and it is accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. The Zoo’s mission is to enrich lives through firsthand interaction with living things, and it also offers a “High School at the Zoo” and summer classes for children.
With a donation from Arnott Folsom and his wife, along with help from community leaders, Lincoln Children’s Zoo was founded. Sue Brouse, Arnott Folsom’s granddaughter, has said that educating children about animals and nature was very important to him and that there are now summer classes for children. She has also said that listening to her grandfather’s vision for the Zoo, going there with him, and watching it come to life are treasured memories, and that it is a zoo for children and a place that they love.
Last updated July 17, 2026.
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