Akron Zoo history

In 1950, a small museum of Natural History was also incorporated.

In 1953, the museum was expanded to include the Akron Children’s Zoo, a menagerie of Mother Goose themes.

In the late 1970’s, the Board of Directors offered to become the governing body of the zoo.

In 1979, the zoo changed its name to the Akron Zoological Park, and the City of Akron turned over governance of the zoo to the Board of Trustees.

In 1980, the Board of Directors finalized contractual agreements with the City of Akron and became one of the first zoos in the country to privatize and become a non-profit organization.

In 1989, the Akron Zoo was accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) for the first time.

A restaurant near Intel’s Ocotillo campus has been open since the early 1990’s and credits the tech giant to saving them during the pandemic.

Doug joined that Akron Zoo in 1998 as the general curator and has held several positions at the Akron Zoo.

In 1999, a new master plan was created to reflect the zoo’s plans over the next fifteen years.

In 2000, the Akron Zoo passed its first property tax, which committed $8.1 million a year to the zoo.

Capital projects completed since 2001 include:

2002: Parking lot, Wild Prairie exhibit, expansion of the Roger J. Sherman Center for Animal Care

In May 2005, the zoo opened their largest expansion in their history, Legends of the Wild.

In 2010 the zoo opened a carousel named "Conservation Carousel" featuring rare and endangered animals.

Doug Piekarz became president & CEO in 2015.

The zoo had record attendance in 2017 with 416,942 visitors.

The new white-winged wood duck and Bali mynah habitat will be incorporated in the zoo’s Lehner Family Foundation Wild Asia, which opened in May 2021.