Growing up in New York, the Bronx Zoo was a highlight of my childhood. What New Yorker doesn’t have a childhood picture of herself popping up in prairie dog town?
This past fall, I was humming, “It’s All Happening at the Zoo”, as I watched my own little pups frolic at the Bronx Zoo. We’re looking forward to their spring Animal Tales Extravaganza line-up.
Be sure to buy your tickets ahead of time online and SAVE 10%!
Happening Every Weekend:
Avenue Zoo
12:30 and 2:30 at Asia Plaza Stage
Join Kate Monster on her trip from off Broadway’s Avenue Q to the Bronx Zoo’s Avenue Zoo! Kate’s musical journey begins when she misses her stop home, and ends up on Avenue ZOO. Experience the fun of her wild adventure as she meets different animals along the way and learns that their differences aren’t so scary after all.
Rainforest Creature Parade*
1:00pm and 3:00pm leaving from 4D Theater
Join Annie Hickman’s Rainforest Creatures and the Art of Motion dancers as they parade through the park in fantastic sculptural costumes. This incredible parade will weave together basketry, costumes, sculpture, movement, dance, and the world of nature, which is brought to life through graceful dance.
* Rainforest Parade will not take place April 28-29 or June 16-17, 24-25, 30
Yoga Animal Poses with Lil Yogis NYC
1:15, 2:15, 3:15 on Astor Court
Join us on the Astor Court lawn to enjoy animal-themed children’s yoga sessions. Kids will practice different yoga poses –all related to animals- that encourage creativity and relaxation- Adults welcome too! Ends weekend of June 17
Crafts
11am-3pm at Dancing Crane Cafe Plaza
Create your own fantastical wildlife puppets and choose from a giraffe, lemur, peacock, alligator and lion. After the puppets are complete, kids will be encouraged to head over to the Animal Tales Story Time Corner and use our puppet stage to create their own Animal Tale. Ends weekend of June 24.
Animal Tales Story Time Corner
Presented by Plum Organics
11am – 3pm at Dancing Crane Cafe Plaza
Plum Organics transforms a portion of our Dancing Crane Café Pavilion into an intimate Story Time corner filled with comfy chairs, books and activities. Relax in this custom Animal Tales area with your little ones to take a break from your busy day. Guests can choose to sit and read from a wide variety of books provided by our publishers or bring your craft area puppets to life at our interactive puppet stage!
Ends weekend of June 24.
Special Weekend Entertainment:
May 12th and May 13th
Mainstage: Sprout’s Lazytown
Meet Sportacus, LazyTown’s slightly-above-average hero who inspires the kids of LazyTown to be active and helps them along the way. However, Robbie Rotten, the silly resident villain, is intent on keeping LazyTown…lazy. Kids will get a chance to get active with Sportacus as he does engages the audience in interactive exercises, and then shows off some of his own gymnastic abilities!
11:30am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm Adjacent to Grizzly Bears
Meet and Greet Sportacus
12:00pm and 2:00pm in Dancing Crane Plaza
May 19th and May 20th
Mainstage: Choo-Choo Soul with Genevieve!
Travel to exotic lands where kids can experience different dances that are unique to specific cultures and can rock to the beat of this urban music sensation as seen on Disney Junior. Don’t miss the chance to sing and dance along to favorite original Choo Choo Soul songs, including “Fly Birdie Fly”, “Animal Sounds” and “Dance like a Chicken”
11:30am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm Adjacent to Grizzly Bears
Meet Elephant and Piggie
12:00pm and 2:00pm in Dancing Crane Plaza
May 26th and May 27th
Mainstage: Sid the Science Kid: Science is Everywhere!
From the magic of The Jim Henson Company comes this brand new, incredible experience featuring Sid the Science Kid! Sid appears in fast paced, interactive, fun sing-along show that is guaranteed to entertain!
11:30am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm in Adjacent to Grizzly Bears
Meet Buddy the Dinosaur from Dinosaur Train
12:00pm and 2:00pm in Dancing Crane Plaza
June 2nd
Mainstage: Alan Menken and Music Unites Youth Choir of Women’s Academy of Excellence Eight time Academy Award Winner Alan Mencken joins the Music Unites Youth Choir of Women’s Academy of Excellence to salute wildlife through song.
12:30pm, 2:00pm
June 2nd and June 3rd
Mainstage: Ferdinand the Bull
A gentle bull, that prefers the aroma of wild flowers to fighting, is mistakenly chosen to face a matador after an unfortunate bee incident… and that’s just the beginning!
Presented by The Children’s Theatre Company at Lehman College
11:30am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm Adjacent to Grizzly Bears
Meet Maisy Mouse
Meet Maisy, a colorful, lovable mouse with a nose for adventure. There’s a Maisy book just right for every child.
12:00pm and 2:00pm in Dancing Crane Plaza
Maisy is a registered trademark of Walker Books, London.
June 2nd ONLY
Children’s author Laura Hulbert reading “Who has these feet?”
1:00 Asia Plaza Stage
June 9th and June 10th
Mainstage: Barney™ Sing-Along
Join in the excitement as with your favorite purple, fun-loving dinosaur, Barney, performs some of your favorite Barney and Friends songs along with high energy dancing.
11:30am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm in Adjacent to Grizzly Bears
June 10th ONLY
The Magic School Bus
The Magic School bus visits the Bronx Zoo! Step inside this magical ride and meet Mrs. Frizzle during special Magic School Bus storytime readings.
Throughout the day on Astor Court
June 16th and June 17th
Mainstage: Super Sprowtz
Super Sprowtz is a children’s education and entertainment media company that teaches and promotes healthy eating, fitness and sustainability through super-hero vegetable characters, books, a television series, on-line games and videos, live performances and educational products.
The Bronx Zoo performance will feature the Super Sprowtz on a mission to help the animals in the zoo and to show that even the biggest, strongest animals love their veggies and need them to be super strong!
11:30am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm in Adjacent to Grizzly Bears
Meet Olivia™
Meet OLIVIA™, star of books and TV!
12:30pm and 2:30pm in Dancing Crane Plaza
LeVar Burton of Reading Rainbow Story Time and Meet and Greet
Join actor LeVar Burton, host of the Peabody award-winning series Reading Rainbow for a very special storybook reading just in time for summer. LeVar will share his favorite tips and techniques to encourage young readers and host a special preview of the new Reading Rainbow iPad book discovery and reading application.
1:00 Asia Plaza Stage
June 23th and June 24th
Mainstage: Ferdinand the Bull
A gentle bull who prefers the aroma of wild flowers to fighting, is mistakenly chosen to face a matador after an unfortunate bee incident… and that’s just the beginning!
Presented by The Children’s Theatre Company at Lehman College
11:30am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm Adjacent to Grizzly Bears
The Tale of the Silly Mouse
This fun tale is a short opera piece written in 1939 by Shostakovich for an animated cartoon. It tells the story of a mouse that just won’t go to sleep and all of the animals…including a cat…that tried to help her.
Presented by On-site Opera
1:30pm, 3:30 pm Asia Stage
Meet Llama Llama
Whether learning how to be brave, battling boredom, going to preschool for the first time, staying home sick, or patiently waiting for the holidays, Llama can always rely on Mama for her love and guidance. Written by Anna Dewdney, this preschool picture book series has hit the New York Times Bestseller List for four of its titles, including the #1 hits Llama Llama Holiday Drama and Llama Llama Home with Mama.
12:30pm and 2:30pm in Dancing Crane Plaza
June 30th
Spider-Man Takes Over the Bronx Zoo
“The Amazing Spider-Man” lands on Astor Court on Saturday, June 30th. Guests will be thrilled to see Spider-Man in action as his stunt man shows off Spider-Man’s incredible spidey-skills. Visitors will also be able to show off their own spider-climbing techniques with a specially installed rock wall.
And learn where Spiderman learned all his superhero feats. Don’t miss a special spider-chat with WCS animal staff and learn some of the myths and truths surrounding these 8 legged creatures. Guests will be able to enjoy additional crafts, activities and special Spider-Man giveaways from the new movie, “The Amazing Spider-Man.” Join the fun with your favorite superhero on June 30 th. And for super Spiderman fans – kids in Spider-Man costumes will get a special discount on admission to the Bronx Zoo for this day only!
Disclaimer: Our blog is participating in a sponsored ambassador program from the Bronx Zoo/NY Aquarium. As a part of this program we have received paid advertising compensation, a premium family membership and merchandise for placement of digital advertisements and specific postings related to programming.
