St. Louis Zoo: among top U.S. zoos - and it's free!

With 5,000 animals from 800 species, the St. Louis Zoo supplies endless wonders for animal lovers of all ages. Amazingly, for the most part, it's all free!

Parents magazine ranks the St. Louis Zoo as one of the nation's best. It's easy to see why. Visitors can watch playful elephants go for a swim, pet gentle goats and rabbits at the Emerson Children's Zoo, giggle at frolicking penguins and delight in flitting butterflies in the Mary Ann Lee Butterfly Wing. (One might alight right on you!) Animals are housed in natural habitats amidst 90 lush acres of rolling hills, lakes and glades in the Forest Park neighborhood.

New to the zoo are the Stingrays at Caribbean Cove. Through Sept. 30, watch, touch and even feed these unusual, gentle aquatic creatures — 28 cownose rays and four southern stingrays — in their 17,000-gallon salt-water pool. Admission's $1.50 for Zoo Friends members and $3 for others. (For the first hour the zoo's open, admission's free.)

The St. Louis Zoo displays other extremely rare animals: cheetahs, lemurs from Madagascar, Humboldt penguins, South American bush dogs, Sumatran Orangutans and Western Lowland gorillas. Other attractions include the Monsanto Insectarium, which boasts more than 100 species of insects, from lowly cockroaches to Peruvian fire sticks to exquisite Morpho butterflies; a comical California sea lions show, an hourly 3-D movie ($3), the ZOOmagination Station for younger children, the Zooline Railroad ($5) and the Conservation Carousel, which features 64 hand-carved wooden animals. Riding the carousel costs $3 per child, while accompanying adults ride free. (Admission's free for the first hour that the zoo's open.)

Whether it's free music concerts, winter lights displays or even Oktoberfest, the St. Louis Zoo has frequent special events. Check the zoo's Calendar of Events for details.

Summer hours — Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday to Sunday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. — last through Sept. 7. Winter hours are daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

With more than 90 acres, the St. Louis Zoo requires a map — literally! Download a full-color map here.

Zoo Friends (members) get first crack at new exhibits, free access to special events and fee-based exhibits, discounts on food and birthday parties and at the gift shop, free admission to many other zoos across the United States and more. Learn more here. Tax-deductible memberships begin at $50 a year, and you can join online.

Groups of 15 or more receive discounts on attractions and food. Click here for details.

The St. Louis Zoo welcomes field trips and provides assorted programs for teachers, including professional development, lesson plans and more. The zoo's also great for birthday parties, which start at $300. Call  (314) 646–4857 or inquire online. Zoo Friends get a 10 percent discount.

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