Some 130 million people will visit America's zoos this year. Throughout the country, zoos and aquariums of all sizes are luring visitors by showcasing new animal babies, introducing new exhibits and species, and even turning a day at the zoo into a high-tech thrill ride.
Zoos are the number one form of recreation for families.
The key to a zoo's success, he adds, is to entertain visitors while you are educating them. You have to make a trip to the zoo fun for the whole family, with something for everyone from the small child to the grandparent. Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fla., may have the last word on zoo entertainment for the year 2001. In April, the popular theme park introduced Rhino Rally, a safari adventure that blends up-close animal encounters with a thrill ride. The adventure suddenly becomes a thrill ride down a raging river on a pontoon bridge in a simulated flash flood.