Birmingham Zoo and Birmingham Public Library Team-up To Make Learning A WILD Adventure

 

 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Birmingham Zoo and the Birmingham Public Library are pleased to announce the launch of the Birmingham Library Zoo Family Pass Program! 

This inspiring collaboration is an adventure-packed program encouraging children PreK through 8th grade to read, learn about animals, and experience them in real life during a fun-filled day at their Zoo.

“This program is truly a union of our missions,” according to Chris Pfefferkorn, Birmingham Zoo President & CEO. “The goal of the program is to foster lifelong learning, cultural enrichment, enjoyment, and passion to conserve the natural world. This collaboration between Birmingham Public Library and the Birmingham Zoo team has resulted in an adventure that’s really engaging and exciting for kids – and their families!” 

Children begin the program by checking out a Birmingham Zoo Family Pass backpack from one of the four participating Birmingham Public Library locations: Avondale, Central, Five Points West, and Springville Road. Each fun-filled backpack is uniquely themed and represents popular animals found in four different areas of the Zoo:

1. The Rainforest: Primates(Avondale) 

 2. Trails of Africa: Elephants (Central)

 3. Alabama Wilds: Bears(Five Points West)

 4. Alligators and Friends: Reptiles (Springville Road) 

Each themed backpack contains six library books, a felt animal habitat set, informative animal magazine articles, animal activity sheets, and a Birmingham Zoo animal DVD. Children may keep the backpack to read, play and explore the activities for up to 3 weeks.

Upon return to the library, children receive a Birmingham Zoo Family Pass certificate, allowing a single daytime admission to Birmingham Zoo for up to four people, valid for 2 months from the issue date.

 The only way to obtain the certificate is by visiting the library, checking out and returning a backpack.

Upon arrival at the zoo, patrons will be required to present their Birmingham Zoo Family Pass certificate and their library card for admission. 

 “This summer’s launch is the pilot of a much larger program,” says Tiffaney McClendon, Manager of Guest Services. “We plan to expand the Birmingham Zoo Family Pass Program so that every Birmingham Public Library branch will eventually have backpacks available for check-out.”

 “We are so excited about this Birmingham Zoo partnership and this fantastic program,” says Carla Perkins of BPL’s Avondale Regional Library. “The response from library visitors has been great – two backpacks were checked out within two hours of being available.” 

Guests are invited to check out a backpack now at any of the four Birmingham Library locations, read and learn about the Zoo’s animals, then enjoy a fun day at their Birmingham Zoo enjoying some of the animals they have learned about!

ABOUT THE BIRMINGHAM ZOO 

The Birmingham Zoo is an independent, not for profit, 501(c)(3) organization and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Our mission: Inspiring Passion to Conserve the Natural World. Approximately 700 animals of 230 species call the Birmingham Zoo home, including sea lions, zebras, elephants, bongos and endangered species from six continents.

The Birmingham Zoo is a non-profit and is open daily from 9am to 5pm.

 Regular admission is $17* for adults and $14* for senior citizens and military and $12* for children ages 2-12 (*Price not including tax). 

All Birmingham Zoo Members and children under two-years-old receive free admission. The Birmingham Zoo is the only AZA accredited Zoo in the state of Alabama.

 www.birminghamzoo.com  2630 Cahaba Road I Birmingham, AL 35223 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT BPL 

For additional information about the programs and services of the Birmingham Public Library, visit our website at www.cobpl.org and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter @BPL. 

The mission of Birmingham Public Library is to provide the highest quality library experience to our community for life-long learning, cultural enrichment, and enjoyment. This system—with 18 locations and serving the community for over 130 years—is one of the largest library systems in the Southeast.