Brookfield Zoo Chicago

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Brookfield Zoo Chicago Inspiring conservation leaders by connecting people and communities with wildlife and nature.

Bring the holidays to life at Tree Trim! 🎄✨Gather your family, school, Girl Scout troop, or community group, and kick of...
10/10/2026

Bring the holidays to life at Tree Trim! 🎄✨

Gather your family, school, Girl Scout troop, or community group, and kick off the holiday season right! At Tree Trim, groups can decorate their very own community tree and create a festive display to visit throughout the holiday season at our beloved Holiday Magic lights festival.

Join us Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and 8 and be part of a holiday tradition that lights up Chicagoland! Learn more at https://bit.ly/4y7nypO.

10/10/2026

If it’s a month that ends in “ber,” you can find us at Brookfield Zoo Chicago! 🎃🎄❄️ Brookfield Zoo Chicago

🎃 Boo! at the Zoo runs through October 25 and includes trick-or-treating, pumpkin-themed animal enrichment, bounce houses, costume parades, character meet & greets and more!

🎄 Tree Trim is on November 7-8, and you & your group can decorate a tree! Our group’s tree will be at Roosevelt Fountain. Reserve yours before they sell out!

❄️ Holiday Magic starts November 21! Come to experience over 2 million lights, holiday treats, meet Santa and experience Brookfield Zoo Chicago after dark!

FOLLOW some of the Chicagoland Creators that will be decorating a tree for TREE TRIM:
Karla Schwaegs
ABBY BILINSKI
Lindy | Chicago & Travel Family
Karen Vega
Yesenia |Chicago Mom 💕
✨Yessenia | Xennial Mom & Actor ✨
Allyson :)
Ashley Burk • Chicagoland Ashley Burk • Chicagoland Social LifestylenfCarolina | Chicago Mom Influencer & Content Creatorland

We are sending our love to the family of Da Coach 🩵🧡 Thank you to Mike Ditka for symbolizing the heart of Chicago.
10/09/2026

We are sending our love to the family of Da Coach 🩵🧡

Thank you to Mike Ditka for symbolizing the heart of Chicago.

Pepe is ready to root, root, root for the White Sox! 🐧⚾️Throwing it back to some of our favorite photos of Humboldt peng...
10/09/2026

Pepe is ready to root, root, root for the White Sox! 🐧⚾️

Throwing it back to some of our favorite photos of Humboldt penguin, Pepe, and a little Chicago White Sox history of our own! Last year, Pepe joined our President & CEO Dr. Mike Adkesson to the mound to throw out the first pitch at a White Sox game. Wishing the Sox a great game tomorrow!

Let's go White Sox!

10/08/2026

Can you tell we like cats? 🦁

10/07/2026

Have yourself a fang-tastic day at Boo! at the Zoo! 🧛

Don’t miss out on a month of Halloween fun happening October 3–25! Come dressed in your favorite costume and enjoy:

🍬 Trick-or-Treating
🎃 Pumpkin themed Animal Enrichment
👻 Free Inflate-A-Boo area (Friday-Sunday)
🦖 Dinosaurs Wild Shows & Meet and Greets
🦸 Roaming Characters and Live Performers
📸 Festive Photo Spots and more!

Best of all, Boo! at the Zoo is included with daily admission and Zoo membership! Learn more at https://bit.ly/4doG99j

10/06/2026

It’s always a gourd time for some pumpkin enrichment! 🎃🐻

Recently, sloth bears Lila and Kartik got a special Halloween treat from their animal care team: pumpkins packed with crickets, grapes, and other fruits and veggies! As insectivores, sloth bears have several adaptations that help them find and eat their favorite foods, including long, curved claws for digging into insect mounds, a long snout, and a gap where their upper middle incisors are missing. This unique combination helps them vacuum up insects with ease!

To make the enrichment even more engaging, the team placed the pumpkins in different spots around the bears’ climbing structure. This encouraged Lila and Kartik to explore, problem-solve, and move around as they worked to get their treats!

There’s even more pumpkin enrichment to explore at Boo! at the Zoo! Check out the weekend enrichment schedule at bit.ly/4AOEYKp

There’s mucus EVERYWHERE!!! 🐟 Moray eels come with their own built-in slime! Their scaleless gray bodies are coated in y...
10/05/2026

There’s mucus EVERYWHERE!!! 🐟

Moray eels come with their own built-in slime! Their scaleless gray bodies are coated in yellowish mucus, giving them their unmistakably slimy look. This coating does more than add some color; it helps protect their skin from parasites and abrasions as they squeeze their long, flexible bodies into rocky crevices along the coast!

10/03/2026

Lights, Camera, Conservation! 🎥 🐧 ❄️

Filmed on location at Brookfield Zoo Chicago during a real Chicago winter in December 2025, this heartwarming holiday love story brings the Zoo’s winter magic to the screen! The fictional film follows entrepreneur Alicia (Brittany Underwood) as she works to secure funding for a new Humboldt penguin habitat. But she's faced with a complication: while navigating a big business deal, she finds herself falling for Shane (Matt Cohen), a compassionate animal care specialist.

At the heart of the story are Humboldt penguins, a Vulnerable species native to the coasts of Peru and Chile. In the wild, they face threats including changing ocean conditions, avian influenza, and environmental contamination. Brookfield Zoo Chicago works with the Punta San Juan Program in Peru to study and help protect these penguins in the wild.

"Christmas at the Zoo” can easily be streamed for free on any device via Tubi beginning November 10 and will also be available for rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video. The trailer and more information about both the movie and Humboldt penguins are available at https://bit.ly/4ywlzfM

10/02/2026

Patty and Valentino, the Humboldt penguin pair, have officially entered their grandparent era! 🐧 🐧

The penguins’ colorful wing bands help our Animal Care team tell them apart and they can even give us clues about who’s paired up! Mated penguins have matching colored bands, with females wearing theirs on the left wing and males wearing theirs on the right. Patty and Valentino have purple bands, indicating that they are a penguin pair; they are also grandparents to the newest chick in the colony!

Penguin families don’t necessarily stay together as chicks grow up. Around 70 to 90 days old, chicks fledge and begin swimming and hunting independently. Young penguins often flock together for safety, while breeding pairs may stay together to protect their nesting sites. Stay tuned to see when you can spot the juvenile chick out and about over at The Living Coast!

Don’t forget to join the limited time Senior Sundays admission promotion, powered by Uber, running now through November 22, 2026. A special offer for seniors and an easier way to get to the Zoo. Stay connected with senior accounts. Learn more about Senior Sundays at the link in bio.

Address

3300 Golf Road
Brookfield, IL
60513

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 10am - 6pm

Telephone

+17086888000

Website

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