Zoo camp for children with challenges.

Mack Livesay, 16, second from right, tries to decide where to put a paper mache balloon full of food in the wolverine enclosure at The Minnesota Zoo during Zoo Crew Camp, for children with autism, on Friday August 8, 2014. Zookeeper Janis Liukonen, left/foreground, told them to put it somewhere that is a challenge for the wolverines, yet to avoid the stream and high branches because it could fall. Livesay is standing by Micah Grubb, center, and Tyler Skrove, right. (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri)

August 10, 2014

By Christopher Magan

...He wasn't disappointed. (click here)

Mack was attending a summer camp last week for teens with autism that is new to the Apple Valley zoo.

For a week, campers get a behind-the-scenes look at the zoo while learning about the environment and the different jobs at the state-funded facility.

"You never know who will be the next Jane Goodall," said Tyler Ahnemann, community programs supervisor. "We want to give everyone an opportunity."

Each summer, the zoo opens its doors to as many as 4,000 camp participants who spend anywhere from an hour to a week learning about plants, animals and the environment. The zoo offers 87 different camps throughout the summer.

Students at the new autism camp also got some valuable time to practice social skills in a public setting, said Dawn Brasch, education and training specialist for the Autism Society of Minnesota....

One hundred year old carousel. The maintenance department at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium should be celebrating it's anniversary. 

August 11, 2014
By Thomas Gallick

At the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, (click here) a $1 ticket buys a trip spanning 100 years of central Ohio history.

The zoo currently is celebrating the centennial of its Mangels-Illions Grand Carousel -- an attraction that has thrilled generations of children at multiple locations since 1914.

The ride, which features 52 carved horses, two chariots and a Wurlitzer organ, originally was installed at Olentangy Park, an amusement park located just off North High Street between West Dodridge Street and West Tulane Road in Clintonville.

Mary Rodgers, president of the Clintonville Historical Society, said Olentangy Park sometimes was referred to as the biggest amusement park in the United States -- and even the world -- during its years of operation from the turn of the century to 1938.

Rodgers said Olentangy Park, along with other other attractions in the Clintonville area at the time, was largely built as a catalyst to increase streetcar traffic in the Columbus area during the weekends. Although the park was one of the world's largest, Rodgers said its clientele was mostly local....