Stuart Forster spends a day in Oak Park, west of downtown Chicago, including spending the afternoon at Brookfield Zoo Chicago
Looking for inspiration for a family-friendly day out near Chicago? Brookfield Zoo Chicago is less than a 30-minute drive from the heart of Illinois’ most populous city.
It attracts around two million visitors a year. Occupying 235 acres of land, the zoo has plenty of space for human visitors as well as residents from more than 500 animal species.
As I discovered, you don’t necessarily have kids with you to enjoy a visit. The zoo has been welcoming visitors since 1934, featuring enclosures without bars.
Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s Next Century Plan
With the centenary of that opening approaching, the zoo has developed a Next Century Plan. The plan’s objective is to transform around 100 acres to create immersive naturalistic habitats and to advance conservation and related education.
In 2025, Brookfield Zoo Chicago opened the James and Elizabeth Bramsen Tropical Forests, recreating four habitats in Africa, Asia and South America where primates dwell. The $66 million facility houses western lowland gorillas, orangutans and monkeys and is a key element in the first phase of the zoo’s Next Century Plan evolution. It features the King Conservation Leadership Academy – a space for education – and the interactive Gorilla Conservation Center.
“We had 3D scans done of some of our gorillas’ noses…You can actually feel a bronze replica from that scan. The signage around it talks about how researchers identify gorillas by their noses,” explained Julianne Olivo, PR Director at Brookfield Zoo Chicago.
Conservation at Brookfield Zoo Chicago
Signs also explain the zoo’s role in rescuing and caring for trafficked animals, including spider monkeys and pangolins – nocturnal animals which are also known as scaly anteaters.
“We are the only zoo in the U.S. where you can see a white-bellied pangolin. Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal in the world. The more we’re able to learn about them under our care, we can help sustain the wild population as well,” said Julianne.
In an electronic convenience vehicle, we zipped quietly around viewing the likes of reticulated giraffes, marsupials such as western grey kangaroos and Mexican wolves. Local species are also represented at the zoo, including the Blanding’s turtle and great prairie-chicken, which once thrived on the plains of the Midwest.
The Great Bear Wilderness
Silently, we gazed on as a snow leopard stalked across its enclosure and lay down directly in front of us. Equally impressive was our proximity to tumbling bottlenose dolphins as they swam and a powerful-looking brown bear, as it took a cooling dip in an enclosure known as the Great Bear Wilderness.
“We have a wildlife residency programme that works in local forest preserves to study and understand the health of wild animal populations, and do a lot of research and studies on how to sustain them,” explained Julianne.
I learnt that Brookfield Zoo Chicago is active in several conservation programmes. Not all of those centre on cute-looking mammals or the apex predators. For example, the zoo partners with Illinois Bee Rescue on a honey bee rescue programme. Guam kingfishers are being reintroduced to the wild, thanks to their survival in the zoo.
Julianne explained that there is a programme around a type of crayfish too: “We released Great Plains mudbugs into a local protected area. They actually dig burrows that are thought to be where the Hine’s emerald dragonflies lay their eggs. So it’s not just about supporting the crayfish themselves, but actually to help an endangered species like that dragonfly.”
Animal education
We discussed the collective nouns by which groups of animals are known. As we approached the American flamingos, Julianne impressed me with her knowledge that a group of flamingos is known as a flamboyance.
There are some quirky surprises when it comes to the names of collective nouns. A group of giraffes is known as a tower, while turtles gather in a bale. Capybara herds are also known as a meditation.
When you next gather with a charm of friends, an annoyance of family members or an ambition of colleagues, you may want to suggest Brookfield Zoo Chicago as a place to visit. The zoo is open 363 days a year, closed only on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. As Halloween approaches, it hosts BOO! at the Zoo and the adult-only BOOs and Brews, featuring a costume contest, a dance party and alcoholic beverages. More than 3.5 million lights illuminate the zoo during the long-running Holiday Magic season, on dates from November into January.
Tell me more about visiting Brookfield Zoo Chicago and the area west of Chicago
Ideal for a family day out, Brookfield Zoo Chicago is home to well over 3,400 animals. The zoo was constructed on ground donated by Edith Rockefeller McCormick and features a fountain that honours Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the USA and a notable conservationist.
Discover more about attractions west of downtown Chicago by visiting the Explore Oak Park and Beyond website.
Oak Park can be easily reached by public transport. The Green and Blue lines of the L, Chicago’s elevated rail system, run from the city centre.
The botanical gardens at Oak Pak Conservatory are open throughout the year. It is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The glasshouse dates from 1929 and houses more than 3,000 species of plants.
Chicago is famed for its architectural heritage. Frank Lloyd Wright was one of its stars. He designed several buildings in the Oak Park district, including his home and studio at 951 Chicago Avenue. That building can be visited during guided tours with a duration of roughly an hour.
One of its highlights is the Cheney Mansion, a six-bedroom home on 220 North Euclid Avenue in Oak Park. The house was designed in 1923 by Charles E. White, who worked in the studio of
Pleasant Home dates from 1897. At 217 Home Avenue in Oak Park, it is a leading example of Prairie School architecture. A National Historic Landmark since 1996, the 30-room house was designed by George W. Maher. It is regarded as the finest expression of his motif-rhythm theory.
Historic Homes and Gardens Tours combination visits have a duration of 3.5 hours, making the experience well-suited for a day trip from downtown Chicago.
The Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum, at 339 North Oak Park Avenue, is where the author of books including The Old Man and the Sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls was born, on 21 July 1899.
