The San Diego Zoo announces that it is opening the Danny Sandford Wildlife Expolorers Basecamp next month.
Coming on March 11, Denny Sanford basecamp will be opening up to the public for a new experience at the San Diego Zoo. In this designed project, guests will be able to bring their families to experience nature in a unique way.
This basecamp will introduce up-close interactive play on oversized sculptures, offering special elements for a more engagement approach to the park. The park will also include microscopes, animation and dynamic installations inside the building, along with touch screens across the basecamp.
This month, prairie dogs and burrowing owls have already been making their move to the Denny Sanford Explorers Basecamp, as well as Orb-weaver spiders that have started spinning their new spider-webs, and other wildlife animals such as Fijian iguanas, dragon-headed katydids and axolotls are now being integrated to their future habitats as they prepare for the grand-opening of this project in March.
This new site is replacing what once was the Children's Zoo, with the objective of appealing to a broader demographic while still intriguing its young wildlife explorers. The park is reportedly measured at 3.2 acres, and will divided into four different categories of habitats, including Rainforest, Wild Woods, Marsh Meadows and Desert Dunes.
Features in each habitat:
Rainforest: This area will be designated to feature arachnids, a beehive with a massive honeycomb, and a coconut crab habitat, all costumed to intrigue young guests. This habitat's neighbor, Rady Ambassador Headquarters, will include a variety of animals for guests to encounter, including a sloth and a porcupine.
Wild Woods: This area will include a dynamic tree structure that will offer several access points for visiting guests, including a suspension bridge and a unique net tunnel. Water-play will also reach into this particular woodland-themed area, including a waterfall grotto, water jets and a water stream.
Marsh Meadows: This section of the new project will present a display of plant-life to summon a wide-range of habitats, including a marshes, swamps and and forested wetland, otherwise known as swamps. This area will also include the "Art and Danielle Engel Cool Critters" building made of a two-story herpetology and ichthyology structure. This area is made of a 7,000 square feet home to mesmerizing environments, and a digital media world constructed to provide learning experiences for guests of all ages to engage. This wildlife area will also include snakes, amphibians, crocodiles and lizards, such as the endangered Fijian iguanas.
Desert Dunes: And lastly for the dry habitat, this section will provide a unique experience to engage within this wash-theme area of the basecamp, where its boulder-play will include climbing, scrambling, hopping and other opportunities. This section will include reptile sculptures among the rock and cave area that includes a shade area for visitors to avoid the heat.
The formal ribbon-cutting opening ceremony for Wildlife Explorer Basecamp will be held on the morning of Friday, March 11 at 9:30 a.m. This opening ceremony will be hosted by President and CEO of the Zoo's Wildlife Alliance, Paul Baribault.
