The pants were patterned, the sunglasses were big and the weather was a perfectly pleasant 80 degrees when the ribbon was cut to officially open Wheaton’s Cosley Zoo on Aug. 17, 1974. On that sunny Saturday, what was then known as Cosley Animal Farm and Museum opened with a modest selection of domestic animals for area residents to visit.
Fast-forward 50 years to 2024, and Cosley Zoo—the zoo’s official name since 1999—now is home to more than 200 animals from across Illinois and North America. It is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), placing it in the top 10% of zoos and aquariums nationwide. And each year, the zoo welcomes more than 150,000 visitors from all across the nation.
One thing that hasn’t changed: the zoo’s commitment to inspiring lifelong interest in the natural world—and supporting this goal by offering free admission daily to all children ages 0-17.
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“We know that children who are connected to nature at a very young age grow up to be people who care about the environment and do things to improve it and take care of it,” says Susan Wahlgren, Cosley Zoo’s executive director. “It’s extremely important to create that connection at a young age.”
Kid visitors to Cosley Zoo today can discover and interact with a much wider variety of species than young guests in 1974 could (though the zoo’s furry and feathered barnyard residents, including goats, cows and a Norwegian fjord horse, remain a big hit). As of 2022, Cosley Zoo is also home to a pair of Canada lynx sisters, Sage and Poppy. There are also llamas, four-toed salamanders, a great horned owl, hedgehogs, North American porcupines Mabel and Sable, and lots more.
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Animal Encounters, offered each day, let kids learn up close about a particular animal from a member of the zoo’s animal care team. For $2, guests can feed ducks at the zoo’s 66,000-gallon duck pond, which opened in 1990. Little ones who need to get their climb on and work out some wiggles can do so at the zoo’s Nature Play area, which opened in 2013 and was enhanced in 2017. And an authentic Burlington railroad caboose, first brought to the zoo in 1975, now houses the “How Animals Are Like Me” exhibit, which focuses on similarities and differences between animals and people.
Since 2019, Cosley Zoo has been Certified Sensory Inclusive by KultureCity, designating it as an inclusive destination for those who have sensory processing disorders. Visitors to the zoo can check out sensory-friendly bags that include noise-canceling headphones, weighted lap pads, verbal cue cards and more.
Much has evolved over 50 years at Cosley Zoo, but the zoo’s mission “to create connections between people and animals that will inspire lifelong conservation of the natural world” remains the foundation of its work on a daily basis.
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Cosley Zoo is open 362 days a year and daily this summer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
On Saturday, Aug. 17, visitors from near and far are invited to Cosley Zoo’s 50th anniversary celebration, with special refreshments, a scavenger hunt, a craft station and more from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., plus swag bags for the first 100 guests. For more information and to plan your visit, head to cosleyzoo.org.
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