Take a tour with a docent! Docents are highly trained volunteers who give exciting tours on every Zoo topic you can imagine.
Perhaps you're interested in conservation, or the animals of Africa, or the Zoo's exquisite gardens? The docents can enhance your Zoo visit with a tour selected from a wide-range of topics. They can even design a tour tailored to your specific interests! Special docent tours are available for children and the visually impaired.
Call 215-243-5317 for reservations. Tours are given upon availability, requiring a two week advance notice. Not all tours are available at all times. Please call for pricing.
Thematic Tours
Thematic tours cover topics in zoology and conservation - everything from animals' adaptations to their environments to mating habits
- Conservation/Endangered Species: Emphasis is on endangered species at our zoo, why they're endangered, and what the zoo is doing to help.
- Adaptations: Emphasis on the various ways animals adapt to their surroundings, thus improving their chances of survival.
- Up Close and Personal (adults only): Emphasis on mating and reproductive habits throughout the animal kingdom.
- Bible: Emphasis on the animals' role in biblical history.
- Reptiles and Amphibians: Emphasis on these special animals with a reputation for being creepy and crawly.
About the Zoo Tours
There's more to the Zoo than animals! Learn more about the Philadelphia Zoo on these popular tours
- Art and Architecture: Emphasis on the origin, design and structure of buildings, artwork, and sculptures on the zoo grounds.
- Horticulture: Emphasis on the flora that make the Philadelphia Zoo more than just a home for fauna.
Children's Tours
For our younger visitors, our docents offer special tours
- The Five Senses: Emphasis on how animals use their five senses (hearing, taste, touch, smell, and sight) to survive in their environment.
- Adaptations: Emphasis on body coverings and other biological changes animals undergo over time to survive in their particular part of the world.
Personalized Tour
Tell us which animals in the Zoo's collection interest you. Then our docents will design a tour just for you!