Dickerson Park Zoo is 'celebrating all year long' as it marks centennial
It's been a century since it started, and Dickerson Park Zoo is celebrating all year long.
For every month, Dickerson Park Zoo will host a celebration of sorts. Public Relations and Marketing Director Joey Powell said historical videos are being posted on the zoo's social media, Friends of the Zoo members will get birthday goodies, membership deals are available and a 100th birthday party is slated for July 15.
"We don't know the actual date, so we're just celebrating all year," Powell said.
The zoological park got its start in the 1920s
Dickerson Park Zoo was created in 1923, Powell said. A year before, the city zoo was operating at Phelps Grove Park. The city acquired 100 acres from the estate of Jerome Dickerson St. that now houses the zoo.
During the 1930’s various federal programs such as the Works Progress Administration helped develop the area. Dickerson Park Zoo along with zoos in general are not what they were "30, 40, even 20 years ago" with the advances of science, technology, research and more, Powell said.
"I remember coming as a kid and seeing a lion in that building," Powell said about the WPA buildings. "The way that the zoo was so many years ago to where it is now, it's just a real jewel that Springfield can be proud of, not just in the way we preserved what we could from the history of the 100, like we still use some of those buildings in certain capacities, but the exhibits and the welfare of the animals is so greatly improved and that's something to really be proud of."
An upcoming March video will feature Friends of the Zoo and how it got its start in the 1950s.
"Basically, when the zoo was really struggling, a group of citizens came together and said, 'Hey, we're going to help,'" Powell said about the nonprofit forming. Friends of the Zoo generates revenue that funds vital zoo projects and programs.
Gaining Association of Zoos and Aquariums accreditation in 1986, growing the raptor rehabilitation program and more has spurred Dickerson Park Zoo into conservation as well, Powell added.
"We're hoping that, this year, we're going to really be able to share that story more," Powell said.
What does the next century look like at the zoo?
Dickerson Park Zoo's master plan is in the process of being revisited, but Powell reminded readers that "we're never going to be St. Louis or Kansas City" zoos.
"We're just not that size and, quite honestly, for a town the size of Springfield to even have a zoo is pretty remarkable," Powell said. "I wake up every day and think, 'How can I get people to come to the zoo?'"
"I always tell people, 'It's the most exotic 1.2-mile walk in Greene County,'" Powell continued. "You're dodging peacocks, you're hearing a lion roar and seeing all kinds of things. Plus, it's the Ozarks, so you're not walking just flat."
About Dickerson Park Zoo
More than 360,000 people visit the zoo annually;
The zoo is home to about 450 species;
Zoo animals among the Species Survival Plan include tigers, golden lion tamarins and maned wolves.
Dickerson Park Zoo is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. November-February and daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March-October.
Sara Karnes is an Outdoors Reporter with the Springfield News-Leader. Follow along with her adventures on Twitter and Instagram @Sara_Karnes. Got a story to tell? Email her at skarnes@springfi.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Dickerson Park Zoo is 'celebrating all year long'
