Dickerson Park Zoo: where nature nurtures you
Want to feed a cracker to a giraffe? Get face to face with a goat? Let nature nurture you for a few hours or for the whole day at Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield.
The 72-acre (55 acres developed) zoo is home to 450 animals representing 160 species, including the Asian elephant, Malayan tiger, cheetah, mountain lion, black bear, gray wolf and other exotic mammals.
Visitors will find colorful birds such as the Chilean flamingo and the yellow-throated toucan, the laughing kookaburra and the majestic bald eagle.
A zoo highlight is the giraffe feeding station, where visitors can get up close and personal with the long-necked critters. Giraffe crackers, $2 per package, are available when an attendant is present on the elevated deck.
The Outback Corral offers a chance for visitors to pet and photograph a variety of friendly animals. Dickerson Park Zoo was founded in 1922 and developed in the 1930s with the help of WPA labor.
Over the coming decades, however, the attraction suffered from lack of support and was on the verge of closing in the 1970s before a rescue was organized by the city of Springfield and a newly formed support group now known as Friends of the Zoo.
The revitalized and much-improved attraction was accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association in 1986 and participates in several "Species Survival Plans," including efforts to aid Asian elephants, maned wolves and cheetahs.
The zoo is located northeast of the intersection of Interstate 44 and Missouri Highway 13. Its open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April-September and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. October-March.
Standard admission is $7 for adults and teens, $5 for children 3–12 and seniors. Kids under 3 are free.
- by Ivonne Rovira, Springfield Reporter for HelloMetro
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Ivonne RoviraA graduate of the prestigious Columbia University School of Journalism in New York City, Ivonne Rovira worked as a reporter for the Miami News, The Miami Herald and The Associated Press. She has written articles for The National Catholic Reporter and The Courier-Journal. For more than 15 years, Ivonne wrote and edited articles aimed at middle-school children.
