Indianapolis Zoo Announces The Campaign for Our Zoo, Our Community, Our World

On Dec. 1, the Indianapolis Zoo announced The Campaign for Our Zoo, Our Community, Our World, which funds multiple major initiatives highlighted by a guest Welcome Center experience, Global Center for Species Survival, and the new International Chimpanzee Complex. The $53 million capital investment will expand guest capacity with a reimagined Zoo entry and Welcome Center taking guests through the White River Gardens and into the new Global Center for Species Survival. The Zoo has reached 60 percent if its campaign goal.

The guest Welcome Center entry experience and Global Center for Species Survival open Memorial Day Weekend, 2023. The International Chimpanzee Complex presented by Central Indiana Honda Dealers will open summer of 2024. The Complex will give visitors a unique view of the chimpanzees as the apes travel across the Zoo’s campus to multiple locations of their choice.

The Campaign will put the Indianapolis Zoo at the very center of local, national, and international conservation strategy through the Global Center for Species Survival, a first-of-its-kind partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world’s premiere organization focused on species survival. The Global Center operates as a sort of mission control as it supports and connects thousands of conservation experts worldwide working to secure a future for animals, fungi, and plants. The Campaign also advances chimpanzee care with a groundbreaking environment that will cover a large portion of the Zoo’s footprint that fully engages visitors and allows them to make a personal connection with chimpanzees. Indianapolis Zoo President and CEO Dr. Rob Shumaker, along with the Zoo’s Board Members, donors and staff gathered at the IMAX Theater in the Indiana State Museum in White River State Park on the evening of Dec. 1 to officially announce the campaign and reveal the significant new International Chimpanzee Complex. Together, the Chimpanzee Complex, Global Center for Species Survival, and the guest Welcome Center entry experience create a paradigm-shifting core exhibit that will change regional, national, and international perceptions of Indianapolis.

“The Indianapolis community has enthusiastically embraced our campaign, and we are deeply appreciative,” said Dr. Rob Shumaker. “Our ability to protect nature and inspire people to care for our world is being transformed and the impact will be felt locally, nationally, and internationally. We are privileged to be part of this important work.”