The Elmwood Park Zoo on Wheels

The Zoo staff teach about wildlife and their habitats, and the importance of protecting our essential biomes. All programs feature three live animals and touchable artifacts!

Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown, Pennsylvania was founded in 1924, when a private landowner donated a small piece of property and a handful of white-tailed deer to the Borough of Norristown.  Run by the Borough as a division of Elmwood Park, the Zoo exhibited a collection of animals throughout the 1920s, including monkeys, bears, peacocks, deer, raccoons, and rabbits.  Popular for its exhibits, the Zoo was also a destination because of the natural spring that provided clean water to borough residents.

Today, Elmwood Park Zoo welcomes over 130,000 visitors annually for an educational adventure in a fun and family-oriented environment.  Though constantly expanding and improving, the Zoo retains much of its history.  The old Spring House has become an administrative office, and the original Zoo office, constructed in 1924, still stands toward the rear of the Zoo.

The Zoo moves ever forward guided by our mission, “ to foster an appreciation of wildlife and their habitat that will inspire active participation in conservation.”  With a belief that the best way to teach a child is through play, the master plan envisions a Zoo where children can experience the life of an animal first-hand; whether tunneling underground like a prairie dog or viewing eagles from atop a life-sized bald eagle's nest, children will find their imaginations captured as they tour a Zoo unlike anything they've seen before!

Free with Gardens admission. First-come, first-served seating.

The Elmwood Park Zoo on Wheels is part of Longwood's special OrKid Days, where kids can spend the day at Longwood enjoying concerts and activities for the whole family!