Campaign Updates

Construction of the Macon & Joan Brock Edventure Campus is underway!

The area has been cleared, and utilities are being placed underground.

Viewing boxes have been installed on the fence line for both adults and children to watch our progress.

We are excited to announce our new revamped and updated Zoo maps that include our newest campaign additions.

The Virginia Zoo is excited to announce groundbreaking for  the new Macon and Joan Brock EdVenture and Exploration Campus. This $16.2 million project will offer exciting, bold, mission-centric initiatives that will enhance our educational impact and deepen our connection to local forward-thinking education & conservation organizations.

Our vision is to create an EdVenturous world where everyone values wildlife education and the environment. This $16.2 million transformational campaign brings exciting, bold, mission-centric initiatives that reflect our community’s collective voice and enhances the Zoo’s educational impact deepening our connection to some of Hampton Roads’ leading education and conservation organizations. This is our largest fundraising effort in more than a decade and will completely reimagine several key areas of the Zoo.

Macon and Joan Brock EdVenture & Exploration Campus will allow unprecedented access to the Zoo’s most captivating creatures, showcase the amazing skills of our zoo keepers and serve as home base for our professional educator staff, volunteers, and our collection of animal ambassadors. A brand-new Animal Ambassador Headquarters will become a highly interactive space inspiring guests to learn about the importance of wildlife and wild places.

The sea lion pool, originally built in 1955, was upcycled to create The Kay and Al Abiouness Turtle Oasis. This habitat has become home for our rescued giant alligator snapping turtles and four other endangered turtle species. The Virginia Zoo is committed to saving Virginia’s freshwater turtles from extinction through the nationally recognized framework SAFE (Saving Animals from Extinction). Phase two of this project is incorporated into the new Brock EdVenture & Exploration Campus.

Technology plays an important role in educational interpretation. Through Zoo-wide connectivity, cameras will allow guests to virtually join our Zoo from around the world experiencing special wildlife moments and virtual reality will bring our guests to the wildlife out the in the world.

“The Virginia Zoo is fortunate to have strong community support who committed their resources early on and helped kick off our EdVenture & Exploration Campaign in a big way, inspiring other donors to also invest in our vision. The kindness and generosity of all our campaign donors will help us build a community at the Virginia Zoo that will benefit not only our Zoo, but the entire Hampton Roads region,” says Lynn Cobb, Virginia Zoological Society Board Member and Campaign Chair.”

Stay tuned for construction updates, here, as they become available!