Opening soon!
Click here to learn about the new spaces.
Opening soon!
Click here to learn about the new spaces.
The Zoo has been transforming before our eyes since construction began on Primate Forest in September 2024.
Primate Forest represents a transformation and significant expansion of The RainForest that leverages state-of-the-art technology and the latest research on animal care and conservation to create a new home for gorillas, orangutans, and hundreds of other animal and plant species.
CrossCountry Mortgage Forest Home
A vanguard space that will immerse visitors in the magic inherent in nature, the CrossCountry Mortgage Forest Home leads with reverence and wonder and inspires guests to notice - and engage with
Upon entering the building, guests will be transported to a place both familiar and fantastic. Towering, interactive trees and floor-to-ceiling video projection will immerse visitors in awe-inspiring narrative reflections of forests’ intricacies and rhythms, and a “Hero Tree” will glow responsively as guests engage with it, illustrating the invisible, communicative abilities of trees.
Continuing in the CrossCountry Mortgage Forest Home, the Learning Gallery builds on this inspiring experience by inviting guests to learn more about their role in a healthy future for our planet.
Michael Talty and Helen Talty Charitable Trust Learning Gallery
With experiences designed to spark curiosity, illuminate impactful career paths, and empower positive action for a sustainable future, the Michael Talty and Helen Talty Charitable Trust Learning Gallery will build on Primate Forest’s theme of interconnectedness with opportunities to take in the benefits of nature and explore ways to protect it into the future.
Lubrizol Connections Studio
A touchscreen activity will match guests with a diverse lineup of change-makers from around the world and right here in Northeast Ohio to share how they turned their personal passions into positive action – and perhaps inspire future career paths.
Dr. Vasu & Lisa Pandrangi Family Forest Theater
A tranquil theater space will display breathtaking video of forests around the world, immersing guests in the sights and sounds of healthy forest ecosystems and offering a gentle narrative about how time in nature supports human well-being.
Cleveland Foundation Sustainable Future Design Lab
This interactive space will invite visitors to envision what a regenerative future might look like in Cleveland and beyond – and give them the power to redesign the city with nature elements and a focus on sustainability and the environment.
After using an interactive kiosk to design a new city, the images can be published on a media wall for Zoo guests to see – and perhaps get inspired to design their own.
PNC Adventure Playspace
This large, indoor playspace on the second level of Primate Forest will feature a naturalistic design that draws inspiration from the facility’s focus on forests as well as the orangutans that call it home.
The space will look out over the outdoor orangutan habitat and Gorilla Forest, so as children play they may see the great apes moving and exercising as well! The PNC Adventure Playspace will be a must-visit destination for families – and a tremendous resource during the colder months.
Samuel H. Miller Foundation Tropical Forest
The former RainForest building will remain familiar to Zoo goers while boasting renovations and upgrades that offer new experiences.
In Canopy Connections, located in the former Researcher’s Hut area, visitors enter the layered world of the forest canopy to explore how animals navigate, connect, and thrive above the forest floor. Featuring an elevated play bridge, climbable cluster logs, and views into the orangutan habitat, visitors can explore the concept of connecting fragmented habitats.
The former theater seating area on the first floor will be the new Civic Action For Wildlife and Environment Center, where guests will be encouraged to consider the unique role they can play in shaping their community. Built as a hub for dialogue and reflection, the space invites guests – especially teens – to explore how individual voices and collective community efforts can shape local, state, and national conservation policies.
Where the ant habitat once was, the Care and Conservation Center will showcase the Zoo’s leadership role in breeding threatened reptiles and amphibians to support populations in the wild. Plains garter snakes, Puerto Rican crested toads, and spotted turtles may be visible in multiple phases of development through the seasons as the keepers contribute to securing their future in their native habitats.
Orangutan Forest
Primate Forest's expanded, reimagined orangutan habitat is designed to maximize the apes’ wellbeing, promote natural behaviors, and give visitors never-before-seen glimpses into the Zoo’s husbandry practices. With its world-class science and animal care teams, the Zoo is building a space centered around key contributors to these great apes’ health.
“Sway trees” will replicate the experience of scaling a tree as it moves with the wind, and long ropes will allow for more brachiating, the branch-to-branch swinging movement that carries them through the forest canopy. The addition of outdoor access will offer new, natural sights and smells for the orangutans, including people! With these apes, observation is reciprocal – just as Zoo guests will enjoy new ways to watch them, they will also enjoy new people-watching options.
Through positive reinforcement training, the orangutans learn to participate voluntarily in blood draws, EKGs, cardiac ultrasounds, nebulizer treatments, and more. Primate Forest will invite visitors to watch these important health checks for the first time ever in its “health management hubs.”
Still to Come: Gorilla Forest
The full vision for Primate Forest will be realized in the next phase of construction, when the Gorilla Forest adds 25,000 square feet of lush, indoor forest environment to the structure.
ETFE roofing that allows UV light to pass through will maximize natural daylight cycles for animals and support the growth of full-size trees and plants, creating a veritable forest for both gorillas and their human visitors to enjoy year-round.
The growing gorilla troop’s habitat spaces will be connected by multiple routes to increase choice for them – and flexibility for the keepers in managing social dynamics. Gorillas’ biological and ecological needs are central to the design of these habitat spaces, which will support their best health while affording guests new and unique views into their natural behaviors. Like the Orangutan Forest, health management hubs will create space for animal keepers and veterinary staff to conduct voluntary, positive-reinforcement training, collect data, and perform medical procedures – all in guest view.
Still to Come: A New Footprint
The final phase of Primate Forest includes a reimagined arrival and navigation experience for visitors that unifies the RainForest with the rest of the Zoo in one campus.
Getting to the Zoo will be easier than ever with designated guest drop-off areas, connected neighborhood bike paths to the Zoo, and a widened Wildlife Way Road for managing traffic flow.
Your philanthropic support will make
Primate Forest possible.
Please reach out to our team to hear more about how you can support Primate Forest.
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