• Festivities include Halloween treats for everyone – even the animals

Brooklyn, N.Y. – October 7, 2011 – The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Prospect Park Zoo is hosting its annual Boo at the Zoo – a family-friendly Halloween extravaganza – all day Saturday, October 29 and Sunday, October 30. Festivities include costumes, arts and crafts, and treats for the animals that will make this a frighteningly fun weekend.

No Halloween celebration is complete without bats, and the zoo’s nocturnal exhibit provides the perfect setting for a dark and creepy look into the world of bats and other creatures of the night.

The barn has been transformed with special lighting and fog to create the Zoo’s famous Spooky Barn experience. Favorite characters include a zombie, mummy, a vampire, and a chef with a surprise dish on the menu.

WCS Prospect Park Zoo’s Boo at the Zoo line-up of activities include:

  • Haunted Attractions – From noon to 3:30 p.m., visit the Spooky Barn, see creepy creatures throughout the zoo, and learn about bats in the nocturnal area.
  • Halloween arts and crafts – Zoo goers can create Halloween bookmarks to take home at the art station.
  • Pumpkins for baboons – Don’t miss the baboon troop receive their Halloween surprise at 2:30 p.m.
  • Keeper Chats – Learn more about the animals from the people who take care of them: 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. – Rodrigues Fruit Bat
  • Face Painting – Be a Hamadryas baboon or a toucan for Halloween this year. Zoo-goers can get in the spirit of the day with colorful face painting from 12-3 p.m.
  • Wildlife Witch Shows – See a magical, educational play about creepy creatures and a witch’s potion. Live animals will be in the show and the audience will get to touch one. 12:30, 1:30, 2:00, 3:15, 3:45, and 4:30 p.m. at the Animals in our Lives Theater.
  • Spook-tacular Discovery Center – From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. visit the interactive education area where children can meet creepy crawlies, read Halloween stories, see our great horned owl, and play some spooky games.
If one weekend of Boo at the Zoo isn’t spooky enough, WCS’s Bronx and Queens Zoos also hold Boo at the Zoo, and the New York Aquarium will hosts its annual Halloween Ascarium events on select weekends throughout October. Dates and details are available on each facility’s website.

Boo at the Zoo and Ascarium at the New York Aquarium and Bronx Zoo are presented by Pepsi.

CONTACT:
Sophie Bass: 212-439-6527; sbass@wcs.org
Max Pulsinelli: 718-220-5182; mpulsinelli@wcs.org
Steve Fairchild: 718-220-5189; sfairchild@wcs.org

Prospect Park Zoo – $8.00 for adults, $6 for seniors 65 and older, $5 for kids 3-12, free for children under 3. Zoo hours are 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. weekdays, and to 5:30 P.M. on weekends and holidays, April through October. The Prospect Park Zoo is located at 450 Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. For further information, call 718-399-7339 or visit http://www.prospectparkzoo.com.

The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony. WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth.