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Location
Accessibility
Explorer-sized body dryers available
Visitor tip
Bring swimsuits and towels for the water play areas - the outdoor water pad with fountains and geysers is a major highlight, especially on hot San Diego days. The venue does sell suits and towels if you forget, but bringing your own saves money.
Visitor tip
Plan a meeting spot with your family before exploring the water area, as it's easy to lose sight of children among the many attractions. Staff are present throughout, but pre-planning prevents separation stress.
Quick Facts
- Type
- Zoo
- Size
- More than three acres
- Main Highlights
- Four habitat-themed nature play areas, reptile house, invertebrate greenhouse
- Experience
- Interactive animal encounters with hands-on play and learning
What visitors say
This new part of the zoo was opened in March 2022. There is a lot to see here and has some cutting-edge interactive exhibits for kids to play with. There are three parts to this area. The outdoor area has climbing obstacles and a water…
Amazing! Did someone from Disneyland draw the plans for this? Because the attention to detail, the set up, the many different areas to explore were all so stunning. I have been going to the SD zoo since I was kid living in SD, been…
We spent quite a bit of time here in this area! There are interactive exhibits to do inside the Spineless Marvels building. And tons to see in this area in general. There is a butterfly biosphere building too that I enjoyed. Also there…
From 15 Google reviews Read all reviews
Did You Know?
- Wildlife Explorers Basecamp opened in March 2022 as a newly built replacement of the children's zoo area at the San Diego Zoo, featuring cutting-edge interactive exhibits designed with attention to detail comparable to major theme parks
- The basecamp features a water play area with interactive water features including fountains and geysers, with explorer-sized body dryers available for guests to use after water play
- The facility spans two multi-story buildings with exhibits distributed across first and second floors, plus outdoor climbing obstacles, rope bridges, and spiral staircases, creating a large-scale immersive exploration experience
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