Half-Price Admission to Point Defiance Zoo on Friday

Good news, fans of Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.

You can get into the zoo for half price on Friday.

Read on:

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is holding a special promotion on Friday: Half Day at the Zoo for Half the Price.

Hours for the general public, as well as members, are 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

About half the zoo will be open while The Zoo Society prepares for its annual gala fundraiser, Zoobilee, to be held Friday evening.

That means at-the-gate general admission of $8 for adults; $7.50 for seniors 65 and over; $6.25 for youths 5 to 12; and $4.13 for 3- and 4-year-olds.

But the half day doesn’t mean visitors will have only half the fun.

Kids’ Zone, Red Wolf Woods, Arctic Tundra, Rocky Shores, the Plaza Café, Gift Shop, camel rides and carousel will be open. However, the aquariums, Asian Forest Sanctuary, elephant exhibit and elephant barn will be closed for Zoobilee preparations.

So, visitors can see meerkats, lemurs and all manner of creatures in Kids’ Zone; walruses, seals, puffins and other animals at Rocky Shores; polar bears, Arctic foxes, muskoxen and reindeer in the Arctic Tundra area; red wolves at Red Wolf Woods – and a chance to spot the 2-month-old pups; and a tremendous live animal show at the Wild Wonders Outdoor Theater.

Visitors will be able to see the clouded leopard cubs, too. There will be a special clouded leopard encounter at 11:15 a.m.

Here’s the rest of the event schedule:

• 11 a.m.: Goat grooming in Kids’ Zone
• 11:30 a.m.: Polar Bear keeper talk, Arctic Tundra
• 11:45 a.m.: Wild Wonders Outdoor Theater preshow
• Noon: Wild Wonders Outdoor Theater presents “Captain Adventure vs. Dr. Do-Nothing: The Quest to Get Outside!”
• Marine mammal keeper talk, Rocky Shores
• 1 p.m. Red Wolf keeper talk, Red Wolf Woods
• 1:30 p.m.: Marine mammal keeper talk, Rocky Shores