David Traylor Zoo Kicks Off Summer with Zoo Month and Plenty of Events Throughout the Summer

June is Zoo Month meaning the David Traylor Zoo has prepared plenty of events for June and it will kick off a slew of events they will hold throughout the summer.

With summer kicking off, the zoo will now operate under summer hours which will see Sundays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays operate from 10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. and for the other days the zoo will operate from 10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Before getting into the Zoo Month events, the zoo has already begun the Kazoo Wild Adventure event, which sees all seven AZA accredited zoos in Kansas collaborating for the event.

"We all got together and decided why not promote each other, so there is a passport program going on called Wild Adventure and you can get a passport at any of the zoos," Executive Zoo Director Brenda Young said. "For the zoos [that you can get a passport from], are us, the Hutchinson Zoo, Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City, Rolling Hills Zoo in Salina, Sedgewick County Zoo in Wichita, Sunset Zoo in Manhattan, and the Topeka Zoo. We are just promoting the gold standard of care for animals and getting involved with our visitors. We encourage people to support our local Kansas State AZA Zoos."

Kicking off the Zoo Month festivities, the David Traylor Zoo will hold a Stroll-n-Show tomorrow on June 12 for the community that will be capped off with a showing of Zootopia.

"We've got some activities going on around the zoo starting around 5:00 p.m. and right around 6:45 we will usher people down to the Education Center and watch Disney's Zootopia," Young said. "We've got a couple crafts for the kids to do, an obstacle course, and we will be giving out badge stickers."

She adds that for the viewing it can be seen inside the Education Center or right outside the Education Center, and that they will provide popcorn for the viewing.

Later this month, the zoo will have its annual open house on June 28 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. to show people an inside view of the zoo while also visiting the friends of the zoo. Those will be the main events for Zoo Month, but Young adds that they could have pop up events throughout the month.

Going further into the summer, July will see the zoo hold a handful of events as two kids camps will be held, and zookeeper week is in July. The first camp will be held on July 6 through July 10. The second camp will be held at the end of July on the 27th and run through the 31st alongside Zookeeper week. Young adds that the first camp slots are filled, but that there is a waitlist for those who are interested.

With the kids out of school, and a summer slate full of events at the zoo, the David Traylor Zoo will look to be an option for families this summer and for the rest of the year.

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This story was originally published June 14, 2026 at 9:43 AM.