At the WCS Prospect Park Zoo: Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 25 and 26; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

At the WCS Queens Zoo: Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 1 and 2; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. After-School Halloween Party: Friday, Oct. 31; 3 to 4:30 p.m.

New York – Oct. 16, 2014 –Halloween fun awaits at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Prospect Park Zoo and Queens Zoo during the annual Boo at the Zoo weekend, presented by Canon.

Boo at the Zoo at the Prospect Park Zoo will be held on Saturday and Sunday, October 25 and 26, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Boo at the Zoo at the Queens Zoo will be held on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 1 and 2; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. An after-school Halloween party will take place on Friday, Oct. 31, 3 to 4:30 p.m.

Highlights include face-painting, crafts, pumpkin treats for the zoos’ animals, and much more.

Boo at the Zoo weekend activities at the WCS Prospect Park Zoo include:
  • Discovery Center – The zoo’s interactive play center will be open both days with games and crafts, all decorated for Halloween. (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
  • Pumpkin Treats - Dingoes and baboons will get treat filled pumpkins (Dingoes at noon and baboons at 2:30 pm) 
  • Meet an Animal – See a scaly creature at the Animals in Art Station (1 and 1:30 p.m.)
  • Face Painting – Zoo-goers will get in the spirit of the holiday with colorful face painting. (Noon to 3:00 p.m.)
  • Costume Parade and Dance Party – Children will participate in a fun costume parade and party in the Sea Lion Court. (Parade Time: 3:45 meet at barn; Dance Party: following the zoo’s 4 p.m. sea lion feed) 
  • Costumed Characters – The zoo’s costumed characters will be available for photo ops with visitors throughout the zoo. (11 a.m to 4 p.m.)
  • Scavenger Hunt – Solve some spooky clues that will lead you to some special animals around the zoo.
  • Spooky Barn – The barn area will be transformed into a haunted habitat, decorated festively for Halloween. (Please note: This activity is for older children. Noon to 3:30 p.m.)
  • Wildlife Witch Shows – Visitors will enjoy an educational play about creepy creatures and a witch’s potion. Live animal encounters are part of the fun. (Show times are 12:30, 1:30, 2, 3:15, 3:45 and 4 p.m. in the Zoo Theater.)
  • Halloween Crafts – The zoo’s Animals in Art area will be open for visitors to make Halloween-themed crafts. (11 a.m. to 1 pm and 2 - 5 p.m.)
  • Sea Lion Demonstrations – Both days at 11:30 a.m., 2 and 4 p.m.

More information can be found online at www.prospectparkzoo.com.

Boo at the Zoo weekend activities at the WCS Queens Zoo include:
  • Haunted Habitat – The zoo’s Wild Room will be turned into a Haunted Habitat decorated for Halloween. (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
  • Pick a Perfect Pumpkin – The early bird gets the pumpkin. The first 200 zoo-goers on each day will pick and decorate their own pumpkin on the zoo’s farm.
  • Spooky Animal Presentations – Snakes and other animals will be on exhibit in the zoo’s Discovery Center. (12:30, 2, and 3 p.m.)
  • Face Painting – Children will use colorful face paint to become lions, pumas, or bears for Halloween this year. (Noon to 3 p.m.)
  • Pumpkin Treats – Pumas and bears will tear into treat-filled pumpkins. (Pumas at 1 p.m. and Andean bears at 2:30 p.m., both days.)
  • Trick or Treating – Treat stations stocked with all kinds of goodies will be located around the zoo. (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
  • Crafts – Children will make and take home a festive Halloween craft. (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
  • Dress to Impress – Children 12 and under in costume accompanied by an adult will receive free admission. 
A special after-school Halloween party will take place Friday, Oct. 31 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Activities include a Haunted Habitat, Spooky Crafts, and Live Animal Encounters. Trick-or-treat stations will be spotted around the zoo. Children 12 and under in costume with an adult receive free admission.

More information can be found online at www.queenszoo.com 

CONTACT:
Barbara Russo: 718-265-3428; brusso@wcs.org 
Max Pulsinelli: 718-220-5182; mpulsinelli@wcs.org
Steve Fairchild: 718-220-5189; sfairchild@wcs.org
The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Prospect Park Zoo – $8 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. 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. November through March. The Prospect Park Zoo is located at 450 Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. For further information, call 718-399-7339 or visit www.prospectparkzoo.com.

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Queens Zoo – Open every day of the year. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors 65 and older, $5 for kids 3-12, free for children under 3. Zoo hours are 10am to 5pm weekdays, and 10am – 5:30pm weekends, April through October, and 10am – 4:30pm daily, November through April. The Queens Zoo is located at 53-51 111th Street in Flushing Meadow’s Corona Park in Queens. For further information, call 718-271-1500 or visit www.queenszoo.com.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) - MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. VISION: WCS envisions a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in more than 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: www.wcs.org; facebook.com/TheWCS;youtube.com/user/WCSMedia; follow: @theWCS.

Note to the Media: If you would like to guide your readers or viewers to a Web link where they can make donations in support of helping save wildlife and wild places, please direct them to www.wcs.org.