Four days left to see the traveling sea lion experience

“During the first 19 days here, almost thirty thousand people have made it out to the zoo to be part of the sea lion experience,” said Zoo Director Brendan Wiley.

Sea Lion Splash is included with the daily admission fee and the habitat is available to guests from 9:00 to 5:00.  At 11:00, 1:00 and 3:00 the Sea Lion Splash team does special performances.  During the presentations, guests learn about the differences between seals and sea lions, about challenges sea lions face in the wild including their predators and why recycling is important here in Kansas to protect ocean health.  “There presentations have a strong educational message that is presented in a really fun and entertaining way,” said Wiley.

With time running out, it also means that there is just one evening performance left.  The first two Thursday night performances raised almost $6,000 to support Camp Cowabunga, the new safari experience under construction at the Topeka Zoo.

On Thursday evenings during the time that Sea Lion Splash is here, the Zoo reopens at 5:30.  A special Sea Lion Splash performance will occur at 6:30.   Admission on these special evenings is a $5.00 donation for everyone over the age of two.  All donations go directly to the Camp Cowabunga project.

During the evening Sea Lion Splash events, all attendees are given a raffle ticket providing each guest with a chance to win one of a variety of prizes including a painting painted by Kitty the sea lion, t-shirts and gift cards to a variety of places.  Additional raffle tickets can be purchased at the event.  All raffle proceeds support Camp Cowabunga.

Camp Cowabunga is a safari themed zoo experience that features African lions, painted dogs, patas monkeys, dik-dik and guinea fowl.  It will connect guests to a rugged safari experience and includes a children’s Exploration Play Area, roaring rocks, bucket shower and many other interactive and interpretive features.

Camp Cowabunga is the first project being built in a Zoo master plan that was developed in 2012.  When completed, Camp Cowabunga will be the largest project in the Zoo’s history.  The $4.5M project is funded through a combination of designated sales tax and private donations.  For more information, visit www.campcowabunga.org .