Have you ever fantasized about walking down the red carpet alongside the stars who attend the Oscars? We can’t promise you’ll make it to Hollywood, so we’re bringing Tinseltown to the Phoenix Zoo with the the Zoocademy Awards!

Join our Ambassador Animal Resources team and their cast of animal stars who have worked tirelessly to develop this fun, engaging and educational event.

Many zoos hire outside contractors to produce their animal shows. Here at the Phoenix Zoo, we do all of our show production in-house, utilizing our creative staff to design a dynamic show that is uniquely us.

The Ambassador Animal Resources team is comprised of 12 staff who work cooperatively to brainstorm show themes, write an entertaining script, train engaging animal behaviors, build awards-themed props and sets, film and edit accompanying video, and then merge all of it together to deliver a seamless production.

We have several goals in mind when we develop a new animal show. First and foremost, it’s incredibly important to us that our animals are presented in a way that demonstrates respect for the individual animal and its species, while at the same time ensuring our guests are having so much fun during the show they don’t even realize how much they’ve been learning!

We also strive to have as many animals as possible showcase independent behaviors, meaning they are out on stage “performing” their trained routine without a trainer directing them where to go next.

Additionally, we want to create an immersive experience for the audience, allowing them to make decisions that guide the direction of the show and even have the animals interacting with them.

There’s nothing quite like feeling the air stir above your head as a king vulture flies over, or hear laughs of delight when a hyacinth macaw takes a dollar bill from your hand and drops it into a donation box.

Finally, we design our shows so they are different every day. That means guests can return again and again, getting something new and enjoyable out of their experience each time.

Want to get in on all the action? The Zoocademy Awards is free with admission to the Zoo and runs daily at 10:30 a.m. with additional shows on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. (weather permitting).