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Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo
3000 Northwest 83rd Street, Building Z, Gainesville, FL 32606, United States
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Ky
Review №1

This is a great place to take the kids when they are stir crazy from the indoors! The staff is very friendly and chatty. The trail is well taken care of and laid out. The only thing that I didn’t like too much is almost all the animals are in cages that seem so small for them. But I don’t know much about these things so don’t pay much attention to me :)

Da
Review №2

Wonderful place to visit!! Everyone is so friendly and you can tell they love their jobs!! The critters are happy too!!!!

Pa
Review №3

This is such a quick and small zoo. But the animals are great. They are all always out. They have set it up with a easy trail to follow and expect to spend about 1.5 hours. There is also a playground for kids and benches. It’s worth it!

Ge
Review №4

Friendly staff and well maintained.

Jo
Review №5

Great and well cared Teaching Zoo to bring the family. Friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Child friendly and relaxing.

Ce
Review №6

We love this spot! Theres so much to see and its very well cared for.My daughter and i love coming here. Having the playground is a great option as well. if you havent been, you gotta come!Support local and give this little gem a shot.

Am
Review №7

Love it here! Very well kept by the students and staff. Has a nice playground for little ones. Students are very knowledgeable and friendly. They have reptiles, an aviary, otters, lemurs, gibbons and more!

Da
Review №8

We took a quick road trip from JAX to do a day in Gainesville and this was our first stop. You cant beat the price and how quaint it is. There is definitely plenty to see and a playground for the kiddies. We loved the swinging gibbons and watched the male peacock try to impress the non-impressed females on the playground.

lo
Review №9

Horrible school for learning/teaching, teachers do not have actual teaching degrees. Majority of grading is done around opinions. One teacher has diagnosed Bipolar Disorder and has definitely taken it out on her students before (still does), oh and they don’t take COVID-19 seriously and continue classes despite multiple students being out tested for COVID-19. Don’t go here, they don’t care about you. Only your money.

de
Review №10

This is the greatest place friendly and knowledge staff have been a few times and will surley go many more love this place

Br
Review №11

We were very impressed! We took our 17 month granddaughter and it was the perfect day trip. Animals are well taken care of and have beautiful habitats to live in. Very friendly staff and students working there. I would recommend anyone, regardless of their age, to visit!! I cant believe this treasure has been this close to my home and I havent visited it before now!!

Ar
Review №12

A small and very well maintained zoo. The zoo had a nice variety of animals for the small scale zoo. Employees/students were pleasant as well.

Jo
Review №13

Very small zoo compared to the San Diego zoo, but it is nice. The staff is friendly and the animals are well taken care off. It’s worth visiting.

Vi
Review №14

This is our second visit. This is such an excellent value for family visit. Animals are all very fascinating and teaching staff knowledgeable. We had an amazing morning here.#travelformortals

sm
Review №15

Nice little zoo. Very relaxing and fun. Worth the $6 to enter. Staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. Wonderful for kids. Plus its shaded.

Pr
Review №16

Surprised, lots of animals. Had fun would go back.

Ma
Review №17

One of our stops on our day trip to Gainesville. We spent about an hour, hour and a half and really enjoyed it! Great little zoo for under $10 a person.

Wa
Review №18

This is a teaching zoo. So I enjoyed questioning the students and see if they knew the answers or had to look them up, but they always got the answers either way. I tried to stump the students, but they were very educated. Small but nice zoo with many different animals and reptiles too. Shaded are so not too hot in the sunshine and had tables for picnic area too. But enjoyed every moment.

Le
Review №19

Nice local zoo especially for children. Nice variety of animals, love the natural setting with the paths and fence. The exhibits are interesting and neat. Small, but well worth the cost!

Ga
Review №20

I went here as a feild trip and it was really fun and enjoyable I loved it so much it was awesome they had us see birds close by I saw a lot of animals

Fr
Review №21

A real gem! Small friendly quiet and shaded.

Ro
Review №22

Amazing experience, grandchildren were so excited.

Ry
Review №23

Theyre a relatively small zoo, but they have awesome exhibits and very friendly staff.

No
Review №24

This is one of THE BEST zoos in Florida. Loved the animals and zookeepers around to answer questions.

Ph
Review №25

This is one of the best things to do in Gainesville. It’s a small zoo, but the animals are exotic and cover a wide range. Well worth the price. You will probably spend an hour here.On prior reviews, I agree it is not wheel chair friendly given the mulch pathways. That’s literally the only down side. You will find the remainder of negative reviews are foolish at best.

A
Review №26

We stopped here during a short trip through Gainesville and it was just sad. The enclosures for a lot of these animals are tiny. There was a wild cat, I think an ocelot, that spent its whole time walking a circle in the enclosure. The only thing in the enclosure was a tree to sit on and dirt, so the poor animal circled the cage on a path so worn you could tell it spends everyday doing this. Most of the other enclosures were depressing too, but that was the one with an animal obviously stressed by captivity and understimulated. Honestly, I regret visiting and giving this place money because I just left depressed.

Se
Review №27

Ask them about the zookeeper for a day program. We spent a lot of time with their friendly and knowledgeable volunteers. The animals were nice too ;)

Li
Review №28

What a wonderful place. Exotic animals in a natural habitat, with enthusiastic student guides!

Ja
Review №29

Check for deals to visit, but we love this place. Its nothing huge, but a great place to visit!

Ka
Review №30

Such a great price to visit a zoo! Had a great time :)

Mo
Review №31

Great place. We love this zoo. We easily go 2-3 times a month. One suggestion: Have employees park in the large lot away from the main entrance. The parking lot along the grass is usually full and we are sometimes the only people there.

Lo
Review №32

Wonderful learning experience. Millie the Peregrine falcon is our favorite. Staff and students are wonderful and very willing to share their knowledge.

M.
Review №33

Everything about this facility is wonderful. The students who run it love their work and strive to protect the animals and environment they care for. The staff is amazing and does everything they can to create knowledgeable and caring people to preserve the world. The facility is beautiful and the amount of endangered species living here is astounding for a small zoo.

Ra
Review №34

Its a nice place that you can take your kids to there. Its small so you would likely just spend 1-2 hours there.I like they will donate a part of your ticket fee to three different events/associations. You can pick one you like the most and donate to it. You can see the description by the entrance.

Am
Review №35

We really enjoyed this little zoo! The students were friendly and happy to answer questions. I wish the animals cages were a bit bigger but they seemed to have adequate space to roam around. There was a very nice play area for the kids and they had some animals we hadnt seen before (tree kangaroos).

Ky
Review №36

Been to this zoo twice now and they have great assortment of animals here. 4 different kinds of primates and even a tree kangaroo so cool!! I would recommend giving this place a go if you have some kids or if you really love animals!

kr
Review №37

Whats a great little zoo with animals that you can get up close to. Perfect for young kids who would tire out trying to cover one of the big zoos and the environment is beautiful. The staff consists of students who are all very eager to share all they know about the animals with you and do a very good job of it ad well.

Am
Review №38

A wonderfully cozy zoo, natural habitats and knowledgeable, friendly zooies!

Li
Review №39

The College Zoo is unique in the diversity if animals they have. Students serve as staff and since this will be their profession really care about the animals... Awesome Experience

Am
Review №40

Extremely friendly staff and well kept sanctuaries. Fun and educational. Great community program. Fair admission price for families and friends alike.

Jo
Review №41

Great little zoo, and theyve done a nice job of blended the exhibits with the natural Florida habitat.Our little guy is a recent amputee, however, and the zoo was not easy for his wheelchair. The paths are all mulch and it was very difficult to get around. Wish we had know that before spending the money, he was so shaken up and sore by the ride that we only stayed for 20 minutes.

Na
Review №42

This was a great place to relax with the kids and have a great time looking at all the animals. My 2 year old and 4 year old boys were perfect and were able to walk around freely without the worrie of running off. Clean and very kid friendly. I believe we paid $16 for 2 adults and 2 kids. Animals were very nice and healthy. Hoping to see the bigger upcoming gift shop soon the next time we return. And yes we would go back again even if weve seen it before. That relaxing! We went in the month of March. Nice cool day.. The tree canopies gave a lot of shade and just stunning!! Oh, and they also have a small playground for the kids. Nice touch. No drinks of food sold but we brought a drink with us. Lots of convient recycle and trash cans throughout. Staff were nice and friendly. And the kids had a good time too. Hahaha..

Be
Review №43

Small zoo, not a huge collection but the grounds are very nice, and the staff were great. My 3 year old enjoyed the experience a lot, her favorite animal there were the lemurs.

Gr
Review №44

I am a teacher for a local elementary school and recently we had a field trip here. Saying it was horrible would be an understatement. They did not let me show my children that the toucans could talk. I was yelling profanity at the birds to try and teach the kids what to not never say and we were kicked out and not offered a refund.

Z
Review №45

Its hard to find good bagels outside of New York, but I figured I would try The Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo in Gainesville. Have to say Im disappointed. If youre looking for bagels made of hand crushed wheat, rare Himalayan milk, or seasonal ingredients; The Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo is not the place. They didnt even have any. One Star!

Th
Review №46

This place is most excellent. There were a ton of knowledgeable employees wandering to and fro. The heavy shade made it very comfortable. Theres a park for children.

Sh
Review №47

Cute and more like a conservation than a zoo! Staff was friendly and helpful and who can beat $5 entry? And lets not forget the awesome animals surprised by their collection!

Ri
Review №48

We went to Boo at the Zoo. It was a great experience with something to interest peeps of all ages. A yearly happening I keep on my calendar. You should too!

Sa
Review №49

Nice little zoo run by the University of Florida. Reasonably priced. Fun for the whole family.

Am
Review №50

High value for the low cost. Great for little kids who dont want to stay at a zoo all day.

Ja
Review №51

This was the worst zoo I have ever been to! There were supposed to be 75 animals and there were maybe 30. Most of them we couldnt see because the cages were so far away from the walkway you couldnt see the animals. There were a very limited number of species there.

Te
Review №52

Wonderful little zoo with a variety of animals. Definitely worth the trip, you wont be disappointed.

Ka
Review №53

Good zoo; nice park for kids.Only had one bad experience with one of the female workers there who was very rude and impolite to us when we told her we found a black racer snake in the mens bathroom. Instead of saying thanks she asked what we were doing in there. Idiot.

Th
Review №54

The staff is very friendly and the price is great. My daughters and I enjoyed ourselves.

An
Review №55

Very cool family friendly place. They are extremely respectful towards the animals and very knowledgeable.

ot
Review №56

Great lil zoo. Friendly staff. Some unique animals never seen in bigger zoos.

Al
Review №57

The Santa Fe zoo is a small, personal zoo that exceeded my expectations. The animals are very well taken care of and were very lively when I visited.

Mi
Review №58

Awesome learning environment. Definitely worth the trip

Ch
Review №59

The monkeys were great!!

ma
Review №60

Great little zoo

Au
Review №61

I graduated 8 years ago. The program isn’t worth a lifetime of debt.

Te
Review №62

Really good our guide was extremely helpful sweet as pie

Je
Review №63

Place is very clean and well kept. Staff is very friendly.

Jo
Review №64

Small, but packed full of exhibits. Friendly and knowledgeable staff.

Ph
Review №65

Cute small sized zoo for kids. Worth the time.

Je
Review №66

Wonderful kid-friendly Boo@theZoo

Pa
Review №67

Great place to take kids and adults.

Mi
Review №68

I like turtles.

Ka
Review №69

Very nice and affordable.

Da
Review №70

Very nice.

Ja
Review №71

Great place to go with smaller kids.

Wi
Review №72

Go mess with the carracle youll love it

Kr
Review №73

Great prices and lots to see!

d
Review №74

I gave them a 5 because they earned it

El
Review №75

My school

Information
100 Photos
75 Comments
4.5 Rating
  • Address:3000 Northwest 83rd Street, Building Z, Gainesville, FL 32606, United States
  • Site:http://sfcollege.edu/zoo
  • Phone:+1 352-395-5633
Categories
  • Tourist attraction
  • College
  • Educational institution
  • Zoo
Working hours
  • Monday:9am–2pm
  • Tuesday:9am–2pm
  • Wednesday:9am–2pm
  • Thursday:9am–2pm
  • Friday:9am–2pm
  • Saturday:9am–2pm
  • Sunday:9am–2pm
Accessibility
  • Wheelchair-accessible entrance:Yes
Amenities
  • Good for kids:Yes
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