The Lincoln Children’s Zoo was initiated by Arnott Folsom in 1959 using his own money. In 1965, he opened the zoo with only 120 animals and has become the only privately funded zoo in Lincoln. All of these animals were sold at the end of the season to save on staff. Mr. Folsom wanted to create the zoo especially for the children and they are the reason why interacting with the animals has been highly encouraged and implemented until today.

Considered as a prized jewel of Nebraska, the Lincoln Children’s Zoo is 1 of the 5 zoos in the U.S. committed to teach the young ones about caring for nature and active environmental protection. This is made possible through the zoo’s child-friendly facility that allows kids to view and interact with the animals with ease.