Audubon Zoo

Audubon Zoo celebrates its 120th birthday in 2005. Generations of families share fond memories of walking in the park, rolling down Monkey Hill, delighting at the antics of the monkeys, or marveling at the graceful beauty of the whooping cranes—only recently returning to the zoo as part of a concentrated breeding program to boost their dwindling numbers. Open year-round, the zoo is consistently ranked one of the best in the country; nearly half a million people visit each year. Once in poor condition and dubbed an animal ghetto, Audubon Zoo’s rebirth in the 1970s was a success story worldwide.

No visit to the zoo would be complete without a trip to the Louisiana Swamp exhibit and a peek at one of the world-famous white alligators. Found in a swamp near Houma in 1987 as hatchlings, these rare leucistic animals are crowd-pleasers everywhere—they’ve traveled across the United State and as far away as Japan!

Audubon Aquarium
of the Americas

The success of Audubon Zoo encouraged Audubon Nature Institute officials to explore other opportunities to share their mission of Celebrating the Wonders of Nature, this time focusing on the expansive beauty of the undersea world. On Labor Day 1990, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas opened its doors to an eagerly awaiting public. The beautiful colors of the Caribbean Reef, the colony of playful penguins, thousands of unusual fish and birds, and a glimpse into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico drew more than 2.3 million people the first year. The aquarium continues to be Louisiana’s most visited paid tourist attraction, with nearly one million visitors each year. New exhibits have expanded the aquarium in the 15 years that have passed since that opening day—seahorses, jellyfish, frogs, and sea otters now delight visitors from around the world on a daily basis at the foot of Canal Street.

If you think taking care of your home aquarium or fish bowl is tough work, how’d you like to take on this project? To make the saltwater needed at the aquarium, several times a year 18-wheelers loaded with eight different types of salt pull in and unload nearly 900 80-pound bags of salt. Workers cut open the bags and pour them into giant holding vats beneath the floor of the aquarium where city water is waiting, purified and filtered. The liquid is mixed until the salinity is just right and then it is pumped into the many saltwater exhibits!

The fish, birds and mammals that call the aquarium home rate first-class meals, as well: The food they dine on is the same as food delivered to the restaurants that make the city’s cuisine so famous. In the case of Buck and Emma, the aquarium’s two Southern Sea Otters, the phrase “live to eat” takes on a whole new meaning. They eat 25 percent of their body weight every day in food, dining on shrimp, lobster, clams, squid, scallops and crab. How do they keep their svelte figures? Swimming in that 55-degree water with very thick hair and no blubber means they need all that food to stay warm!

Entergy IMAX® Theatre

Let’s face it, most of us will never climb Mt. Everest or blast off in a rocket ship headed for outer space. We probably won’t SCUBA dive around shipwrecks or take a safari to Africa. But we can tag along with filmmakers as they bring these exciting experiences to life on the giant screen. Next door to the aquarium, Entergy IMAX® Theatre is marking a decade of bringing larger-than-life films like these to New Orleans. One of just a handful of theatres in the country with its flat screen, high-definition, 3D capabilities, Entergy IMAX® Theatre and its five-and-a-half story-tall silver screen takes guests on incredible journeys—from the bottom of the sea to the top of the world, from the roar of race car engines to the silent beauty of space. With digital sound speakers as big as office desks, the sound of an IMAX film and the immersive nature of the giant screen makes watching IMAX unlike any other film experience. Currently, the theatre is showcasing its 3D capabilities with several films, each one carefully assembled by hand by trained projectionists.

Did you know that IMAX film is 10 times larger than regular movie film? The large film requires a very large projector. The one inside the projection booth at Entergy IMAX® Theatre is about the size of a small car, and the light bulbs that show the films on the giant screen are so bright that they could pinpoint a spot on the Moon from where they are on the riverfront! More than 500,000 people experience films at Entergy IMAX® Theatre each year, exploring our world in new and unusual ways.

Audubon Louisiana
Nature Center

One thing that never changes is the beauty of Louisiana’s outdoors. One of the best ways to learn about nature is simply to experience it yourself. Audubon Louisiana Nature Center offers walking trails, animal exhibits and interpretations to allow you to do just that. The center joined the Audubon family in 1994, when the already-established facility merged with Audubon. Hundred of thousands of people each year enjoy the chance to experience nature, learn about native plants and animals, and even reach for the skies with special programming at the Judith W. Freeman Planetarium. Located in Joe Brown Park in eastern New Orleans, Audubon Louisiana Nature Center first opened its doors in 1980. It was recently featured on The Learning Channel’s “While You Were Out”! The auditorium has an entirely new look, thanks to the talented folks of that TV program and the guidance of the center’s staff.

Audubon Center
for Research of Endangered Species

In addition to its public attractions and parks, Audubon Nature Institute also operates an excellent Research Center, which is not open to the public. Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species is leading the way with ground-breaking assisted reproduction for the world’s vanishing wildlife, and preserving the DNA of disappearing species while encouraging natural breeding of animals on spacious grounds.

Audubon Insectarium

Soon, a new attraction will join the Audubon Nature Institute family. Audubon Insectarium is scheduled to open later this year and will be the largest attraction of its kind in the country. Combining education, unique exhibits and incredible live insects, the insectarium will be located in part of the historic U.S. Custom House on Canal Street.

Did you know that for every human, there are 200 million insects? There are more insects in the world than any other animal, and thousands of new species are discovered every year. Without insects to pollinate our plants, beautify our gardens, and break down waste, life as we know it would cease to exist! Insects are the custodians of the Earth: The planet would be covered with waste if bugs weren’t around to clean things up. Audubon Insectarium is truly one-of-a-kind and infested with fun!

For more information, visit www.auduboninstitute.org, or call (800) 774-7394.