Sup!
Recently, I traveled through the Twin Cities (Minneapolis & St. Paul) on my way to western Ontario. Before heading up to Canada, I was able to visit two zoos - the Minnesota Zoo and the Como Park Zoo (sometimes shortened to the Como Zoo). I actually went to the Minnesota Zoo first and spent a lot more time there, but I will blog about the Como Zoo first since it was smaller and thus easier to write a post about.
Here are my Minnesota posts:
K1: Como Park Zoo & Conservatory (this post)
K2: Minnesota Zoo
There is no Minnesota backlog at the moment!
All of the pictures in this post were taken by me except for the map of the zoo. If you want to use any of my photos, please contact me to first obtain permission. Of course the copyrights to the art itself belongs to the appropriate artists, who I have credited/referenced.
COMO PARK ZOO & CONSERVATORY
1225 Estabrook Drive
St. Paul, MN 55103
Website: https://comozooconservatory.org/
Hours:
The day after Labor Day – April 30: 10 AM – 4 PM
May 1 – Labor Day: 10 AM – 6 PM
September 9 – April 26, 2027: The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory will be open until 6 PM on Mondays
Cost (as of 2026): FREE!
While admission is free, Como Zoo does request voluntary donations of $8 for adults and $5 for children. The system reminds me of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, CA which is also free but suggests donations.
Parking is free as well.
Estimated Time: 1 hour. You can add another 30 - 60 minutes if you are also visiting the conservatory and another 30 minutes if you want to see some of the free shows or talks.
I spent 1.5 hours which was more than enough to go through most of the zoo twice. I did not have the time to visit the conservatory - I'll stop by the next time I am in town. And I only managed to make one of the talks.
SUMMARY
Como Zoo is a small zoo with an attached conservatory and a small amusement park ("Como Town") for kids. The zoo portion only has a handful of animals, though there are several exotic ones, and can be fully toured in under an hour. I didn't have enough time to visit the conservatory. I did walk through Como Town and all the rides are for small children. It actually reminded me of Happy Hollow Park & Zoo in San Jose, CA, which is a hybrid zoo + kid's amusement park. I would rate Como Zoo as an average 2 stars mainly because it is free. If it were a paid zoo, it would probably be closer to 1 star because the zoo portion is so small and might not be worth the hypothetical admission price.
My favorite part of Como Zoo was surprisingly the art. During my visit, there was a special Washed Ashore exhibit full of giant animal sculptures made of plastic and other marine debris. The zoo also has a lot of Sparky sea lion sculptures from a city-wide event a few years ago. It was fun exploring the zoo and discovering each of the Washed Ashore and Sparky sculptures!
As for the animals, the highlights were the tiger, sloth, and sea lions. The primate house is surprisingly good. And I got good pictures of the cougar and excellent pictures of the caecilian amphibian - at other zoos, the caecilian is often hard to see due to murky water.
Several animals were not viewable including the lion, snow leopard, orangutan, ring-tailed lemur, crowned crane, Galapagos tortoise, gray seal, and harbor seal. I heard a few other patrons grumbling about how so many animals could not be seen! I could just barely see the arctic fox. The zoo has several older map displays which show wolves, ostrich, and dall sheep but those are no longer at the zoo and the most updated online map does not include those animals.
While Como Zoo has various free activities throughout the day, I was only able to attend one. My original plan was to spend 3 hours at the Minnesota Zoo and then drive to Como Zoo in time for the 2 PM Tiger Talk and the 2:30 PM Sparky Show but I ended up spending extra time at the Minnesota Zoo because it was larger and a paid zoo. I'm sad I wasn't able to see the Sparky Show, but I was able to see the Minnesota Zoo's sea lion show which was excellent.
I was able to attend the Gorilla Program, where a knowledgeable zoo keeper talked about the gorillas. It was easy to find and there was a good loudspeaker system, so that even people outside the building could hear what was being said.
Here is where Como Zoo lines up compared to other zoos:
5 stars:
- San Diego Zoo (San Diego, CA)
- Brookfield Zoo (Brookfield, IL)
- Taipei Zoo (Taipei City, Taiwan)
4 stars:
- San Diego Safari Park (San Diego, CA)
- Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden (Cincinnati, OH)
- Oklahoma City Zoo (Oklahoma City, OK)
- Milwaukee County Zoo (Milwaukee, WI)
- Houston Zoo (Houston, TX)
- Oakland Zoo (Oakland, CA)
3 stars:
- Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago, IL, Free)
- Zoo Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)
- Buttonwood Park Zoo (New Bedford, MA)
- Butterflies of Cape Cod (Bourne, MA)
- International Crane Foundation (Baraboo, WI)
- Henry Vilas Zoo (Madison, WI, Free)
- Indianapolis Zoo (Indianapolis, IN)
- Sacramento Zoo (Sacramento, CA)
- Santa Barbara Zoo (Santa Barbara, CA)
- Fort Worth Zoo (Fort Worth, TX)
- Fort Wayne Zoo (Fort Wayne, IN)
- Zoo Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
- ZooTampa (Tampa, FL)
- Busch Gardens (Tampa, FL)
- Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens (Los Angeles, CA)
- Detroit Zoo (Detroit, MI)
- Virginia Zoological Park (Norfolk, VA)
- Virginia Living Museum (Newport News, VA)
- Minnesota Zoo (Apple Valley, MN)
2 stars:
- Audubon Insectarium (New Orleans, LA)
- Audubon Zoo (New Orleans, LA)
- Sarasota Jungle Gardens (Sarasota, FL)
- Save Our Seabirds Wild Bird Learning Center (Sarasota, FL, Free)
- San Francisco Zoo & Gardens (San Francisco, CA)
- Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo, CA)
- Franklin Park Zoo (Boston, MA)
- Capron Park Zoo (Attleboro, MA)
- Taylor-Bray Farm (Yarmouth Port, MA, Free)
- Racine Zoo (Racine, WI)
- Ochsner Park Zoo (Baraboo, WI, Free)
- John Ball Zoo (Grand Rapids, MI)
- Potter Park Zoo (Lansing, MI)
- Antalya Zoo (Antalya, Turkey)
- Marine Mammal Center (Sausalito, CA, Free)
- Santa Ana Zoo (Santa Ana, CA)
- San Antonio Zoological Society (San Antonio, TX)
- Cameron Park Zoo (Waco, TX)
- Dallas Zoo (Dallas, TX)
- Caldwell Zoo (Tyler, TX)
- Peoria Zoo (Peoria, IL)
- Miller Park Zoo (Bloomington, IL)
- Scovill Zoo (Decatur, IL)
- Potawatomi Zoo (South Bend, IN)
- Como Park Zoo & Conservatory (St. Paul, MN, Free)
1 star:
- Cosley Zoo (Wheaton, IL)
- Stone Zoo (Stoneham, MA)
- Timbavati Wildlife Park (Wisconsin Dells, WI)
- Binder Park Zoo (Battle Creek, MI)
- Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (San Jose, CA)
- CuriOdyssey (San Mateo, CA)
- Columbian Park Zoo (Lafayette, IN)
LARGE CATS
The tiger's name is Bernadette (Bernie). She was born September 14, 2016. She likes rabbits for food and dislikes when breakfast is done. Her previous home was the Oregon Zoo.
Amur Tiger
Panthera tigris altaica
Cougar
Puma concolor
(Not a cat but the porcupines are housed with the felines).
African Crested Porcupine
Hystrix cristata
GORILLA FOREST & PRIMATES
Western Lowland Gorilla
Gorilla gorilla gorilla
(Not a primate but the sloth lives in the same building and not in the tropical exhibit).
Hoffman’s Two-Toed Sloth
Choloepus hoffmani
Patas Monkey
Erythrocebus patas
Spider Monkey
Ateles geoffroyi
Saki Monkey
Pithecia pithecia
Emperor Tamarin
Leontopithecus chrysomelas
POLAR BEAR ODYSSEY
Polar Bear
Ursus maritimus
I could just barely make out the arctic fox from behind the mesh screen. Unfortunately, the pictures are not very clear - in the first picture the arctic fox is lying down and looking at you while the second picture is a side profile with the fox sitting up.
Arctic Fox
Vulpes lagopus
OUTDOORS
Lowland Nyala
Tragelaphus angasii
Sulcata Tortoise (African Spurred Tortoise)
Centrochelys sulcata
Hartman’s Mountain Zebra
Equus zebra hartmannae
Reticulated Giraffe
Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata
Bison
Bison bison
Chilean Flamingo
Phoenicopterus chilensis
Flamingo fight!
AQUATIC ANIMALS
California Sea Lion
Zalophus californianus
Must be having an interesting dream!
African Penguin (Black-Footed Penguin)
Spheniscus demersus
Tufted Puffin
Fratercula cirrhata
Lined Seahorse
Hippocampus erectus
(The lungfish is actually in one of the African Hoofed Stock buildings).
Probably a Marbled Lungfish
Protopterus aethiopicus
Lionfish
Pterois
Possibly a Doederlein's Cardinalfish
Ostorhinchus doederleini
Probably a Pajama Cardinalfish
Sphaeramia nematoptera
Some type of Snail
TROPICAL ENCOUNTERS
Green Anaconda
Eunectes murinus
Caecilian
Typhlonectes natans
This guy looks angry!
Red-Footed Tortoise
Chelonoidis carbonarius
Possibly a Redhead Cichlid (Vieja melanurus) surrounded by Yellow Lab Cichlids (Labidochromis caeruleus)
Possibly a Saffron Finch
Sicalis flaveola
Salmon Pink Tarantula
Lasiodora parahybana
WASHED ASHORE: ART TO SAVE THE SEA
https://comozooconservatory.org/washedashore/
The Como Zoo is currently exhibiting a series of animal sculptures made from plastic to highlight plastic pollution. This traveling exhibit can be viewed until Labor Day (September 7th, 2026). Of the 10 sculptures created by the nonprofit organization Washed Ashore under the direction of artist and educator Angela Haseltine Pozzi, I was able to view 8 of them:
Scrappy the Sea Lion Pup
Curious sea lions explore unusual objects with their noses and mouths. Quick to investigate everything they encounter, sea lions can become caught in rope, nets, packing straps and other trash adrift in our oceans. Once entangled, sea lions may live unharmed for some time until they grow and the deadly binds tighten.
Can you find these marine debris items in this sculpture?
- shoe soles
- lighters
- ladle
- flip flop
- shot gun shells
- ball cap rim
- cup holder
- fishing net
- bottles
- buoys
Sebastian James the Tufted Puffin
Tufted Puffins are diving birds and swim with their wings underwater while catching fish, their primary food source.
Like many ocean birds, puffins have been known to mistake plastic for food. This fills them up with plastic and can lead to starvation. Entanglement in abandoned fishing gear can also be a deadly encounter.
Can you find these marine debris items in this sculpture?
- bottle caps
- flip flops
- shoes soles
- tires
- disposable lighters
- toy truck wheels
- car oil bottles
Gertrude the Magellanic Penguin
Magellanic penguins like Gertrude live in South America and on a few islands in the southern ocean. Like many of their flying cousins, these penguins migrate from winter to summer locations and will often return to the same breeding site.
Oil pollution continues to be the main threat to this spedies and kills thousands of penguins every year.
Can you find these marine debris items in this sculpture?
- shotgun shell wads
- lighters
- bottle caps
- cell phone
- brush
- parts of a tire
- cooler lids
- toy car
- dry erase marker
— shoes
Natasha the Sea Turtle
Sea turtles have been swimming through the world's oceans for 100 million years. Nearly all species of sea turtle are now classified as threatened or endangered. Humans are primarily responsible for the decline in their numbers.
Plastic bags are one of the most common marine debris items in global oceans. They can be mistaken as jellyfish and eaten by sea turtles and other animals.
Can you find these marine debris items in this sculpture?
- water bottles
- boots
- shot gun shells
- bottle caps
- fake flowers
- detergent bottles
- brown shoe soles
- shovels
- plastic lighters
Rosa the Bald Eagle
Hunted to the edge of extinction and saved by passing laws to protect them, these majestic birds are opportunistic hunters and love eating fish. As they catch fish from rivers, lakes and the ocean they also ingest what the fish eat, including plastic. This symbol of the United States of America has been a beacon of hope for all people through generations who seek freedom and equality. For Native Americans the bald eagle offers a vital spiritual connection. This sculpture was created by over 1500 people in 7 states, wire-stitching marine debris into feathers during 2020 and 2021.
Can you find these marine debris items in this sculpture?
- boat oar
- doll leg
- shoe
- broom
- toy tire
- magic marker
- bb gun stock
- toothbrush
- lighter
- bottles
Chompers the Tiger Shark
Tiger Sharks are known for their voracious appetites and their tendency to try and ingest almost anything they encounter. In addition to turtles, seals, birds and other animals, Tiger Sharks have been found with tires, license plates and plastic debris in their stomachs.
Sharks are a vital part of ocean ecosystems, let's stop feeding them our trash!
Can you find these marine debris items in this sculpture?
- shot gun shells
- disposable lighters
- bottle caps
- flip flops
- toy shovels
- soda bottles
- boogie board
Priscilla the Rainbow Parrotfish
Parrot fish are some of the most colorful and unique fish in the ocean. Many species feed on algae and take in coral in the process. The coral is ground up and passes through their system undigested, coming out as sand. Over time this fish-produced sand helps to create many of the beautiful beaches we enjoy.
This parrot fish highlights the plight of the bright parrot fish whose coral reef homes are endangered because of marine debris and pollution.
Can you find these marine debris items in this sculpture?
- toys
- bottle caps
- buoys
- a pink comb
- a plastic corn on the cob
- lighters
- beer cans
- a bowling pin
- toothbrushes
- fishing lures
Nora the Salmon
Each year, millions of salmon travel down streams and rivers to get to the ocean. Millions of pounds of plastic also travel down waterways every year on the way to the sea. Over 80% of trash in the ocean comes from land. You can help stop the plastic migration by picking up trash on land to ensure it never reaches the water.
Can you find these marine debris items in this sculpture?
- toilet seats
- lures
- sunglasses
- paint brush handles
- knife handles
- cans
- water bottles
- lighters
- shovels
- toys
- boots
- bottle caps
I might have glimpsed Hugo the Humpback Whale Tail but I probably thought it was just a random sculpture and didn't get close enough to see it was part of this art series.
Also, I think something happened to the Sea Jelly Bloom. I found the informational placard inside the Visitor Center, right outside the Tropical Encounters exhibit but there was no plastic sculpture in sight!
SUMMER OF SPARKY
https://comozooconservatory.org/summer-of-sparky/
The Sparky Show is a Como Zoo tradition that has been running since 1956. Over the years, many sea lions have played the role of Sparky (they are currently on Sparky #7). During the summer of 2022, twenty one sea lion statues were displayed throughout the Twin Cities. Many of these statues can now be found at the Como Zoo. I was able to find 9 of them, though it's possible that more of them are located around the conservatory.
Dock & Paddle Como Park
ARTIST: Nickyworks Studio
Be a Stud Puffin and protect our oceans
ARTIST MESSAGE: For some years I have created paintings of endangered and at-risk marine animals. Atlantic puffin populations are in decline because of declining herring populations. This is caused by factors such as overfishing and warming waters. Ideally, adult puffins feed herring to their chicks. But as a result of diminishing populations of these fish, a significant number of chicks are starving. There are no other fish that fit in puffin chick’s beaks and mouths as well as herring. I’d like very much for the public to be more aware of this issue and question the need for trawler fishing and for the over-reliance on lifestyles that lead to the warming of our planet.
Phalen Beach
ARTIST: Briauna Williams
Coral is a cornerstone of sea life. Protecting it requires all of us
ARTIST MESSAGE: With coral bleaching being a pressing issue, I wanted to create a bright and colorful scene of both vegetation and coral that help to make our oceans beautiful”
Oxford Community Center
ARTIST: Guillermo Valadez
Together we can turn the tide on ocean pollution
ARTIST MESSAGE: With my design, I wanted to display some of the deeper sea creatures and coral to show the diversity of life that the ocean is home to.
Landmark Plaza
ARTIST: Sylvia Annelise Hecht
Let’s guarantee our shimmering seas
ARTIST MESSAGE: With abstract teal and metallic copper designs swirling across the body, Sparky has been designed to look reminiscent of golden light on the surface of the ocean. The texture and metallic aspects interact with the available natural light to appear different based on the time of day, weather, and season.
Como Visitor Center
ARTIST: Christopher Straub
Keep the planet clean, it’s the only one we’ve got
ARTIST MESSAGE: This ribbon and floral motif is made to show that the land and sea are interconnected and we need to work to conserve both.
Highland Park Aquatic Center
ARTIST: KT Lindemann
We must protect our oceans in order to protect ourselves
ARTIST MESSAGE: My design tells an original Celtic-inspired fairy tale about the “sea keepers,” ancient protectors of ocean ecosystems, and how they need our help. The art includes bright, high-contrast colors and references traditional Celtic design elements.
Arlington Hills Community Center
ARTIST: Emily Klesel
The smallest creatures can play big parts. They are all important and they are all precious
ARTIST MESSAGE: My design idea consists of covering the Sparky statue with different species of marine invertebrates to show off the sheer biodiversity of an often overlooked but ecologically important kind of marine animal. I specifically wanted to include marine invertebrates that are of conservation concern or are facing some sort of anthropogenic threat (such as coral bleaching or starfish wasting syndrome). Each invertebrate is placed based on what depth they reside in.
Minnehaha Falls
ARTIST: Charles Caldwell
Plastic: Out of the ocean and into the bin
ARTIST MESSAGE: Nothing is more beautiful and peaceful than stopping to watch a sunset. My goal with this piece was to remind people how wonderful sunsets over the ocean are and how important it is to keep our oceans clean to preserve that scene.
Como Park Playground
ARTIST: Alexandra Motz
Please keep the sea plastic free
ARTIST MESSAGE: An abstract piece depicting the bright vivid colors of reefs and the ocean’s wildlife.
OTHER ART
Sea lion sculpture
Gorilla sculpture
Another gorilla sculpture
Tortoise sculpture
Bird sculpture outside the Tropical Encounters exhibit
Climbable giraffe playground area
OTHER
Como Harbor
Comparison of feline skulls
Rentable Scooter Pals
COMO TOWN
Don't pay the $4! These are usually free at science museums!
GIFT SHOP
Wishpets Red Panda Plush in Giraffe Costume
$26.99
Red Panda Plush
Wild Republic Poppykins Red Panda Plush
$54.99
Wild Republic Poppykins Mini Red Panda Plush
$24.99
Wild Republic Cuddlekins Panda Plush
$26.99
I already have this red panda magnet. I bought the same type last year (2025) at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Zoo Knoxville also has the exact same type of magnet as well. The gift shop employees said they also carry a second type of red panda magnet but were sold out. It seems like this other magnet is the same type that the San Diego Zoo has with 4 cartoon red pandas - I already own that one too!
Red Panda Magnet
$9.99
Assorted plushes
That is one large and pricey sloth!
Jumbo Sloth Plush
$499.99
Wild Republic Tummykins Otter Plush
Wild Republic Blue Penguin Plush
$26.99
Zebra mosaic
Giraffe mosaic
Assorted wood sculptures
Assorted stone figurines
I bought the "Asia" White Tiger Cub Little Critterz porcelain figurine.