To purchase a certificate click register. Each individual certificate must be a unique registration. 

Give the wildest gift this year with a Behind the Scenes tour at the Henry Vilas Zoo! Gift certificates are available for individual registrants or private tours for our popular Be a Zookeeper or Digging Deeper tours for the 2026 season!

Please allow 3-5 days to process your gift certificate. A staff person will email you with your unique code and instructions on how to use the gift certificate. Please ensure your email is correct. 

The season for behind the scenes tours is March-November 2026. Tours open for registration on a month by month basis to allow for flexibility with staff and animals. Tours are a set schedule, we do not open additional tours for gift certificates and they must be used within the 2026 season. 

For questions regarding tours or gift certificates please email education@henryvilaszoo.gov. 

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Tour descriptions:

Be a Zookeeper 

Ever wanted to step into the boots of one of our amazing animal care staff at your Henry Vilas Zoo? Well now is your chance! In this tour we will go behind the scenes and learn about how we take care of the many animals here at the zoo and our conservation efforts to help animals across the globe. You will take a tour of our animal health center, then make some special treats for the bears and see them enjoy it! 

Be a Zookeeper Behind the Scenes Tour Details:

• Fee:

  • Public Tour: $25 per person (up to 7 people)

  • Private Tour: $150 for up to 5 people

Private tours are private and only your group, public tours are public which allows for other people to register for the same tour as your party. 

• Age: All ages

  • Children must be accompanied by a registered adult

• Tour Highlights:

  • Behind the scenes tour at the Animal Health Center

  • Make enrichment and deliver it to polar bears

Digging Deeper Tour

This tour offers you the chance for a closer look at how we care for some of our most ardent diggers! Did you know that a single aardvark can dig faster than several people with shovels? Learn all about the adaptations that make these animals so unique during your tour. On the tour, you will get the opportunity to see what types of enrichment we use here at the Zoo and you will create your very own animal enrichment for one of our animals.

Digging Deeper Behind the Scenes Tour Details:

• Cost:

  • Public Tour: $60 per person

• Age: 3 and up

  • Children must be accompanied by a registered adult

• Capacity: 7 people

• Tour Highlights:

  • Tour the Green Barn! The Green Barn is located in the Children’s Zoo and houses red pandas, gibbons, aardvark, and meerkats.

  • Pick out and create enrichment for our meerkat mob!

  • Pick out and create enrichment for our female aardvark, Aayla!

For questions regarding tours or gift certificates, please email education@henryvilaszoo.gov