Membership FAQ

Your membership expires at the end of the month the year after you purchase it. For example, if you purchase your membership on June 4^th of 2019, it expires the last day of June the following year.

Remember: Renewing early does not mean you lose time on your membership.

As a nonprofit organization, we rely on membership and attendance for support. This means that we must prevent the misuse of our membership cards and be sure the cards are being used by their rightful owner. This also protects our members if the cards are lost or stolen.

Member Mondays are an exciting way to bring your friends to the Zoo! On Mondays, members are allowed one additional free guest, even if there are no guest passes on their membership, i.e. a Family Membership.

The train is open Memorial Day through Labor Day, and on Monday during this season all members and guests receive one free train ride while it’s running.

***The train does not run during rainy days or when the track is wet for safety purposes.

Out-of-state memberships can be purchased for the Zoo only, not for a Combo or TRI membership.

For Zoo/SCI and TRI members: to participate in the Association of Science-Technology Center’s travel passport program, a member must have a membership to a museum/science center within 90 miles of their residence. Someone who purchases a membership to an organization 90 miles outside of their residence will not be honored at participating ASTC museums. For more information, please visit https://www.astc.org.

Your membership card(s) can take between one to three weeks depending on the time of year. The card(s) will be mailed to the designated address. If you purchased your membership online, you may print out a temporary card. When attending the Zoo, be sure to have this temporary card OR proof of purchase and an ID if your permanent card(s) have not yet arrived.

Note: Only the adults listed as “cardholders” will receive a card, so one adult listed means only one card is issued.

If the Zoo made a mistake on your card(s), return them to the membership desk, and we will send you replacement(s).

If your card is lost or stolen, or you need to change any personal information such as a name, there will be a replacement fee of $3 for one new card, and $5 for two new cards.

Visit https://members.blankparkzoo.com/ to learn about each membership package we offer

Memberships are non-transferrable and non-shareable. To keep prices affordable for our members, the Zoo discounts are valid for cardholders and listed members/guests only. If families and neighbors share memberships, our revenue would be greatly reduced each year. We depend on memberships to continually improve your zoo experience.

No, one or two named adults who are 18 years or older and in the same household must be the primary cardholders. We will check for a valid photo ID for the named adults on the membership.

In cases of divorce, children still cannot be named as the primary cardholders. You OR your ex-partner may purchase a family plus membership and one of you may be named as the primary cardholder. The other will be able to enter as a guest with the listed children on the membership. Or separate memberships should be purchased.

We require that both cardholders reside in the same household.

Memberships purchased for Blank Park Zoo may be used for regular Zoo admission, as well as for all Zoo Brew events for members 21 and older. Combo and TRI memberships may be used for admission to all organizations it was purchased for.

The Blank Park Zoo participates in a reciprocity program with zoos and aquariums across the country. Click here to find more information about this program.

Click here to learn about the Science Center reciprocity program 

Click here to learn about Living History Farms reciprocity program

Within 7 days of your visit and with a copy of your receipt, please visit the Zoo’s membership desk or call our hotline number, 515-974-2600, to apply your Zoo admission to the cost of a membership.

Please note that the number of admission tickets applied to the cost of the membership is restricted by the type of membership purchased. For example, only two admission tickets can be applied to an individual plus membership.

For Zoo only memberships, we cannot apply admission from LHF or SCI.

If you are purchasing a Combo or TRI membership, we can apply the admission from the organization you visited within 7 days of your visit and with a copy of your receipt.

For Combo memberships, we can only apply the admission from the organizations you will be purchasing a membership for.

 The Zoo offers early renewal, corporate partner, and military membership discounts for Zoo only memberships. These discounts cannot be combined and are not valid with any other offer. For information on these discounts, visit the membership desk or call 515-974-2600.

We cannot apply discounts to Combo or TRI memberships because they are already discounted.

You can upgrade to a higher level or add an organization onto your membership depending on the expiration date of your membership.

Memberships cannot be downgraded throughout the year, and we cannot remove an organization from your membership within the year. If you would like to downgrade or change your membership, you may do so at the time of your renewal.

Memberships are non-refundable. If you are moving out-of-state, please click here to visit our reciprocity website for a list of zoos and aquariums in your area.