Remember going to the zoo when you were a kid? Forget about any recent visits as an adult...I'm talkin' years ago. People all over the place, families together, little kids eating popcorn that fell on the ground and getting yelled at by mom, all the varieties of animals, the smell of greasy food in the air, the seemingly endless trails, kids holding their zoo souvenir helium-filled balloons, the friendly trainers that would always take time to talk, visitors (legally) throwing food to the bears...all I know is, I had a good time when I went to the zoo as a kid.

Michigan has some good zoos - you know the ones I mean:
Detroit Zoo
Binder Park Zoo
John Ball Zoo, Grand Rapids
Potter Park Zoo, Lansing
Belle Isle Aquarium

and we also have some others that are not so well-known:
Garlyn Zoo in Naubinway
DeYoung Family Zoo, Wallace, Upper Peninsula
Roscommon Zoo
Saginaw Children's Zoo

Plus many more hidden and unique zoos throughout our state.

I really don't see zoos promoted very often these days. There are people who feel it's not humane to keep animals in cages...others feel they're being held in order to keep pro-creating to avoid extinction. Whatever you may think or feel, it would still be a good idea to take a child to see the animals, in case zoos do go away someday. We never know.

In the gallery below are featured twenty Michigan zoos and animal parks. These photos range from the 1910s to the 1950s and there are a few of them that don't exist anymore.

Michigan Zoos, 1910s-1950s

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