The new entrance at the Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens shades the new manatee exhibit. Both are set to officially open March 6. | Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens
Published on January 29, 2026 at 3:28 pm
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The Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens is about ready to open its new entrance and manatee exhibit, part of a $52 million renovation of the zoo.
The VyStar SkyScape entrance and the J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver Manatee River exhibit recognize a $2.25 million gift from VyStar Credit Union and $3 million from the Weavers.
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The improvements will debut March 6.
The covered entrance, with 50-foot-tall canopy and wrap-around video display screens, will house the ticketing area, a stage and a VIP lounge. It will lead to an expanded manatee critical care habitat as part of what the zoo called a “first of its kind in zoos and aquariums.”
“This project represents what’s possible when a community comes together around conservation,” said Nikki Smith, the zoo’s chief philanthropy and marketing officer. “The Manatee River and SkyScape entrance will transform how guests experience the zoo while directly supporting the rescue and recovery of Florida manatees.”
Jacksonville Zoo history
Jacksonville’s zoo opened in 1914 in Springfield, then migrated in 1925 to its current site along the Trout River. In 1971, the Jacksonville Zoological Society was formed to manage operations, and the facility has undergone numerous updates and redesigns to its 122-acre site.
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It is now home to more than 2,000 rare and exotic animals and over 1,000 plant specimens, including the Land of the Tiger and Primate Forest. It changed its name from Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens to Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens in May 2025 to better reflect the zoo’s dual dedication to plants and animals. It also adopted a new logo to reflect the change.
Latest Jacksonville Zoo changes
The new Manatee River is a 330,000-gallon critical care facility to rescue, rehabilitate, recover and release the aquatic mammals often rescued with injuries from boat propeller strikes, plus illness from cold weather or habitat change.
The habitat is designed to educate visitors about manatees and their ecosystem and provide a deeper look into conservation work. The new facility will expand its ability to care for manatees from six to at least 20 simultaneously, the zoo said.
The VyStar SkyScape will feature an immersive video screen, direct views into the Manatee River habitat, a café, retail space, and meeting and banquet space for corporate and private events.
The new entrance and habitat are the first major components of an estimated $120 million “Rezoovenation,” the Zoo’s long-term, multiphase transformation plan designed to revitalize nearly every part of the zoo campus.
The fundraising campaign includes five projects overall, including a renovated parking lot, a new education campus with expanded lion habitat, a redesigned elephant habitat and the introduction of orangutans.
