Exhibit Award
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums, through its Exhibit Award, recognizes excellence in the area of live animal display and exhibit design by an AZA-Accredited Institution (US or International) or Certified Related Facility member. Only exhibits that were opened in calendar years 2022 and 2023 can be considered for the 2024 awards. Exhibits that opened to the public in 2024 must wait until 2025 to submit an application.
Awards are presented in two categories based on annual operating budget (budgets $8 million or less and budgets of more than $8 million).
If there is any question as to what constitutes an eligible project, please email Leticia Orti or call (301) 244-3326.
How to Submit an Application
Past recipients' application materials are available below.
All Honors and Awards applications must be submitted in electronic format ONLY and must be compiled into one PDF file. Please make sure the file name reflects both the award name and the institution.
Please upload your file to the AZA Dropbox link in the Application document below. Your file will go to the AZA Dropbox account, but you do not need to sign in, or even have a Dropbox account to use this link—when it opens, just click on the “choose files” box and upload your application.
Remember to submit a Media Release Form (DOC) with your application.
Exhibit Award Recipients
See the past winners' applications (member login required)
2023
Top Honors - operating budget greater than $8 million
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance for Denny Sanford Wildlife Explorers Basecamp
Innovation - operating budget greater than $8 million
Monterey Bay Aquarium for Into the Deep: Exploring Our Undiscovered Ocean
Innovation - operating budget less than $8 million
Sequoia Park Zoo for Redwood Sky Walk
2022
Top Honors - operating budget greater than $8 million
- Houston Zoo for South America’s Pantanal
- Zoo Knoxville for Zoo Knoxville’s Clayton Family Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Campus (ARC Campus)
Top Honors - operating budget less than $8 million
Fundacion Zoolgica de Cali – Cali Zoo for Por el Camino de los Andes or “Along the Andes Trail"
Significant Achievement - operating budget greater than $8 million
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium for Owen Sea Lions Shores
2021
Top Honors - operating budget greater than $8 million
Houston Zoo - Kathrine G. McGovern Texas Wetlands and Cypress Circle Café
Top Honors - operating budget less than $8 million
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park - Eagle Passage: Wings of Hope
Significant Achievement - operating budget greater than $8 million
The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens - Australian Adventures
2020
Operating Budgets greater than $8 million
Top Honors
- San Diego Zoo Safari Park — Walkabout Australia
- Nashville Zoo — Tiger Crossroads
Innovation
Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens — African Forest
2019
Operating Budgets greater than $8 million
Top Honors
- Nashville Zoo — Expedition PERU - Trek of the Andean Bear
- New York Aquarium — Ocean Wonders: SHARKS!
Significant Achievement
- Zoo Knoxville — Boyd Family Asian Trek
- Oakland Zoo — California Trail
Innovation
- Oregon Zoo — Oregon Zoo Education Center
- Omaha Zoo and Aquarium — Children's Adventure Trails
Operating Budgets less than $8 million
Innovation
National Aviary — National Aviary's Tropical Rainforest
2018
Operating Budgets greater than $5 million
Top Honors
Sedgwick County Zoo — Reed Family Elephants of the Zambezi River Valley
Significant Achievement
- San Diego Zoo Global — Africa Rocks
- South Carolina Aquarium — Zucker Family Sea Turtle Recovery
2017
Operating Budgets less than $5 million
Top Honors
Henry Vilas Zoo — Arctic Passage
Operating Budgets greater than $5 million
Top Honors
- Detroit Zoo — Polk Penguin Conservation Center
- Oregon Zoo — Elephant Lands
Significant Achievement
Cincinnati Zoo — Africa
Innovation
- California Academy of Sciences — Twilight Zone: Deep Reefs Revealed
- Philadelphia Zoo — ZOO360®
2016
Operating Budgets less than $5 million
Top Honors
Sequoia Park Zoo — Watershed Heroes Exhibit
Operating Budgets greater than $5 million
Top Honors
- The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore — Penguin Coast
- National Aquarium — Living Seashore
Innovation
Chicago Zoological Society/Brookfield Zoo — Hamill Family Wild Encounters / Bramsen Animal Ambassador Pavilion
Wildlife Emergency Response
Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens — Florida Panthers
2015
Operating Budgets less than $5 million
Top Honors
- Great Plains Zoo and Delbridge Museum of Natural History — Snow Monkeys
- North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island — Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation (STAR) Center
Operating Budgets greater than $5 million
Top Honors
- Assiniboine Park Zoo — Journey to Churchill
- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium — Heart of Africa
- San Diego Zoo Global — Tull Family Tiger Trail
Significant Achievement
Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens — Land of the Tiger
Innovation
Indianapolis Zoo — Simon Skjodt International Orangutan Center
Top Honors
- Fresno Chaffee Zoo — Sea Lion Cove
- Philadelphia Zoo — KidZooU: Hamilton Family Children's Zoo & Faris Family Education Center
Significant Achievement
- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo — Encounter Africa
- National Aquarium — Blacktip Reef
2013
Significant Achievement
Saint Louis Zoo — Sea Lion Sound
2012
Top Honors
The Louisville Zoo — Glacier Run
Significant Achievement
- The California Science Center — Ecosystems
- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo — African Elephant Crossing
- Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens — Elephants of Asia
2011
Top Honors
- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium — Polar Frontier
- Fort Worth Zoo — Museum of Living Art (MOLA)
- The Toledo Zoo — Nature's Neighborhood
Significant Achievement
- Brevard Zoo — PAWS ON
- Dallas Zoo — Giants of the Savanna
2010
Top Honors
- Oregon Zoo — Predators of the Serengeti
- Woodland Park Zoo — Humboldt Penguin Exhibit
Significant Achievement
- Fundación Temaikèn — The Bird's Place
- San Diego Zoo — Elephant Odyssey
- The Philadelphia Zoo — McNeil Avian Center
2009
Top Honors
Minnesota Zoo — Russia's Grizzly Coast and Central Plaza
Significant Achievement
- Bronx Zoo — Madagascar
- North Carolina Zoo — Watani Grasslands Reserve
2008
Top Honors
National Aquarium in Baltimore — Animal Planet Australia: Wild Extremes
Significant Achievement
Minnesota Zoo — Minnesota Trail
2007
Top Honors
Philadelphia Zoo — Big Cat Falls
Significant Achievement
- Houston Zoo — Natural Encounters
- Smithsonian National Zoological Park — Asia Trail
2006
Top Honors
Denver Zoo — Entrance and Predator Ridge
Significant Achievement
- Lincoln Park Zoo — Regenstein Center for African Apes
- San Antonio Zoo — Kronkosky's Tiny Tot Nature Spot
2005
Top Honors
- Jacksonville Zoo — Range of the Jaguar
- Monterey Bay Aquarium — Sharks: Myth and Mystery
Significant Achievement
- Lincoln Park Zoo — Regenstein African Journey
- Oregon Zoo — Eagle Canyon
- Woodland Park Zoo — Jaguar Cove
2004
Top Honors
Bronx Zoo / Wildlife Conservation Society — Tiger Mountain
Significant Achievement
- John G. Shedd Aquarium — Wild Reef
- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo — African Rift Valley
2003
Top Honors
Louisville Zoo — Gorilla Forest
Significant Achievement
- Detroit Zoo — Arctic Ring of Life
- Monterey Bay Aquarium — Jellies: Living Art
2002
- Brookfield Zoo — Hamill Family Play Zoo
- Detroit Zoological Institute — Amphibiville
2001
- Minnesota Zoo — Wells Fargo Family Farm
- John G. Shedd Aquarium — Amazon Rising: Seasons of the River
2000
- Monterey Bay Aquarium — Mysteries of the Deep
- Bronx Zoo/Wildlife Conservation Society — Congo Gorilla Forest
1999
- Toledo Zoo — Historic Aviary Renovation
- John G. Shedd Aquarium — Seahorse Symphony
1998
- New England Aquarium — Aquarium Medical Center
- Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum — Javelina Exhibit
- Louisville Zoological Gardens — Islands Exhibit
1997
- Bronx Zoo/Wildlife Conservation Society — Butterfly Zone
- Monterey Bay Aquarium — The Outer Bay
1996
- National Zoological Park — Think Tank
- Sea World of Florida — Wild Arctic
1995
Woodland Park Zoological Gardens — Northern Trail
1994
- Cincinnati Zoo — Jungle Trails, The Asian and African Rainforest Exhibit
- SeaWorld of Florida — Manatees: The Last Generation
1993
Woodland Park Zoological Gardens — Tropical Rain Forest
1992
John G. Shedd Aquarium — Oceanarium
1991
Bronx Zoo/Wildlife Conservation Society — Baboon Reserve & African Market
1990
Woodland Park Zoological Gardens — Elephant Forest
1989
San Diego Zoo — Tiger River
1988
National Zoological Park — Invertebrate Exhibit
1987
- Bronx Zoo/Wildlife Conservation Society — Himalayan Highlands
- San Diego Zoo — East African Rock Kopje
1986
Bronx Zoo/Wildlife Conservation Society — JungleWorld
1985
Audubon Park & Zoological Garden — Louisiana Swamp Exhibit
1984
Sea World of California — The Penguin Encounter
1983
Oregon Zoo — Cascades; Stream & Pond Building
1982
- Bronx Zoo/Wildlife Conservation Society — Children's Zoo
- Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium — Polar Bear Complex
1981
Woodland Park Zoological Gardens — The African Savanna
1980
Hanna Barbera Marineland — Baja Reef
1979
Cincinnati Zoo — World of the Insect
1978
The Seattle Aquarium — Puget Sound Exhibit
1977
Saint Louis Zoological Park — Aquatic House Renovation
1976
Saint Louis Zoological Park — Big Cat Country
1975
Chicago Zoological Park — Saharan Predator Exhibit
1974
Topeka Zoological Park — Tropical Rain Forest