When Rick Schuiteman, formerly of Sea World San Diego, arrived in Fort Wayne five years ago to take the helm of what was then called the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, he noticed a couple of things right off the bat: Everyone loved the zoo and, thanks to a certain meteorological mindset,  no could enjoy it more than half the year.

“I’m like, You know what? Let’s open this zoo more,'” Schuiteman said. “Let’s be open as much as possible. They love the zoo. Let’s give them the zoo.”

This exhortation led to the creation of seasonal events that make what is now called the Fort Wayne Zoo much more accessible during the months when heavy outerwear is the norm.

The spring event that is happening now through May 31 is called Glo Wild and it features giant lanterns that are really more like sculptures than what pirates used for signaling other ships.

Schuiteman hopes zoo lovers get to the point where they associate spring with Glo Wild and not with the zoo being mostly closed.

“I wanted to create these traditions,” he said. “You saw it with Christmas. We opened for the first time in years for Christmas. So, I wanted to create this spring event where every spring, everybody will say, ‘Oh, spring is here. Let’s go back to the zoo.'”

That effort has taken several forms. For example, the zoo has branched into more adult-oriented events, one of them being Rock & Roar, a 21-and-older summer music series.

Dates this year are June 28, July 12, July 26, August 9 and August 23.

The promise of adult beverages from Five Star Distributing undoubtedly lures some, while the phrase “specialty menu items” perks up the ears of most people who hear it. Unless they read it, of course. In that case, I suppose, it perks up their eyes.

Schuiteman said the philosophy behind the removal of the word “Children’s” from the zoo’s title is similar to the philosophy behind Rock & Roar.

“Everybody sort of associates the zoo with the children and (when your kids are grown and out of the house), you’re done. And I was like, ‘No, we want people to keep coming back to the zoo and enjoying the zoo. The animals are always here. The animals are cool to see.’ And so we thought, ‘Well, what if we do an adult date night where you come to the zoo with your partner or your friends and just enjoy the zoo without the kids?'”

These events are bringing people back to the zoo who haven’t been to the zoo in years, Schuiteman said.

“We’ve got young adults doing these dates, older adults coming on dates,” he said. “It’s just so much fun to see these people.”

Schuiteman said they surveyed attendees about these adult-only events and the number one thing they liked about them was “No kids.”

New events and name tweaks weren’t the only changes wrought since Schuiteman’s arrival.

The panda, capuchin monkey and sea lion areas were significantly revamped and the Bamboo Forest Adventure Play area was added for kids and kids-at-heart. The train was also replaced.

The most recent exhibit to reopen after renovation is the former sea lion area, which no longer can be accurately described as a sea lion area.

“What we did (with Coastal Cove) was we redid all the rock work. We added an additional stunning beach for the animals. We added a sitting area where guests can sit and just enjoy the animals and enjoy the view. We added a new sound system. We added a shaded area for the animals. We added shade for the guests. And we added, of course, the seals.”

You see, seals and sea lions are distinct creatures. Schuiteman said visitors frequently–and understandably–identified sea lions as seals. To help people understand the difference, the zoo allied harbor seals with the California sea lions that were already part of the exhibit.

Many more changes are to come for the Fort Wayne Zoo and, if they are anything like changes made since 2020, zoo fans have a lot to look forward to.

“We do have a master plan, or a campus plan, that is sort of a 20- to 25-year plan that we worked on with the board of directors. That sort of lays out what the zoo could look like over the next 20 to 25 years.”

Schuiteman said the zoo has some real estate into which it can expand, but it is also looking at older exhibits that are ripe for the sort of revamp that made Coastal Cove so much more relevant and enjoyable.

 For more information, call 260.427.6800.