Buttonwood Park Zoo — Attraction in New Bedford

Buttonwood Park Zoo June 5, 2022

I visited the zoo with a free Wareham library pass and it was a beautiful sunny day, I couldn't of asked YHWH for more beautiful weather. It was the perfect day for a zoo visit. It wasn't too busy with guests so it wasn't crowded. There was 2 birthday parties going on in the building when I was there, but at different times. I find that to be a wonderful idea for parents, the kids were having a blast at the zoo. I arrived at 10:30am and some of the animals were still resting, sleeping or not yet active for viewing. Around 11:30am-12:00pm the zookeepers were feeding them so I decided to walk around the zoo a couple more times to see if I could see the animals I missed from walking around the first time around. Luckily I got to see them all. I like this zoo because it's small and it's perfect for small children because its not an excessive amount of walking. I do however wish that they had more animals to see. My ultimate favorite is the moon jellyfish located in the tropical building a mask is required to enter. The moon jellyfish are just simply exquisite, unique and amazing. Watching them swim around in a circle together and how they glow and breathe. It's an amazing feeling being able to see underwater life on the surface of the earth. The other amazing under the sea creature was the orange starfish with the purple background it was artistic and beautiful display. That starfish liked to pose for the perfect picture. The seahorses were adorable clinging to plants and hanging out in their tank. I love opossums and I was hoping that he would be on display, but he doesn't have his own habitat he is only visable for shows.

Overall I had a wonderful time. I got a cookie ice cream sandwich at the cafe and I stopped by the gift shop on the way out and bought a small opossum and a Buttonwood Park Zoo t-shirt. All the zoo staff is helpful, professional, and friendly.

I definitely will visit this quaint adorable zoo again in the future. Highly recommend for ALL ages!

Go and have a...

What?!? This review is after seeing the Buttonwood Park Zoomobile at my local library. What a disgrace! Despicable.

TLDR- during the 45 min Pre-K and K Zoomobile Habitat Program they showed us a PIGEON. Only a pigeon! No other animals.

The program started with a 30 minute lecture (minimal child participation). It was well done. No big complaints about the presentation besides the LACK OF ANIMALS. The kids gradually lost interest. That will happen at this age with even the best presentation. By the time the "zoo animal" came out we had lost about 1/5 of the kids, they simply left. 30 mins with no animals is too long!

Then they brought out a PIGEON. You could not touch it. You had to sit down. And that was it. The handler walked it around and told us about pigeons. Then they answered questions. Program over.

We saw they had another live animal box which we found out had a turtle. It was for the 1st graders at the next show. We could not see it.

Calling yourself a zoomobile and showing kids a pigeon is false advertising. It honestly might be criminal. 45 mins and one animal for Pre-K / K kids is outrageous and embarrassing.

If the zoo has determined it's too cruel to bring interesting animals, you don't have them, or they're not available, then don't do the show! Cancel it! Bring a lizard, rat, snake, hamster, bunny, or even a dog. My daughter doesn't have outrageously high expectations. The website shows a possum, beaver, falcon or hawk? and some sort of lizard. Where are they?

What a waste of a morning! We were deceived about seeing fun animals (I inadvertently lied to my daughter 😢). I feel bad for the kids. At least I found a frog outside the library after the show. Certainly better, and more zoolike, than the pigeon.

Shame on Buttonwood Park! Just to be clear, the presenter was good. No complaints about them, just the...

I had a BLAST at Buttonwood Park Zoo on Sunday, 08/25/2024. I came with my girlfriend and despite us probably being one of the only couples there (the rest were all families), we had so much fun. It's a small zoo in size relative to nearby zoos but it's actually quite big once you enter. Plus, they have so many different and unique animals here. They have two large Bald Eagles along with lots of waterfowl and even a Sun Conure! That's awesome to me. They have stingrays in the aquarium as well as plenty of marmosets and monkeys!

Now their gift shop is larger in size than you'd have thought and they have tons of awesome items like plushies, keychains, honey, coffee, toys, statues and more! The best part is they're competitive in pricing compared to other zoos I've been to recently. Considering you get to purchase unique items only found at this zoo and maybe some others, I found the prices very reasonable.

The staff were very friendly and knowledgeable and the park was kept clean and tidy. The animals also seemed to enjoy themselves. I get the feeling they are well taken care of here. If I had anything negative to say, it is that the pellet dispenser ate two of my quarters without dispensing any pellets. I could really care less cause I only paid $10 (per adult if you aren't a resident of New Bedford) to get in and enjoy a couple hours with the animals.

They also hold events there. I heard of an event coming up in the fall to coincide with Halloween.

It doesn't matter if you are single or have kids or not, if you are looking for something fun to do, you should DEFINITELY go to...