– Zoomazium is first U.S. zoo project to earn Gold LEED certification –

High ecological standards have earned Woodland Park Zoo's new nature play space, Zoomazium, Gold certification, the second highest level in the rating scale, under the LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™. LEED certification is recognized nationwide as proof that a building is environmentally responsible, high performance, and a healthy place to live and work. No other zoo project in the U.S. has ever earned Gold certification.

Zoomazium's core project team includes: Mithun (architecture, planning and design firm, Seattle); Kirtley-Cole Associates LLC (general contractor, Everett, Wash.); AldrichPears Associates (exhibits, Vancouver, B.C. Canada); and Dillon Works! (design and fabrication, Mukilteo, Wash.).

Zoomazium, which opened last May, is a purpose-built, "naturalistic" play space designed for kids 8 and under and their parents. The 8,300-square-foot facility is divided into nature-themed zones and encourages active play and learning. A day might include ascending a mountain, crawling through a nurse log, climbing a towering strangler fig tree or hatching out of an egg. At Nature Exchange, kids can trade their nature knowledge and observations for all kinds of fascinating nature items like a fossilized shark's tooth. Storytelling, live animal demonstrations, videos, theatre performance, arts and crafts, and more await inquisitive and playful youngsters.

"We created Zoomazium to feel more like a natural environment that you can play on than an exhibit that you look at," explained Woodland Park Zoo President and CEO Dr. Deborah Jensen. The mission of the interactive facility is to connect lots of kids to the wonders of nature. "A great zoo experience is a powerful way to help build a lifelong love of nature for kids from all walks of life. If we're going to ask folks to care more about nature, and take actions to save wildlife, we have an obligation to show that we care too. This means Zoomazium had to be built to extremely high ecological standards. Our goal is to increase resource conservation in new exhibits as well as ongoing operations throughout the zoo."

Mithun CEO Bert Gregory says the company's design professionals found the project both enriched their souls and their minds. "What we are particularly excited about is the ongoing educational aspects of the building for children and their parents about how buildings can help protect ecosystems and animals throughout the world. We believe the lessons about energy efficiency, the viability of green roofs and solar screens, healthy indoor air, along with all the other sustainable features that are part of Zoomazium will telegraph into lessons about our individual responsibility to help protect the beauty we all find in the natural world."

Some of the earth-friendly innovations of Zoomazium are:

· Green roof – The vegetated roof system is planted not just with grass, but with approximately 21,000 plants native to the Puget Sound region to aid in the natural reduction of stormwater runoff. It simulates a temperate forest floor habitat complete with sword ferns, salal, lupine and more. City of Seattle and the zoo are collaborating to document the effect on reducing stormwater runoff.

· Energy conservation – Energy use is minimized and flexibility of use is maximized through careful selection of energy-efficient lighting and natural heating and cooling systems. Solar shading allows for natural daylight harvesting, both in the main exhibit space and lower administrative areas, provided by existing trees on the site. Overhangs, screens and adjacent foliage keep the building cool in summer months, and natural daylight harvesting offsets the need for artificial lighting in the building.

· Sustainable materials – The columns and trusses, the primary structural elements in Zoomazium, are made of glu-laminated timbers that are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The FSC serves as a benchmark for sustainable forest practices to enhance wildlife habitats and ecology through better stewardship of timber forests.

· Green solar screens – Planted walls are strategically placed to screen staff office area windows, which filter low early sunlight and reduce heat gain.

· Patterned glass – White dots on the windows of Zoomazium help reduce the likelihood of bird strikes by using pattern glass called "fritting." The pattern allows it to be more visible to wildlife from the exterior, while appearing clear from the inside. Through Mithun's consultation with an expert ornithologist, the new glass technology makes Zoomazium one of the first buildings in the nation to address the prevalent issue of bird strikes, which often result in bird deaths. The patterned glass also serves to reduce solar heat gain in the building.

· Recycled content materials – Recycled content products are used wherever possible, such as the carpeting and walk-off mats.

· Raised access floor – This system allows a great deal of flexibility in the future for changing exhibits and program elements; it houses water pipes and electrical wiring underneath. The access floor allows exhibits to evolve as program needs change, without drastically changing the building's construction or expending additional energy and resources.

Zoomazium has played host to more than 400,000 visitors since opening its doors to the public. "Woodland Park Zoo thanks all of the designers, fabricators, builders, donors, staff and volunteers for the passion and creative energy that went into making Zoomazium a reality," said Zoomazium Program and Exhibits Manager Frank Hein. "It's green, it's fun, and it's helping us give millions of children a stronger connection to the wonders of wildlife and nature."

Zoomazium was funded by private donations, including The Bezos Family Foundation, Paul G. Allen Foundation, The Boeing Company, The Norcliffe Foundation, Microsoft Corporation, a generous anonymous donor, and LEED Incentive Assistance by Seattle City Light.

Zoo hours are 9:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. daily October 1-April 30; and 9:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. daily May 1-September 30. The zoo is open every day except Christmas. Zoomazium is free with zoo admission.