Brookfield Zoo

The Brookfield Zoo covers an area of 216 acres and about 2300 animals from about 450 species.
Brookfield Zoo, also known as Chicago Zoological Park, opened on July 1, 1934, and quickly gained international recognition for using moats and ditches, instead of cages, to separate animals from visitors and from other animals. The zoo was also the first in America to exhibit giant pandas, one of which (Su Lin) has been taxidermied and put on display in Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History. In 1960, Brookfield Zoo built the nation's first fully indoor dolphin exhibit, and in the 1980s the zoo introduced Tropic World, the first fully indoor rain forest simulation and the then-largest indoor zoo exhibit in the world.

1/03/17: Site revised. GSY

6/04/2026: All penny machines have been removed.

7/03/26 (& 6/28/26): 5 new penny machines have been added to the Brookfield Zoo Chicago. Each penny is $2.49/penny. Credit Card Only & Pennies provided. Will check if they still have penny books in gift stores next time I go & update. JEH

Machine #1 - Blue By the Carousel.
Designs are: 1) Salamander 2) Alligator 3) Peacock 4) Seal

Machine #2 - Red By the Carousel.
Designs are: 1) Dolphin 2) Meerkats 3) Camel 4) Wolf

Machine #3 - Yellow By the Bear Crossing in Great Bear Wilderness Exhibit.
Designs are: 1) Eagle 2) Wolf 3) Bear 4) Polar Bear

Machine #4 - Green By the Bear Crossing in Great Bear Wilderness Exhibit.
Designs are: 1) Gorilla & Baby on back 2) Gorilla holding baby 3) Monkey Swinging 4) Orangutan

Machine #5 - Purple By the Bear Crossing in Great Bear Wilderness Exhibit.
Designs are: 1) Buffalo 2) Snake 3) Goat 4) Monkeys

Retired designs
RETIRED - Machine #4 By the Carousel.
Designs are: 1) Carousel Giraffe, 2) Carousel Elephant, 3) Carousel Lion

RETIRED - Machine #7 - Just after the Woof-field Gifts side by side in a hallway.
Designs are: 1) Leopard on a branch, 2) Peacock (2015), 3) Rhino

RETIRED -Machine #12 (Zoo machine 2/ 2016) outside Seven Seas Gift Shop:
Designs are: 1) Frog, 2) Kangaroo, 3) Lion, 4) Dolphin

RETIRED - Machine #13 (2016) outside Wildlife Trading Post:
Designs are: 1) Alligator, 2) Ape, 3) Giraffe, 4) Zebra

RETIRED - Machine #14 (2016) outside Bear Crossing Gift Shop :
Designs are: 1) Eagle, 2) Lemur, 3) Penguin, 4) Wolf

Retired designs
Retired #1: 1) Elephant standing facing right
Retired #2: 1) Alligator (2015), 2) Gorilla, 3) Ring-tailed Lemur (2015).
Retired #3: 1) Eagle, 2) Penguin (2015), 3) Wolf
Retired #5: 1) Two Dolphins jumping, 2) Tiger Laying down, 3) Turtle
Retired #6: 1) Bat, 2) Butterfly, 3) Rhino
Retired #8: 1) Bear Standing, 2) Polar Bear, 3) Buffalo,
Retired #9: 1) A Scorpion, 2) A Spider, 3) A 6-legged bug. ('Extreme Bugs' exhibit Removed after Halloween 2012)
Retired #10: 1) Giraffe head, 2) Wombat, 3) Zebra
Retired #11: 1) Raptor & Stegosaurus, 2) T-Rex, 3) Pterodactyl.
Other Retired:
1) (H) 'GREAT BEAR WILDERNESS', four bears walking right in a row under location name over Zoo name.

Zoo has a Brookfield Zoo Souvenir Coin Album for $6.95. Holds 36 pennies and 8 (larger) spots. Includes Lemur penny only available in the cover of the book. {penny collector book}

10/13/25
Machines 4 and 13 are the only ones working.
Machines 14, 12, and 7 are jammed.
Machines 3, 6, and 10 were nowhere to be found. When we went to guest services they said they break too much, and they probably will be going away and retired.
Did have the penny book.