The zoo doesn’t have a restaurant or café but daytrippers can head in any direction and find interesting eateries for lunch. “It’s not just a tourist attraction, it’s a place of learning,’’ Hemdy said. He’s been to the bigger zoos, too, and prefers Santa Fe’s homey feel as well as the educational opportunities. “The animals have to eat, even on the holidays,’’ she noted.Īustin Hemdy of Gainesville by way of New Zealand was explaining the plodding Galapagos tortoises to his 16-month-old daughter Lucy. The zoo is only closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but the students are always here.

“We’re here 365 days a year taking care of the animals,’’ she said. “We have a moms’ group that gets together for birthdays and play dates here,’’ she said.Īlyx Maederer, 19, in her second semester at SFC, described how attached the students get to the zoo and the inhabitants. She especially likes the zoo’s picnic tables, playground equipment – and its shade trees. “We’ve been to zoos in Tampa and Jacksonville, but they’re more like theme parks,’’ Lindsey Hickman said. They come so often, they said, Darren already is identifying and remembering specific animals. The animals are mere feet away from visitors in a clean environment, meticulously cared for by the students who buzz around in their hunter green shirts, more than happy to share their knowledge and love of critters great and small.ĭerek and Lindsey Hickman of Gainesville take their 21-month-old son Darren to the zoo almost every weekend. Their squawks, calls and whoops ring through the tall trees, turning the dull hum of the nearby interstate into soothing background noise. More than 75 native and exotic creatures - including ocelots, springboks, a kookaburra, squirrel monkeys, barking deer and Perdido Key beach mice - call it home. Open seven days a week, the zoo is comfortable enough that visitors meandering along its quarter-mile of shaded, foot-friendly sawdust and mulch pathways can stop and soak in the sights and sounds without blocking others or being carried along by a sea of humanity. Situated in north Gainesville just four traffic lights east of Interstate 75 off Exit 390 and seemingly a million miles from the hustle of this vibrant college town’s hopping heart, this is where Santa Fe College’s more than 200 Zoo Animal Technology Program students bring classroom lessons to life. Welcome to the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo, where the usual and unusual converge in a 10-acre embrace of animal appreciation. Birds are chirping, kids are giggling and you haven’t even reached the front gate.

Two gloriously iridescent peacocks are strolling near the entrance, pretending not to notice you marveling at their brilliant plumage. Still in the parking lot, you can hear the cheerful, high-pitched whooping that signals … what exactly? Feeding time? A game of chase is about to begin? Whatever it is, it sounds happy. The white-handed gibbons get your attention first. A day trip in Gainesville, including stops at Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo, Butterfly Rainforest and Satchel’s Pizza, will sate both your soul and your belly.

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