Association of Zoos and Aquariums Announces 2025 Honors and Awards Winners

Silver Spring, Md. (September 30, 2025) - The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is pleased to announce the winners of its 2025 Honors and Awards. A record 110 applications were submitted across all award categories, with 40 projects selected for recognition at AZA's Annual Conference in Tampa, Fla., from September 13-18.

"These awards recognize the outstanding efforts of our members," said Dan Ashe, president and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. "As the world evolves, AZA-accredited member facilities continue to innovate and adapt to the changing needs of the animals in their care, their visitors, and their surrounding communities. This year's award winners showcase excellence throughout the field and are essential to advancing our mission. Congratulations to all the honorees!"

AZA's Honors and Awards recognize the excellence, innovation, and impact of AZA-accredited members across the zoo and aquarium community. Every year, at the AZA Annual Conference, facilities are recognized for their outstanding achievements in animal care and wellbeing, education, conservation, research, diversity, and more.

The 2025 Honors and Awards recipients are as follows:

Advocacy Impact Award

• Top Honors - Coexist with Wildlife California
  Fresno Chaffee Zoo, Fresno, Calif.
  Oakland Zoo, Oakland, Calif.
  Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, San Jose, Calif.
• Significant Achievement - Uniting Partners Around the Captive Primate Safety Act
  Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, Ill.
• Innovation - Finding Light at the End of the Tunnel: Advocacy and Rapid Response to Lighting Legislation Impacting Animal Care and Wellbeing
  Audubon Zoo, New Orleans, La.
  North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro, N.C.

Angela Peterson Excellence in Diversity Award

• Top Honors - Project SEARCH
  Milwaukee County Zoo, Milwaukee, Wis.
• Top Honors - Zoo For All
  Toronto Zoo, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Innovation - Autism Safari Nights
  Santa Barbara Zoo, Santa Barbara, Calif.

Earned Media Excellence Award
1 Million Guests or More Per Year

• Top Honors (Campaign) - Operation Beluga: Rescuing Whales from War-torn Ukraine
  Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, Ga.
  Oceanogràfic Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
  SeaWorld, Orlando, Fla.
• Top Honors (Campaign) - The Historic Arrival of Giant Pandas to San Diego Zoo
  San Diego Zoo, San Diego, Calif.
• Significant Achievement (Campaign) - Riding Out the Storms: The Florida Aquarium's Real-Time Storytelling Through Two Historic Hurricanes
  The Florida Aquarium, Tampa, Fla.
• Top Honors (Project) - Lincoln Park Zoo & The New York Times Partnering for Primates
  Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, Ill.
• Significant Achievement (Project) - Unlikely Wild Animals Being Smuggled Into Ports: The New York Times Feature of Georgia Aquarium and USFWS
  Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, Ga.

Under 1 Million Guests Per Year

• Significant Achievement (Campaign) - Last Call Y'all
  Zoo Atlanta, Atlanta, Ga.

Education Award
Operating Budget Over $8 Million

• Top Honors - Malott Family Research Apprenticeship Program
  Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, Ill.
• Top Honors - Zoo Apprenticeship Program
  Oregon Zoo, Portland, Ore.
• Significant Achievement - STEM Starters: Engaging our Neighborhood's Youngest Learners in Science and Nature
  Queens Zoo (WCS), Queens, N.Y.
• Innovation - Game Night at the Zoo
  San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas

Operating Budget Under $8 Million

• Top Honors - Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo Trout in Classroom
  Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo, Bridgeport, Conn.

Exhibit Award
Operating Budget Over $8 Million

• Top Honors - Kingdoms of Asia
  Fresno Chaffee Zoo, Fresno, Calif.
• Top Honors - BIRD HOUSE
  Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, D.C.

Facility Award
Operating Budget Over $8 Million

• Top Honors - Houston Zoo Headquarters (HZHQ)
  Houston Zoo, Houston, Texas
• Top Honors - National Aquarium Harbor Wetland
  National Aquarium, Baltimore, Md.
• Top Honors - Veterinary Medicine and Animal Welfare Center (CIMBA)
  Zoológico Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
• Significant Achievement - The Richard Block Conservation Hub
  Santa Barbara Zoo, Santa Barbara, Calif.
• Innovation - Frank & Paige Engro Veterinary Health and Welcome Center
  Elmwood Park Zoo, Norristown, Pa.

Operating Budget Under $8 Million

• Significant Achievement - Discovery Tram Tour Station
  Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Eatonville, Wash.
• Significant Achievement - Lake Naturalization Project at the Oceanogràfic
  Oceanogràfic Valencia, Valencia, Spain

Green Award

• Significant Achievement - Reid Park Zoo's Sustainability Program
  Reid Park Zoo, Tucson, Ariz.
• Innovation - The Maritime Aquarium's Commitment to a Green Future
  The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Norwalk, Conn.

Marketing Excellence Award
Campaign Budget Over $175,000

• Top Honors - Toronto Zoo 50th Anniversary - Guardians of Wild
  Toronto Zoo, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Significant Achievement - Meet the Locals
  Aquarium of Niagara, Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Campaign Budget Under $175,000

• Top Honors - See more. Learn more. Do more.
  Caldwell Zoo, Tyler, Texas

North American Conservation Award

• Top Honors - Southwest Conservation Program
  San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, San Diego, Calif.
• Top Honors - Back from the Brink: Developing novel strategies to save the Poweshiek skipperling
  Minnesota Zoological Garden, Apple Valley, Minn.
  Assiniboine Park Conservancy, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
  John Ball Zoo, Grand Rapids, Mich.
• Top Honors - Mariana Avifauna Conservation Program
  Pacific Bird Conservation, Kailua, Hawai'i

Research Award

• Top Honors - Saving a Generation: Advancing Diagnostics, Treatment, and Prevention of EEHV in Juvenile Elephants
  Houston Zoo, Houston, Texas

Volunteer Engagement Award
Operating Budget Over $8 Million

• Top Honors - Zoo Ambassador Volunteer Program
  Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Cleveland, Ohio
• Significant Achievement - Wild Heroes
  San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, San Diego, Calif.
• Significant Achievement - OKC Zoo Photo Crew
  Oklahoma City Zoo, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Operating Budget Under $8 Million

• Top Honors - Sewing Stuffies for Survival
  Henry Vilas Zoo, Madison, Wis.

William G. Conway International Conservation Award

• Significant Achievement - Empowering Coexistence: An Indigenous Leadership Program for Biodiversity Conservation and Community Resilience
  Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Cincinnati, Ohio

For more information about AZA's Honors and Awards, please visit: https://www.aza.org/honors-awards

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About AZA
Founded in 1924, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, animal welfare, education, science, and recreation. AZA is setting the global gold standard, accrediting 254 of the top zoos, aquariums, and related facilities in 13 countries. Look for the AZA accreditation logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you, and a better future for all living things. The AZA is a leader in saving species and your link to helping animals all over the world. To learn more, visit www.aza.org.