Zoo acquires former Children's Museum property

Officials say added acreage will allow the Oregon Zoo to 'dream a little bigger'

The Oregon Zoo has officially acquired a 3.4-acre property that formerly housed the Portland Children's Museum and OMSI, gaining a site adjacent to its Washington Park campus and laying the groundwork for future conservation, education and community-focused projects.

"This is an exciting moment for the zoo and for the community," said Heidi Rahn, Oregon Zoo director. "The Children's Museum and OMSI have inspired curiosity and sparked imagination for so many kids growing up in the region. We want to continue that legacy."

The property - home to the Portland Children's Museum for 20 years and to OMSI for more than 30 years before that - has been unoccupied since 2021, with windows boarded up, play areas closed off and plantings gone to seed.

The building that housed the museums has significant structural issues and was marked for demolition as part of the City of Portland's 2018 Washington Park master plan. But the property could provide much-needed flexibility as the zoo begins implementing its new campus plan, according to Rahn.

Rahn said the zoo will begin to evaluate ways the site might best support conservation, education, animal well-being and guest experiences. For example, some of the zoo's administrative functions and support services could move across the street, she said, creating more usable space within the current campus footprint. Specific plans have yet to be established.

The zoo has been at its current Washington Park location since 1959. Though its main campus stretches across 64 acres, only around 43 are considered usable due to geologic and environmental considerations.

"Over the past 65 years, we've learned so much about what it means to run a modern zoo," Rahn said. "We've created better and larger habitats for animals, and greatly improved our facilities. But we've been constrained by our physical limitations. This gives us a chance to dream a little bigger."