AZA, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, this week recognised an array of institutions and projects as it announced its Fall 2026 accreditation results and 2026 awards.
The rigorous and comprehensive accreditation process assesses facilities against AZA's standards for animal wellbeing, care, and management.
Dan Ashe, president and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, says: "We are incredibly proud of the facilities that have earned AZA accreditation this fall, and are pleased to welcome four new members.
"Each new member was part of AZA’s Pathway Toward Membership Program. Their success demonstrates how this program helps organizations prepare to meet AZA’s rigorous accreditation standards."
The accreditation of 30 world-class institutions, announced at the AZA's annual conference in Portland, Oregon, brings the total number of AZA-accredited facilities to 255 across 12 countries.
Also at the annual conference, the Association is celebrating the winners of this year's honours and awards, which recognise the excellence, innovation and impact of AZA-accredited members across the zoo and aquarium community.
"This year’s award recipients represent the very best of the AZA community," says Ashe.
"From advocacy to research to education, our members are advancing the field through innovative programs and meaningful collaboration with local communities, researchers, policymakers, conservation partners and one another.
"Their achievements not only strengthen our profession but also advance our shared mission of saving species and inspiring people to care for the natural world. Congratulations to this year’s honorees!"
Newly-accredited facilities
In the Fall 2026 accreditation round, the independent Accreditation Commission granted accreditation to 30 facilities, including:
- Akron Zoological Park - Akron, Ohio
- Albuquerque Biological Park - Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Aquarium du Québec - Québec City, QC, Canada
- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo - Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Como Park Zoo and Conservatory - Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Cosley Zoo - Wheaton, Illinois
- Ellen Trout Zoo - Lufkin, Texas
- Idaho Falls Zoo at Tautphaus Park - Idaho Falls, Idaho
- John Ball Zoo - Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Kansas City Zoo and Aquarium - Kansas City, Missouri
- Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari - Ashland, Nebraska
- Lehigh Valley Zoo - Schnecksville, Pennsylvania
- Montréal Biodôme - Montréal, QC, Canada
- Mystic Aquarium - Mystic, Connecticut
- National Aviary - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- North Carolina Zoo - Asheboro, North Carolina
- Oregon Zoo - Portland, Oregon
- Orlando Science Center - Orlando, Florida
- Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada - Toronto, Canada
- Riverbanks Zoo and Garden - Columbia, South Carolina
- Rolling Hills Zoo - Salina, Kansas
- Saginaw Children’s Zoo - Saginaw, Michigan
- Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo - Gainesville, Florida
- SEA LIFE Charlotte-Concord Aquarium - Concord, North Carolina
- Seoul Zoo - Gwacheon, South Korea
- Sequoia Park Zoo - Eureka, California
- Squam Lakes Natural Science Center - Holderness, New Hampshire
- Western North Carolina Nature Center - Asheville, North Carolina
- Zoo de Granby - Granby, QC, Canada
- ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park - Hershey, Pennsylvania
AZA accreditation requires a detailed application and a thorough, multi-day on-site inspection by an independent team of zoological and aquarium professionals.
The inspecting team assesses all elements of the facility’s operation, including animal care and wellbeing, veterinary care, staff training, educational programs, conservation efforts, financial stability, risk management, governance and visitor services.
See also: From accreditation to action: AZA’s impact on the future of conservation
The Accreditation Commission then evaluates reports from the inspection team and the facility before meeting with leaders from each applicant facility at a formal hearing. After that, the Commission grants full accreditation, grants provisional accreditation for one year, or denies accreditation.
A comprehensive review ensures that each facility has met and will continue to meet continually evolving standards. AZA facilities must complete the accreditation process every five years as a condition of Association membership.
2026 awards
This year, AZA is honouring 42 projects at the annual conference, recognising outstanding achievement in animal care and wellbeing, education, conservation, research, and diversity, among others.
Dr. Rich Bergl, chief mission officer at the North Carolina Zoo and chair of AZA’s Honors and Awards Committee, says: "The depth and breadth of achievement represented in this year’s set of awards is truly impressive.
"AZA institutions across the country and, indeed, across the world are really making a difference for their guests, their communities, and wildlife conservation."
The honourees include:
Advocacy Impact Award
- Top honours - Saving the Horseshoe Crabs of Long Island Sound - The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Connecticut
- Significant achievement - Collaborative Reform of Michigan’s Large Carnivore Act - Detroit Zoological Society, Royal Oak, Michigan; Binder Park Zoo, Battle Creek, Michigan; John Ball Zoo, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Potter Park Zoo, Lansing, Michigan;
Saginaw Children's Zoo, Saginaw, Michigan - Significant achievement - Hello Pollinators, Goodbye Pests! - Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, Washington
Angela Peterson Excellence in Diversity Award
- Top honours -Transforming Conservation Through Employee Experience, Guest Experience, and Community Engagement - Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, Denver, Colorado
- Significant achievement - Super Family Sundays - Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo, Palo Alto, California
- Significant achievement - Senior Outreach - The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, Palm Desert, California
Earned Media Excellence Award, under 1 million guests per year
- Top honours (project) - Celebrating 50 Wild Years: Northwest Trek Marks Half a Century - Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Eatonville, Washington
- Top honours (campaign) - Rising to the Challenge: Record Sea Turtle Admissions and Lifesaving Outcomes - The Florida Aquarium, Tampa, Florida
Cold stunned turtle arrives at The Florida Aquarium's Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center in Apollo Beach
Earned Media Excellence Award, 1 million guests or more per year
- Top honours (project) - Brookfield Zoo Chicago & The New York Times: Building a Blood Bank for Zoos - Brookfield Zoo Chicago, Brookfield, Illinois
- Top honours (campaign) - Geriatric Penguin Island - New England Aquarium, Boston, Massachusetts
- Significant achievement (campaign) - Here, We Save Sea Turtles: Transforming the Mediterranean Coastline into a Citizen Rescue Network - Oceanogràfic Valencia, València, Spain
- Significant achievement (campaign) - Philadelphia Zoo’s Oldest Animal, Mommy the Western Santa Cruz Galapagos Tortoise, Becomes a First-Time Mom - Philadelphia Zoo, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Significant achievement (campaign) - A Legacy of Care: Communicating Compassion, Loss, and Renewal Through Grizzly Bear Care - Wilder Institute's Calgary Zoo, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Education Award, operating budget under $12 million
- Top honours - Bilingual Youth Program - Oregon Coast Aquarium, Newport, Oregon
Education Award, operating budget of $12 million or more
- Top honours - Be Outside with Brevard Zoo - Brevard Zoo, Melbourne, Florida
- Significant achievement - Wildlife Research Scholars - Nashville Zoo, Nashville, Tennessee
- Significant achievement - Advancing Conservation through Empathy for Wildlife Network - Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, Washington
Edward H. Bean Population Sustainability Award
- Top honours - Madagascar Flat-tailed Tortoise SSP - Zoo Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee; Bronx Zoo (Wildlife Conservation Society), Bronx, New York
- Innovation - Blue Death Feigning Beetle program - Topeka Zoo, Topeka, Kansas
Exhibit Award, operating budget under $12 million and project budget under $10 million
- Top honours - Virginia R. Bartak Red Panda Passage - Zoo Boise, Boise, Idaho
- Significant achievement - Fantastic Asia: Journey to Another World (Asia Fantástica “Un viaje a otro mundo”) - Fundación Zoológica de Cali, Cali, Colombia
- Significant achievement - Lagunas y Pastizales autóctonos - Fundación Temaikèn, Escobar, Argentina
Exhibit Award, operating budget over $12 million or project budget over $10 million
- Top honours - Elephant Trek - Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Significant achievement - Aline W. Skaggs Wild Utah - Utah’s Hogle Zoo, Salt Lake City, Utah
Facility Award, operating budget under $12 million and project budget under $10 million
- Top honours - New Headquarters Complex at Zoológico Guadalajara - Zoológico Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
Facility Award, operating budget over $12 million or project budget over $10 million
- Top honours - San Antonio Zoo New Entrance - San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas
- Innovation - Shedd Aquarium: Enhanced Accessible Entrance - John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, Illinois
Green Award
- Top honours - Kansas City Zoo and Aquarium - Kansas City, Missouri
- Significant achievement - Seattle Aquarium - Seattle, Washington
Marketing Excellence Award, campaign budget under $250,000
- Top honours - Dino Park Zoo - Blank Park Zoo, Des Moines, Iowa
- Significant achievement - Adam R. Scripps Living Seas Gallery - Birch Aquarium at Scripps, La Jolla, California
Marketing Excellence Award, campaign budget of $250,000 or more
- Top honours - Amazing All Around - Indianapolis Zoo, Indianapolis, Indiana
- Significant achievement - San Diego Zoo Safari Park – Join The Herd - San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Escondido, California
North American Conservation Award
- Top honours — Saving Sierran Amphibians: A Decade of Conservation Action and Recovery - San Francisco Zoo and Gardens, San Francisco, California
- Significant achievement — Fort Wayne Zoo: Help the Hellbender Project - Fort Wayne Zoo, Fort Wayne, Indiana; Indianapolis Zoo, Indianapolis, Indiana; Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden, Evansville, Indiana
Research Award
- Top honours - Advancing recovery of the extinct-in-the-wild ‘Alalā through evidence-based management - San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, San Diego, California
- Innovation - ZooAI: An AI-Enhanced Framework for Automated Behavioral Monitoring in Zoos and Aquariums - Toronto Zoo, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Volunteer Engagement Award, operating budget under $12 million
- Top honours - ZooTeen Volunteer Program - Seneca Park Zoo Society, Rochester, New York
Volunteer Engagement Award, operating budget of $12 million or more
- Top honours - Urban Wildlife Monitoring at Lincoln Park Zoo - Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, Illinois
- Significant achievement - Restore Our Shores: Restoring hope to Brevard County waterways through volunteer and community engagement - Brevard Zoo, Melbourne, Florida
- Significant achievement - OKC Zoo Wild Guides: A Modern Methodology for Interpretive Volunteer Engagement - Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
William G. Conway International Conservation Award
- Top honours - Kenyan Rangelands Program - San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, San Diego, California
Last month, AZA named Melissa Howerton as executive vice president, succeeding Craig Hoover.
