After watching videos on social media of animals at various zoos last year during this pandemic, I paid a visit to the only zoo here in Ventura County, and it did not disappoint! America’s Teaching Zoo, which is the home of Moorpark College’s Exotic Animal Training and Management (EATM) program, is well-kept and cared for by the students of the EATM program. It’s not overwhelming in size (which I did not mind), yet still showcases a variety of animals from around the world - birds, monkeys, tortoises, Neil + Karma (the two tigers) and Ira the Lion, among others. I especially enjoyed the live demonstrations of the student trainers working directly with the animals. They are very informative, open to answering any of your questions, and their dedication to caring for these animals definitely shows. It will definitely be worth your weekend afternoon to come out, especially if you have kids, and see these animals!

My wife and I came here and had a blast. Tickets are 9 dollars a person, less for kids. The zoo is not very big and can be explored in an hour. However, take your time. They have cool shows and feeding times for the lion. The staff are all very friendly and informative. Parking is also free. It opens at 11 but I suggest coming around 1pm, all the cool shows happen in the afternoon. Have fun 😀

Cute teaching zoo for the whole family to attend. It is located in Moorpark College and has its own parking lot. I brought my 2 year old here for a birthday party and he has a wonderful time. We attended a show where they brought out 8 different animals and got to attend the lion feeding as well. There's all so a ton of other animals to look at. He loved looking at the birds and the monkeys best. The zoo itself is very clean and tidy and the staff was really nice We will definitely come back another time for a fun mini trip!

LOVE my neighborhood campus canyon exotic zoo … it’s home to our own "King of the Campus" Ira the 8 year old Lion We’ve been celebrating Ira’s birthday since he came to the zoo as a lion cub The zoo has a nice selection of exotic birds monkeys and other exotic creatures… I especially love the monkey and of course the tigers and lions

We went this last weekend. Everyone was so happy to have us there. They made us feel welcomed, and well informed about all of the animals. They have cute Halloween decorations up. Nice amount of animals for a small zoo :) the show was cute as well, and they are doing a swell job of keeping people social distant. My favorite areas are the birds and tortoises.

Very nice experience...😊😊it was my first time with my kids and they enjoyed it. I will come back ..one thing that we loved was the little show of animals they have, you guys need more like that it was fun!!!👍👍👍

Its a pretty small enclosed place for kiddos to see some animals and learn about them. Every section has a guide who can tell you more about each animal in their exhibit. My kiddo liked it so im happy with it, even though I am not a fan of seeing animals in cages.

Very knowledgeable animal trainers and very well cared for animals. The Galapagos tortoise is the star of the show!

This is our second year coming to the Spring Spectacular with our grandchildren ages 6 to 12. 5 star both visits! Interactions with all students were 5 star. My first conversation was with Christine who wants to work with lions. She was so enthusiastic and friendly. Richard at the booth about foods was so patient. He even came over to King Ira and shared great information. All of the booths were superior to last year. Great variety and enthusiastic presentations. Creature feature with the wolf dogs was amazing. All the speakers were passionate but the main lady should write a book! Articulate and quick on her feet with questions! 2:30 presentation from an Alumni was fast paced and humorous. Loved the assortment of animals. Just a thought...freshen up the bathrooms in the portables by theater (paint/minor repairs) I'm proud to be an alumni of Moorpark College (1972).

Visiting family here in Moorpark. We are from Michigan. This was on my goddaughters a grown womans check list. We spent our afternoon here walking along your zoo looking at the amazing animals. The students very friendly and willing to share their knowledge plus answer questions. just flip through my photos. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did. So many very well groomed species. They looked well cared for. Cages plenty big enough. Not to many in any. Very clean. The Tiger was showing off flipping over on his back. The Monkey carried his red ball everywhere. So cute.

Moorpark College's local on-campus Zoo is a grand old time! Everyone's super friendly, the critters are lovely and its just a darn cozy place. The students run everything under the close supervision of staff, and you can really tell that everyone genuinely adore and appreciate the animals with the love and care they give them. Y'all and your family should go if you've never been, they have awesome animal shows on the weekends!!! 🦊

Great way to spend a couple of hours locally learning about animals. The property is great. The entire place (feeding, taking care of the animals, the shows) is ran by the students of the school. Because ots a teaching zoo you get to get Michael oser to the animals and the staff is very engaging and knowledgeable and eager to answer your questions. Also, when you come here you're helping fund the student program and seeing some amazing animals! A must visit.

This zoo is a lot of fun and affordable. We went for the show that happens at 12 and 2 on the weekends and it was pretty solid compared to other kinds of zoo talks I've been to. Parking is free which is nice and there isn't too much walking needed to see everything which is good but also means that you have a pretty short walk to see everything. They were also doing face painting while we were there which was fun. Want to go again sometime to do the behind the scenes tour where you get to see some other animals and look at the feeding area. Fun and affordable but not something to spend the whole day at.

Small exotic animals zoo. They have tigers, lions, parrots, porcupines, hyenas, many types of monkeys, reptiles, a pony, donkeys, a few other animals. The price is $10 per adult. Kids 2 and under are free. Free parking. They have a show with animals. It took us an hour and a half to see everything. Open on Saturdays and Sundays 11:00-4:30.

Love this place. Super clean, staff super knowledgeable and extremely nice. It's the perfect size to get you out of the house locally. Will definitely be back.

Marvelous way to spend a day with the students show casing there animals. So well informed for every question you have. Just lovely and will leave learning something informative.

It felt really good being outside and especially terrific supporting the zoo & students by being a visitor. Get your tickets online for either Saturday or Sunday as they are busy throughout the week with instruction/classes.

Love this zoo do much. There are plenty of knowledgeable staff to answer questions about the animals and then enjoy the questions. There are not a ton of animals there but plenty enough for enjoyment. Kids love it and the time it takes to go through the area is perfect for children. They do have feeding g times and shows as well and the price is right.

I remember this small zoo being a lot bigger the first time I went but not so much this second round. Still they have a tiger, hyena, lion and a few other animals there.

Has a cute show but they did put cockroaches on my back so be careful if you volunteer.

Great little zoo. Beautiful area, clean and friendly environment.

A quaint zoo, purposed for students of their program to work with and study animals as well as guests to enjoy learning about them. Feel free to ask the staff about anything. Animals, their education, their future plans with their degree, they are very willing to chat with you. It costs $9 per adult (not sure about kids), and recommend pre-purchasing tickets since it's all online anyways, then you show the person at the entry the email you receive. The zoo takes about 1-2hours depending on your pace and interest. They have various shows throughout the day starting at 12pm. I recommend going later in the day as the animals become more active as the day goes, and the training shows start at 1:30pm. Have fun!

This was a fun family outing, very low-key l, relaxed environment, and the lights were very pretty. I recommend family with children attend but I took grandchildren and enjoyed.

This place is beautiful and the crew is so knowledgeable , friendly and welcoming!!! My kids loved it !! We came part if a group so the tour was guided and it was informative. Will come back again ! Thank you !!

The staff is friendly, seem passionate about the work that they do; two gentlemen with the snapping turtle 🐢 on 1/28 were very kind. We also saw staff walking around with a Papua new guinea singing dog, pot belly pig, and a miniature horse. My little one enjoyed the vervet monkeys. To finish we caught a show displaying a total of 6 animals including an African porcupine, Madagascar cockroach, lizard. Birds, monkeys, tigers, a lion, an alligator - a good place to spend some time.

Half of the cages empty, barely any animals, no shade, very small. Not recommended

Excellent shows and education. Touring the entire zoo itself takes easily less than an hour. Actively creating better habitats

Great place for a small, relaxed zoo experience. The student staff were awesome. They answered lots of questions and shared information about the animals. Clarence, the Galapagos tortoise, is 98 years old and huge. My nieces loved watching him eat (OK, I did, too).

1000% recommend this place if you are thinking to visit ! This is a hidden gem. They animals are all well taken care of the zoo is unbelievably clean. The staff/students are so helpful and sweet. I love this place . My family and I will be visiting again. Thank you

Fantastic place. Up close and personal with Lions, tigers, hyena, baboons, alligator etc. The training students and staff couldn’t be more friendly. What a great place to spend a few hours and a great resource to both the animals and the public.

Awesome little zoo. Has a lot of dedicated students who are eager to answer questions about the animals. The fees go towards improving animal education. Awesome place.

Rare exotic animals are on display there. Shows featuring some of the animals are presented throughout the day. Guided tours are available. The staff is friendly. Free parking

Easy parking, and knowledgeable staff! Perfect size for the little ones.

We had an awesome time!

It's amazing and the staff are really kind and educative

It was a good experience the tranners were very knowledgeable

I like it

We went to college there. Wife and I met there.

Great for young children to learn about animals

Amazing place to learn about animals and also how zoos care for their animals.

great place good service

Loved the place

They treat their animals with love

the eatm project and all its class that help run the zoo are some of the kindess people you will meet if you are wanting to study there.

(Translated by Google) It is a good place for children to learn and have fun. (Original) Es un buen lugar para que los niños aprendan y se diviertan.

It's a small place, you can probably zip through there in 30 min, however we loved it so much we took our time and stayed for 2 hours. We saw 2 wildlife talks and my 4 yr old nephew loved it. You can see most animals up close and they seem to be very well taken care of. Definitely would come back.

Delightful and intimate, a wonderful place for small kids or animal lovers. The selections of animals is small but the staff is attentive and enthusiastic.

Love this zoo!!! My daughter took a week long summer camp here learning more about careers offered to animal lovers. She had a tour with the trainers and students there and learned a lot within the week. They are opened to the public during the weekend and have quite a few animals to see up close. Check oi the baboon and the tigers.

The animals are well taken care of, which is obvious from the moment you walk into this zoo. The students who work there love what they are doing, are well informed about each animal, and the grounds are clean. We loved our visit and will return many times!

I loved it!! I had not been there in 10 years and it has a great variety of animals!!!

Caged animals. Yeah, animals are neat. I hope they can expand so the animals will have more room. Such a catch-22. In a perfect world they're in the wild, but here students learn to care for them in captivity. Lots of good chances to expose youth and others to become interested in animals and conservation.

Small zoo. Good for small kids. Students did a good job of sharing their knowledge of the animals.

A real value for the money. While it is small, this place is great for families. Perfect for a few hours activity. The animals are well cared for and the staff very friendly and engaging. The show is fun and informative.

Not only can you have your birthday party there but it's a great zoo with a great staff that also promotes education

A gem.

Wonderful place to learn about the animals. Staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. Great way to spend the day.

Very cool zoo! Fun for children

great place to bring the family especially the kids but the staff needs more knowledge on the place.

Great little local zoo. Great spot for birthday parties.

Good for small kids.

Really cool place to see lions and tigers.

Loved the teaching zoo, getting a close up look at the animals was amazing. The staff was informative and was helpful with animal facts. Better then the regular zoo.

While interacting with the employees/students/volunteers, you could tell they were enthusiastic about being there. They were very informed about the animala.

Nice little place for a field trip.

Great experience! The staff was very knowledgeable AND friendly.

Cute and fun way for kids to learn about animals 💖

Great place to bring kids and family. Explore the lion, tigers, bird and many more. I do suggest to come early to get the behind tickets, it's worth it. Also bring cash for tickets. They only take cash. Also looks like you could have birthday parties here. I saw two of them. I recommend this place alot.

Love this place!!

Great place to take my niece and nephew for a few hours on the weekend. They get to get up close to some of the animals and the zoology students are always around to answer questions and tell you about the animals. Great learning experience for the littles!

Excellent zoon. Small size, great animals! Excellent staff!