For one summer, Blank Park Zoo stopped being Blank Park Zoo. It rebranded itself Dino Park Zoo, put 17 animatronic dinosaurs on the grounds, and committed to the bit hard enough that the Association of Zoos and Aquariums has now given the campaign its 2026 Marketing Excellence Award, Top Honors.
The award was announced at the AZA Honors and Awards Lunch on September 30, 2026, at the association’s annual conference in Portland, Oregon.
A temporary name change, and a record year
The 2025 campaign did what the Des Moines zoo wanted it to do. Summer attendance rose by nearly 20 percent, and the year produced the highest attendance in Blank Park Zoo history.
“Dino Park Zoo was a bold idea, and we knew from the beginning that it would take more than adding dinosaurs to the Zoo to make it successful,” said Alex Payne, Blank Park Zoo spokesperson. “We completely reimagined how we told the story, from temporarily transforming our brand to creating a campaign that gave people a reason to see the Zoo in a whole new way. Seeing that work drive record attendance and now receive this recognition from AZA is incredibly rewarding.”
“Congratulations to the team at Blank Park Zoo for their hard work and dedication in achieving this remarkable recognition,” said Dan Ashe, president and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. “This award recognizes the best of the best in the global aquarium and zoo community. The work being done at Blank Park Zoo further strengthens the impact of our entire community and is something Des Moines can be proud of.”
Why an attendance number is a conservation number
It is easy to file a marketing award under fluff, and that reading misses where the money goes. Admission and membership revenue is what pays the veterinary staff, builds the habitats and funds the conservation work at an accredited zoo. A family that comes for animatronic dinosaurs still walks past the living animals, still buys the membership, and still funds the keeper.
Blank Park Zoo is the only accredited zoo in Iowa. AZA accreditation is held by fewer than ten percent of the roughly 2,800 wildlife exhibitors licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture, so in Iowa the question of whether people are in the habit of visiting their zoo has exactly one address.
What is coming next in Des Moines?
The zoo says it is heading into a busy fall. Kya, a reticulated giraffe, was born in August, and a second calf is expected any day. Later this month the zoo plans to open the Marjorie A. Foster Lion Conservation Center, which will bring three new lions to Des Moines. We covered the lion center when it was announced, and the opening is the part worth watching for.
Which makes the award well timed rather than backward looking. The dinosaurs did their job, which was to get a city into the habit of coming to its zoo, and the thing the zoo built with that attention opens in a few weeks.
Quick answers
- What was Dino Park Zoo?
A marketing campaign under which Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines temporarily rebranded itself Dino Park Zoo for the summer of 2025, promoting the addition of 17 animatronic dinosaurs.
- Did the campaign work?
Summer attendance rose by nearly 20 percent and the year produced the highest attendance in Blank Park Zoo history.
- What award did the zoo receive?
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums' 2026 Marketing Excellence Award, Top Honors, announced at the AZA Honors and Awards Lunch on September 30, 2026 at the association's annual conference in Portland, Oregon.
- Why does an attendance figure matter beyond the gate?
Admission and membership revenue is what pays the veterinary staff, builds the habitats and funds the conservation work at an accredited zoo. Blank Park Zoo is the only accredited zoo in Iowa, and AZA accreditation is held by fewer than ten percent of the roughly 2,800 wildlife exhibitors licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture.
- What is opening next at Blank Park Zoo?
The zoo says it plans to open the Marjorie A. Foster Lion Conservation Center later in October 2026, bringing three new lions to Des Moines. A reticulated giraffe named Kya was born in August and a second calf was expected imminently.
