rad zoo (reptile amphibian discovery zoo)

Saw a brochure for RAD zoo at the Holiday Inn where we were staying...decided to check it out. It is located in an old converted warehouse....does not look like a zoo from the outside. Inside, there is actually a pretty impressive array of reptiles and amphibians. Including a big 70 year old alligator, some big snakes, lots of different kinds of turtles, etc. Lots of stuff to see for frigid MN. Nice find!

We had our granddaughters with us and we took them to the Rad Zoo. They had a lot of fun. You not only get to see the reptiles and you get to touch some of the also.

The kids loved it! Lots to see... more lizards, snakes, toads, turtles and alligators then I can count :) We took grade school boys and they could not run for exhibit to exhibit quick enough. The staff was informative and brought out a snake and alligator for the kids to pet and hold. Inexpensive and fun time for the family.

We visited MN and stayed in Eagan. The drive was about an hour but totally worth it! This place has a lot of reptiles, in good shape. The staff is super friendly and we got to see the feedings. My daughter (age 6) thought this place was cool, and we paid the extra $6 for her to hold an alligator and snake. She was not rushed, the guy answered all her questions and was really nice. I definitely recommend, looking forward to coming back!

First, as others have said this looks like a warehouse when you pull up, but don't let that discourage you - it is what is inside that is the real attraction. The exhibits are nicely arranged with very good signage. Even though it looks like things are just set out on a warehouse floor - look past that and see the animals. They have a very wide variety of animals turtles, tortoises, big snakes, little snakes, lizards, Caymans and the centerpiece of it all an enormous American Alligator named Big Al. Truly amazing to watch him move. We got to watch the caregiver feeding several animals which was quite fascinating. The man working that day was extremely knowledgeable about the animals as well as entertaining. He let everyone know which animals he was going to feed next so we could watch and he talked about the animal, the species as well as that specific animal as he worked. Very informative.

The curb appeal on this place could use some work and we were a little unsure if we even had the right place! Once we got in we were glad we came. There were so many different animals to look at and the bonus is feeding time. A lot of attractions have animals but you don't get to see them moving around, they just sit there and you look. This place feeds the animals while you are there. They do a quick informative interactive discussion and then you get to touch the animals! We will definitely be going back, worth the two hour drive in construction to get there.

My 8-year-old daughter and I stayed in Owatonna one night in mid-July while on a road trip through the upper Midwest. Reptiles fascinate us, so we were excited to learn that the RAD Zoo was a short drive from our hotel. It's located in a warehouse in an industrial area on the outer road of Highway 35. With good directions, I found it easily. When I paid admission, I thought the price was high -- $19. I asked if there was a AAA discount. No, there's not. I just now reviewed the admission prices on the RAD website. Unless the website needs updating, the young woman overcharged me, apparently charging me the adult price for both of us. Now to our visit. The set up of the place is odd. There are animal enclosures set up around the outside of the warehouse, and a few in the center toward the back. There's black plastic sheeting to cover places I assume they don't want people to see.I especially wanted to see alligators and crocodiles, and they have quite a few. They have Big Al, an impressive-looking 13-foot American alligator. He's in an enclosure with a murky pond made of black plastic lining. Two caimans are in a large enclosure to the right of the entrance. However, I had to ask what they were as there were no signs. There also are small crocodiles, though they were in murky water and we couldn’t see them. Throughout the zoo, I was disappointed by the lack of signage. Many exhibits had no signs to explain what animal was inside. The signs that were there often didn’t provide enough explanation of the animal, and the small font size made them hard to read. At the very back of the zoo, there is an above-ground pool -- the type you might install in your backyard – with a bunch of tortoises in it. You had to peek over the edge of the pool to see them. There was no information given about the tortoises. We learned that a show was about to begin. We went to the front of the zoo and sat on benches that faced the large caiman exhibit. A few workers who introduced themselves as interns were in the enclosure. They each showed us a different animal – a frog, a tortoise, a snake, and a young American alligator. They did an excellent job of engaging the kids in the audience, and providing facts about the animals. The woman who held the small alligator explained the zoo rescued it from a person who had bought it was a pet. She explained having one as a pet is a bad idea. After the show, the zoo keepers allowed everyone to touch the tortoise, snake and alligator (which my daughter and I did). For a $5 fee, you could hold an animal and have a photo taken with it (which we did not). The show was great. I give it five stars.But outside the show, the zoo gave me the feeling that someone who has a reptile/amphibian obsession collected a bunch of the animals, and decided to open the collection to the public. I’m not sorry we went here, but it has the potential to be much more educational than it is.

My son and I went there a couple of weeks ago. We have an annual zoo membership where we live and have traveled to been to several zoos and aquariums including the Omaha Zoo and the Monterrey Bay Aquarium and SeaWorld. We loved this and could not believe the quantity and variety of animals to view as well as all of the information provided as well. We wished we had longer to stay. Very friendly, my son got to feed the turtles and pet a snake as well. Definitely recommend

Lots of different snakes, frogs alligators, crocs, and some birds. I find it to be more fun to visit than the Minnesota Zoo because it is more hands on and up close. The employees thoroughly answered all our questions about the animals.

My two animal loving children loved this! Its a small set up, not fancy, but interesting to see. Had i paid full price i wouldnt have been happy but with half off tickets, it was worth it.

It wasn't a flashy setup, but they had a vast amount of animals displayed. Everything from amphibians, turtles, snakes, alligators, some birds, etc. The animal displays tended to be small, but were clean. They even brought out a boa constrictor for us to pet. My four yr olds got a kick out of that. Very warm in the building even on a coolish day but thankfully the smell from all the critters wasn't very noticable. In a sitting area they have a bunch of toys for kids to play with which I'm assuming is for little ones who are too young to care much for the displays. However my kids wanted to play with the toys instead of look at the animals. :/It's definitely on the higher price for admission fees.Overall a cool experience, but now we've see it, so no need to revisit anytime soon.

We stopped by on a Friday afternoon recently as my daughter likes creatures. The cost was about $9.00 a person which surprised me. If she wasn't insistant we would have left as there is nothing that really draws you in once inside the door. It is just a huge metal building with glass boxes and a huge black plastic tarp hanging in the middle of the large room. The boy who took our money was unfriendly and offered no explaination of the place or suggestion on how to visit the exhibits. He barely even said anything more than how much money we owed. There was not another person there the entire 45 minutes we were on our own private tour. There were 3 young people working there who just sat and visited with each other. We asked if they had any shows that day and they looked at us if we were crazy. The answer was "no". We enjoyed the reptiles but had some trouble trying to figure out what we were looking at as some of the signs were gone. But it was fun to see the huge python and alligator. We did not find it to have a smell and it seemed clean. A few exhibits had dirty glass but guess that is a problem with the humid nature these creatures need. It was fascinating to see so many reptiles from far away. But their staff is horrid. There was no reason they could not step up and show that they like their jobs and that they even knew anything. Especially considering the length of time we were there and being the only people there. Whoever owns this place should check up on what their employees are doing when they are away. We are from out of town and I would not suggest anyone to drive down there to see this place. It was wrong to be treated as though we were an intrusion on their space.

Housed in an unassuming warehouse, this zoo is well worth the drive to visit. I was very impressed with the cleanliness and lack of a heavy reptile smell normally associated with zoos like this. There are a variety of sizes of both displays and reptiles, including a huge alligator. They also have educational programs at which time a zoo employee handles several animals and talks about their habitat and foods. They patiently accept questions from the children in the audience and after they are done they offer to let everyone touch a very large snake and a small alligator. They also offer photographs taken with the snake or alligator for a very small fee. There was much more to see than we expected even after we entered the building, and we spent a couple of hours there. I would definitely recommend and I would like to visit again.

My boys and me visited RAD on a Saturday. There were probably two other families in the building with us. The exhibits were very small and I am not a fan of such animals but I actually felt sorry for most of them due to such small cramped places. The building smelled and came off dirty to me. It took us about 25 minutes to walk through the entire exhibit. The staff consisted of one kid working the cash register and there were no shows going on or any animals to touch or hold. I was not impressed and we will not be going back. I wish we could have had the same fun experience others write about. However that was not the case for us.

I took my kids on the way back from visiting grandma because we had some extra time that afternoon. It was time (and money) well spent. It is about an hour from my house and we bought a membership because we for sure want to bring our kids back again. The best thing that we like was how up close you felt to the animals at this zoo versus other zoos. The staff was very willing to answer any of the questions my kids had. We loved the show they had, and my kids got to touch a snake and pet an alligator.