Mission:
The mission of Olmsted County Parks is to foster an appreciation of the natural
world through environmental education, natural resource management, and public
participation in the stewardship of our park lands.
Vision:
Learning life-long lessons in natural places.
About us:
The Dr. Paul E. Zollman Zoo house's over 30 species of wild animals native to
Minnesota. Many of the zoo creatures have physical injuries that have rendered them ,
non-releasable while others are surplus zoo animals from other facilities. In some
cases, animals are purchased from licensed animal farms with donation funds set aside
for such purposes. The zoo is named after Dr. Paul Zollman, DVM, in recognition of
his dedication to Olmsted County Parks and for his steadfast belief in compassionate and
animal care environmental education.
Zollman Zoo is the anchor in Oxbow's Environmental Education Program. Nearly 50
thousand visitors, many of them school-aged children visit the zoo on an annual
basis. Many of these visitors participate in environmental education classes, and/or
weekend programs designed to stimulate an interest in our natural world. The zoo
offers children and adults alike the opportunity to observe wild animals that are native in a small,country zoo setting
