Our Collection of Vintage Zoo Maps & Other Print Materials

At the annual AZA conference last year, I gave a talk about maps. In the presentation, I referenced a number of vintage print maps from various zoos and theme parks. For fun, we picked up a handful of vintage zoo maps so visitors to our AZA booth could see them in person. Since then, we’ve been slowly building out our collection and we now have 21 really cool print artifacts. We decided to memorialize our collection at “The Zoo Map Museum”.

Digital products (like SmartParks) have replaced in many cases their printed counterpart. Technology comes with advantages like geo-accurate wayfinding and real-time data updates. But print has a long, colorful, and unique history. Our goal is to provide a product that allows our customers to produce equally compelling and well-designed guest materials - digitally rather than in print.

Here’s are a few of our favorite pieces. Check back from time to time at zoomaps.org to see new items as we add them.