A Family of Museums and Parks Dedicated to Nature
In the next decade, Audubon Nature Institute adopted an ambitious new mission incorporating wildlife conservation, science education and family entertainment. New ways to captivate and educate visitors emerged. The Aquarium expanded into a new wing housing Entergy IMAX® Theatre and a Changing Exhibits Gallery, while Woldenberg Park also extended its borders. The Zoo 2000 master plan saw completion through the addition of the CNG (now Dominion) Learning Center; engaging new exhibits (Komodo dragons and Jaguar Jungle); the state-of-the-art Columbia Animal Healthcare Center; and a grand new entrance befitting a world-class zoo.
Audubon Louisiana Nature Center joined the growing family in a 1994 merger and later developed new educational programs for Audubon Wilderness Park, a private West Bank preserve which would welcome schoolchildren and other scheduled groups to discover native animals and habitats.
Through each new development, the family birthplace—Audubon Park—has endured as a much-loved community resource that combines habitat preservation with human pastimes. The extensive 2002 renovation of its historic Golf Course shaped beautiful new vistas enjoyed by all park users who, like generations before them, embrace the site as a center of New Orleans life.