Albuquerque, New Mexico Biological Park - Zoo, Aquarium, Botanic Garden

The Albuquerque Biological Park consists of the Albuquerque Aquarium, Rio Grande Botanic Garden, Rio Grande Zoo and Tingley Beach.
The Botanic Garden is located at Central and New York Avenues, just east of the Central Bridge. The rest of the park is adjacent. Map
One of the garden's boundaries is the famed Rio Grande River with it's cottonwood trees. A highlight of the garden is the Butterfly Pavillion, which is open May through September. The garden also boasts a 10,000 square foot glass conservatory housing native and exotic plants.
The Albuquerque Aquarium exhibits highlight the Rio Grande from Albuquerque to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. Other highlights include an eel tunnel, seahorses, luminous jellyfish and a 285,000 gallon ocean tank with sharks, colorful fish and sea turtles.
The 64-acre Rio Grande Zoo houses more than 250 species of exotic and native animals. Popular species include seals and sea lions, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, elephants, polar bears, giraffes, hippos, camels, tamarins, koalas, Mexican wolves, mountain lions, monkeys, jaguars, zebras and rhinoceros.
Tingley Beach features three fishing lakes and a train station with gift shop and food service. During the summer only, Tingley visitors can rent pedal boats, bicycles and model boats. There is no fee to access these facilities.Check the BioPark website for special events, fees and hours of operation.The BioPark would be a great place to take children. What a great learning experience! At the zoo you can see many species of animals from all over the world, at the aquarium you can learn how the waters of the Rio Grande change from Albuquerque down to the Gulf of Mexico, and, in the summer, you can marvel at the Butterflies in the Butterfly Pavillion at the Botanic Garden. All this would be much too much to do in a day, but plan a few days to enjoy all that Albuquerque has to offer.