OSHKOSH, Wis. — A new public art project underway at the City of Oshkosh’s Menominee Park Zoo is bringing color, character and a more cohesive visual identity to one of Oshkosh’s most popular family destinations.
The project began with plans to replace the beloved Menominee Park train and a larger question that grew out of those conversations: If the community was going to invest in one of the zoo’s most recognizable attractions, what else could happen to make the zoo a stronger destination?
That question brought Discover Oshkosh, the City of Oshkosh, the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation and other community partners together to explore how to enhance the zoo without requiring a wholesale redevelopment.
Menominee Park Zoo welcomes around 100,000 visitors annually, making it one of Oshkosh’s most popular family attractions. The seasonal zoo features 30 to 50 animals each year, along with permanent exhibits featuring black bear, fox, wolf, elk, otter and bald eagle. Admission to the zoo remains free through the generous support of local residents Tom and Penny Harenburg, making it an especially accessible attraction for residents and visitors alike.
“The public art project at the City of Oshkosh's Menominee Park Zoo is a thoughtful way to build on an important community treasure,” said Anna Cannizzo, Cultural and Enrichment Services Director for the City of Oshkosh. “The artwork will help strengthen the visitor experience while complementing continued improvements to exhibits and amenities. The City will continue to make considerate, incremental investments that keep the zoo welcoming and accessible for everyone.”
This effort builds on a much larger vision developed more than a decade ago. In 2014, the City completed a long-range Menominee Park Zoo Master Plan intended to guide 20 years of development. Created with input from the Parks Department, Advisory Parks Board, Zoological Society and community members, the plan envisioned significant investments in animal exhibits, buildings, visitor amenities, circulation, landscaping, educational features and other improvements.
Rather than attempting to implement that multi-million-dollar vision, local leaders began asking whether some of the same goals (a more memorable visitor experience, stronger sense of arrival, better connections between exhibits, a zoo that feels intentionally designed as a whole) could be achieved through a more incremental and fiscally responsible approach. One idea quickly rose to the top: use art and design as infrastructure.
The resulting project, funded entirely through a partnership between Discover Oshkosh, the Community Foundation, and private donors, will leverage murals, graphics and a shared visual language to connect buildings and exhibits added at different times and for different purposes. Instead of a collection of individual structures, the zoo will begin to read as one cohesive place. Those visual improvements will be paired over time with continued investments in exhibits and the visitor experience.
“Menominee Park Zoo is already an incredible asset because it gives families a high-quality experience they can enjoy together without admission being a barrier,” said Amy Albright, Executive Director of Discover Oshkosh. “The question wasn’t how do we completely rebuild the zoo. It was how do we take what is already here, make smart investments and create an experience that feels more intentional, more memorable and more distinctly Oshkosh.”
Discover Oshkosh issued a call for artists and designers to help establish that new identity. A committee of community members reviewed the submissions and selected artist Jake Reeder to lead the project.
Originally from a small town in Illinois and now based in the Quad Cities, Reeder brings experience in both large-scale public art and brand design, a combination well-suited to creating a visual identity. He is currently in Oshkosh installing the first phase of the project. That phase will establish a visual vocabulary that can expand across the zoo over time, allowing future artwork, exhibit improvements, signage and other investments to reinforce one another rather than function as isolated projects.
The project comes during a period of renewed investment in Menominee Park Zoo. A new train debuted in 2026 with support from the WHW Oshkosh B’Gosh Family Fund through the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, while recent years have also brought new and improved permanent animal exhibits. Together, the projects represent a strategy of building on what already makes the zoo special while finding creative, achievable ways to make the experience even stronger.
Menominee Park Zoo is located along the Lake Winnebago shoreline within Menominee Park. The approximately eight-acre zoo operates seasonally and features both permanent native species and a changing collection of animals each year. Admission is free.
