A nocturnal house, sometimes called a nocturama,The Rotarian - Jan 1977 - Page 19 "Although ours is a private zoological organization, we still manage to operate an aquarium, a dolphinarium, a planetarium, a nocturama, a botanical garden, a museum of natural history, a public library, a natural reserve of some 100 hectares ..." is a building in a zoo or research establishment where nocturnal animals are kept and viewable by the public. The unique feature of buildings of this type is that the lighting within is isolated from the outside and reversed; i.e. it is dark during the day and lit at night. This is to enable visitors and researchers to more conveniently study nocturnal animals during daylight hours.
Internally, a building usually consists of several glass-walled enclosures containing a replica of the animals' normal environments. In the case of burrowing animals, often their tunnels are 'half-glassed' so the animals can be observed while underground.
Notable nocturnal houses
Current
USA
Kingdoms of The Night, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (Nebraska) Nocturnal Building and Aviary, Columbus Zoo & Aquarium (Ohio) Animals of The Night, Memphis Zoo (Tennessee) Bat House in Jaguar Jungle, Audubon Zoo (Louisiana) Brazos by Night, Cameron Park Zoo (Texas) Mouse House, Bronx Zoo (New York) Desert's Edge and Clouded leopard Rain Forest, Brookfield Zoo (Illinois) Night Hunters, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden (Ohio)
Mexico
Guadalajara Zoo
United Kingdom
Nightlife, ZSL London Zoo Fruit Bat Forest, Chester Zoo
Europe
Berlin Zoological Garden Frankfurt Zoological Garden Moscow Zoo Prague Zoo Plzen Zoo Budapest Zoological and Botanical Garden
Australasia
Nguwing Nura, Taronga Zoo Wild Life Sydney Adelaide Zoo Perth Zoo David Fleay Wildlife Park Auckland Zoo
India
Nandankanan Zoological Park
Former
USA
World of Darkness, Bronx Zoo (New York) - closed 2009/reopening 2025
The Night Exhibit, Woodland Park Zoo (Seattle, WA) - closed 2010 Canada Creatures Of The Night Calgary Zoo[ [Calgary ]] , AB)- closed 2011 -Demolished around 2013 - 2014 ,Replaced by Savanna Plains And Savanna Crossing IN Destination Africa, In 2025
References
External links Queensland Environmental Protection Agency Goodzoos.com