Policies

Privacy Policy

Last Updated March 30, 2026

The Omaha Zoological Society, including operations as Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium and the Lee G. Simmons Wildlife Safari Park (collectively “we”, “us”, “Zoo”, “Park”), is committed to providing a safe and enjoyable environment for all guests. To further that goal, the Zoo collects and uses certain personal information provided by or collected from our guests and users of our websites. This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) is intended to provide a summary of how we collect and use data, and is applicable to all Zoo guests and all users (“Guest” or “you”) of any Zoo or Zoo-affiliated Website where this Policy is posted (collectively the “Site”). By submitting any personal information or by accessing the Site, you consent to and agree with the terms of this Policy. We may update this Policy periodically, and the most recent version published on the Site shall govern your data, your use of the Site, and information collected by or submitted to the Zoo. We encourage all Guests to periodically revisit this Policy to ensure you are aware of the current terms and conditions regarding your privacy. Your continued use of any Site or submission of any personal information to the Zoo constitutes an agreement to be bound by the then-applicable terms and conditions contained in this Policy.

Summary

We take your privacy seriously. This policy explains how the Zoo collects information, and how we use it. We collect information about how you interact with our website, and information you provide on our Site or at our physical locations, such as when you purchase a membership, buy a ticket, or participate in programming or an experience. We do not intentionally collect more information than we need, and we only use your information for reasons reasonably related or necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Policy.

Information We Collect

Personal Data. We may collect certain Personal Data that you provide to us. “Personal Data,” often referred to as personally identifiable information, or “PII,” includes information about you or other Guests that may be identifiable to that Guest, such as name, phone number, address, age, or email, or that you submit to us while using our Site, purchasing tickets, or participating in Zoo programs.
Account or Authentication Data. The Zoo may, now or in the future, require you to create and maintain an account to access certain Site features, to utilize certain services, or to participate in certain programs. Should you create such an account, the Zoo will collect and maintain information related to that account, such as account name, or password.
Financial Information. Guests may purchase tickets and access to our facilities or our programs through our Site or via physical locations. This requires us to collect certain financial information from you and other Guests, including payment information, account information, billing address, and related information that allows us to facilitate your purchases. All processed payments are securely tokenized in accordance with PCI-DSS standards, enabling future purchases or adjustments while keeping sensitive financial information secure.
Demographic Data. The Zoo is committed to providing a fun and educational environment for a broad range of Guests, and we may request personal information relating to certain demographic characteristics of our Guests, such as age, gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, as applicable, to help ensure we provide an open and accessible experience for Guests.
Usage, Analytics, Device, and Technical Data. The Zoo collects certain data related to the functioning of our Site and tracking of users. Some information is required to properly run the Site, while other information helps us assess usage, trends, and other analytical information that allows us to better assess interest and provide optimal experience for Guests and pertinent information for fundraising and marketing efforts. This information may include items such as device and browser information, geolocation data, page views, click through and bounce rates, IP addresses, and other metrics related to our Site.
Support Data. The Zoo may offer certain support features to Guests and Site users. In doing so, we need to collect and maintain certain data related to your requests, such as correspondence, transcripts, contact forms, surveys or other feedback, files or screenshots, or user-generated reviews or other content.
Sensitive Personal Information. From time to time, the Zoo may need to request personal information of a sensitive nature, such as health information for certain programs. We will not knowingly collect this sensitive personal information from you without obtaining your prior express consent.

How We Collect Information

As with many organizations, the Zoo may gather information from you via either active data collection or through passive data collection.

Active data collection occurs when you provide information directly to us and knowingly submit that information for that use. Examples of how the Zoo actively collects data include:

Forms and Submissions. Filling out digital or physical forms, including submitting personal, financial, and other information through our Site or at our physical locations for purchasing tickets and other offerings, registering as a member or for a Zoo account, or submitting your contact information in order to receive updates from the Zoo.
Feedback and Responses. Responding to polls or questionnaires, or providing feedback about our Site, our physical locations, our services, programs, or other activities.
Surveys, Engagement, and Third Parties. Participating in surveys, interviews, forums, social media postings, or other conversations or collective settings in which you provide information to the Zoo (including the submission or posting of photos, videos, or other engagement). We may also collect certain information from third parties from accounts you may log into, such as information linked to social media, search engine, or other accounts that you may use while interacting with us and our Site.
Waivers and Other Active Engagement. Other digital or physical data submissions shared with us by choice or in response to our requests.

Active data collection is generally very apparent, in that it requires you to physically, verbally, or digitally submit information to the Zoo, our employees, or representatives. You generally control the decision to submit information in any active data collection and control the amount, type, and depth of information you submit. Some Zoo programs or experiences require that we collect certain information from you so that you are eligible to participate.

Passive data collection is less apparent but is equally necessary for us to provide you with quality services and experiences as you navigate our Site, visit our physical locations, and participate in programs. We may monitor Guest engagement to better tailor our offerings and features to meet Guest expectations. Passive data collection generally consists of website tracking, social media engagement tracking, passive information retrieval (such as browser data, website usage and engagement tracking, Google Analytics and other online tracking tools), and the use of functional, performance, analytical, and related cookies. For additional information on how we use cookies to passively collect information, please see our disclosures and information regarding cookie usage, below.

How We Use Information

In general, we use the information for the purposes for which we collect it or that authorize us to use it for.

Providing and Improving our Features and Services. We may process information collected from our Guests to provide, refine, improve, and update the services we provide on our Site and at our physical locations. This may be related to purchases, your account, or other features of the Site you use or experience. It may also include using your data to customize your experience with our Site or at our physical locations.
Contacting You and Targeted Advertising. By providing us with your contact information, including an email address, you are automatically added to our communications list, which we will use to contact you regarding any transactions you instigate, updates relevant to your Zoo purchases, or regarding certain marketing and event activities relevant to you as a Guest, or that we think you may be interested in. We may convert your contact details into a secure, anonymized identifier to help us deliver advertisements that are most relevant to you through advertising partners or platforms. To manage your receipt of marketing and other emails, please see the “Accessing and Controlling Your Information” section, below.
Facilitating Transactions. To the extent you provide us with financial and other personal information pertinent to any purchases you make or programs you participate in, we may use that information to process those requests and may store that information to facilitate easier transactions in the future, such as storing securely tokenized payment information, in accordance with PCI-DSS standards, for future purchases.
Compliance and Prevention. We may need to use or share your data to meet certain compliance obligations, such as for security purposes, upon the receipt of a valid subpoena or search warrant, or on the order of a government agency or other regulatory body. We may also use your data as reasonably necessary to protect you, the Zoo, our Site, and to prevent fraud.
Aggregated Information. We may anonymize and/or aggregate information regarding our Guests and share that anonymized or aggregated information internally and/or with certain third-party service providers and partners, such as potential grantors or sponsors. We do not sell our Guests’ personal information to any third parties.

Cookies

The Zoo uses cookies on its Site to support our internal functions. “Cookies” are small files used to support the functionality and features of the Zoo’s Site. We use cookies to provide and improve our features and services, and track engagement and other metrics on Guest use on our Site, including tracking usage patterns, traffic trends and Guest behavior, as well as to record other information related to our Site. For example, we use cookies to store preferences and preserve and save information so that you will not have to re-enter it the next time you visit. We also use cookies to improve our Site and services to enhance our Guests’ experiences, as many content updates and Site improvements follow cookie generated data on the features our Guests most engage with. Additionally, the Zoo may use third-party vendors, such as Google Analytics, to place cookies and analyze the information collected by cookies to enhance our Site and help make it more tailored to you and your preferred experience. Cookie data is retained for limited uses for as long as is necessary to support the mission of the Zoo and our Site. Cookie participation is not strictly required, and you may set your browser to refuse cookies from any website that you visit. However, disabling some or all cookies on your browser may limit the functionality of our Site and/or some of its features, as, for example, you may not be able to engage in transactions, such as online purchases, or take advantage of some of the interactive elements offered on our Site while cookies are disabled.

Children and Minors

You must be eighteen (18) years of age to access and utilize our Site and its features. The Zoo’s Site is not directed to and does not intentionally target anyone under the age of (13). We do not knowingly or intentionally collect personally identifiable information from any children under the age of thirteen (13) without a parent or legal guardian’s prior consent. If we determine that such information has been inadvertently collected from anyone under the age of thirteen (13), we will promptly take steps to ensure that the information is either (i) deleted from our systems, or, (ii) in the alternative, obtain a parent or guardian’s verifiable written consent for the storage and use of that information. To the extent that you need to provide personal information regarding your child to facilitate participation in a particular program or event, we will provide additional information and seek your consent prior to obtaining that relevant data, including information on how that data will be utilized to facilitate your child’s experience. For further information on the rights relating to your child’s information, or if you suspect the information of your child has been used or collected inadvertently without your permission, please promptly contact communications@omahazoo.com to facilitate compliance with this section.

Accessing and Controlling Your Information

While we require the collection and processing of certain data and information to run our Site and deliver and improve the services our Guests love, the Zoo also endeavors to give Guests control over their data profiles and any information that they submit. For that reason, we maintain a compliance program so that you may access, correct, retrieve, and delete certain data we collect and maintain as it pertains to you. You may, upon submission of a verifiable request:

Confirm your data, and inquire as to whether the Zoo processes any data related to you and what data is maintained;
Correct your data for any inaccuracies, taking into account the nature of your data and the purposes for which it is used;
Delete your data, requesting we remove pertinent files from our system (though this may impact our ability to provide certain services that require certain data from you);
Opt out of your data’s processing or use in advertising or marketing or from certain other uses pertaining to our third-party partners.

To exercise your rights, please submit an inquiry or request to communications@omahazoo.com specifying the nature of your request. Please note that we do our best to accommodate requests consistent with applicable privacy standards, which may include the need to further verify your identity and/or requests prior to the instigation of any further action.