Zoos are generally top-of-mind as locations for an animal-themed event, and some offer spaces that are truly distinctive. The Indianapolis Zoo recently had to recoat the largest of its four dolphin pools during routine maintenance, and "since it had to be worked on anyway, why not do something really cool with it," explains Judy Gagen, director of communications at the zoo, of the complete overhaul that ensued, resulting in a dome submerged in the dolphin tank. The dome, which is available to groups, is actually a viewing room accessible via the zoo’s existing gallery event space, offering nearly a 360-degree dolphin experience.
According to Cindy Allen, facility sales and tourism manager for the zoo, the gallery and dome area can accommodate approximately 250 people for an evening function, or 150 during the day, using airwalls for privacy. The Dolphin Dome itself is rather small at 20 feet in diameter, so it is primarily used as a space for a dessert buffet, bar, or head table seating up to 18 guests. The dome opened Memorial Day weekend 2005 to rave reviews; "We had nearly 40,000 people in three days – it was by far a record crowd for us," says Gagen.
Although the dome appears to take up the majority of the pool, in reality it displaces roughly 100,000 gallons of the pool’s one million gallon capacity. Not only do the dolphins not seem to mind the tighter quarters, they seem to get as much out of the experience as guests. "We have three young dolphins currently and they have reacted the best; they love swimming around these tubes in the smallest little places you can imagine. The adult females—well, it took them a little while to get used to it," says Gagen.
The zoo currently houses nine dolphins, although one young male will be relocating to Chicago sometime later this summer. "We’re always looking for things that would make their lives more interesting," says Gagen of the dolphins. "They are curious about humans," she continues. "If it’s been empty for awhile and people come in, they will swim right over to find out what’s going on."
For those groups looking to further expand their animal experience, private dolphin shows are available. The evening shows, which run after seven pm and last roughly a half an hour, can also include Gene, a black Labrador retriever, and Jane, a golden retriever, who each have special roles in the show that change seasonally.