During the evenings, Bronx Zoo Lights comes to life with holiday cheer as immersive light displays, custom-designed animal lanterns and animated light shows sparkle across the zoo.

New York Christmas 2024 all you need to know

Start: November 22, 2024

End: January 5, 2025

Days: Everyday

Hours: 3pm to 8pm (to 9pm on Fri & Sat)

This year, you’ll experience NEW lantern displays showcasing the wildlife of New York’s ocean waters and wetlands, plus a new interactive experience celebrating bioluminescent creatures.

We’re celebrating the wildlife we love with animal lantern trails, holiday decor, animated sculptures, holiday train, and much more.

Nearly 400 lanterns representing almost 100 animal and plant species will connect you to the real wildlife and wild places that WCS staff works to protect through our field programs around the world, and at our zoos and aquarium in New York.

64 new lanterns representing 9 new animal species will make their debut at this year’s Holiday Lights!

Africa Bronx Zoo Lights

A glowing pathway celebrating Africa’s animals in lights! Your favorites, including giraffes, lions, lemurs, ostriches, African forest elephants, hippos, Aldabra tortoises, Aldabra white-throated rails, Aldabra sacred ibises, and many others will be there.

Asia Bronx Zoo Lights

Encounter the glittering snow leopard, Asian elephants, Indian rhinos, Malayan tapirs, tree kangaroos, cassowary, fruit bats, and many other favorites.

Forest of Color Bronx Zoo Lights

The brightly colored, larger-than-life animal and plant lanterns that fill the Forest of Color represent the beauty and diversity of nature, showing that our planet is home to tiny animals who display some of the brightest colors on earth, and sharing ideas on how we can help to protect them.

Latin America Bronx Zoo Lights

Discover the illuminated jaguar, orinoco crocodile, scarlet macaws, Andean cocks-of-the-rock, giant anteater, Andean bears, white-lipped peccaries, brown-throated sloth, and two-toed sloth, and other favorites.

North America Bronx Zoo Lights

Experience North American animal lanterns, including polar bears, caribou, gray wolves, bison, Pacific walrus, wolverine, grizzly bears, moose, trumpeter swans, golden eagles, and prairie dogs.

Plus, NEW this year , encounter animals native to New York’s wetlands: North American beavers, raccoon, great egret, common snapping turtle, and red fox.

Ocean Bronx Zoo Lights

An undersea journey in lights including penguins, sea turtles, larger-than-life black seadevil, anglerfish, vampire squid, Atolla jellies, deep-sea nudibranch and many others, including a nurse shark with a body that you can walk through!

Plus, NEW this year, you’ll find animals from the Bronx River and the New York Seascape, including alewife, American eels, and Atlantic sturgeon.

Enchanted Sea

Get your glow on in Schiff Family Great Hall with LED swings, interactive floor projections, ocean-themed interactive light panels that create patterns that mimic ocean life, and a jellyfish celebration in lights.

Light Show Experiences

Holiday Lights includes enhanced light shows that provide perfect photo ops for friends and family. On Astor Court, a towering holiday tree features synchronized musical light performances. And the walk-through Light Tunnel will dazzle you with animal-themed light shows.