John Ball Zoo is located on the west side of the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States.

The original 40 acres (16 ha) was donated to the city by noted pioneer and explorer John Ball upon his death in 1884.

Shortly after, another 100 acres (40 ha) was added and this marked the beginning of additional amenities, including ponds, a theater, a band shell, playgrounds, ball fields, trails, and the zoo.

To stop the arguing, Fred Meijer offered to donate land and money if the zoo would move.

[6][7] In 2004, a ballot was put forward to voters in Kent County to relocate the John Ball Zoological Gardens; the referendum was defeated, and the zoo will remain at its current location for the foreseeable future.

[9] On April 27, 2007, the zoo broke ground on the first phase of the new master plan, starting construction of a $4.1 million 0.3-acre (1,200 m2) "BISSELL Lions of Lake Manyara" exhibit.

[13] Kent County including in the 2008-2009 Capital Improvement Allocation half the cost of renovation of the Monkey Island Exhibit.

The backup system intended to alert zoo officials of a pump failure also failed.

The zoo calls it a funicular, but technically it is in the category of inclined elevator since there are not two vehicles (or trains in this case) that counterbalance each other.

In 2010, the zoo brought in a troop of Guinea baboons, the largest alligator outside of Florida, moved their flamingos to another pond, and altered the old tiger exhibit to hold a rock hyrax and a group of colobus monkeys.

[20][21] The zoo also offers a number of 'Close Encounters' guests can book for an additional cost, including visiting with a red panda, feeding a hippo, or interacting with a sloth.

The John Ball Zoo school has extra curricular studies and admission is based mostly on students' Michigan Educational Assessment Program scores.

The students are required to complete large projects, including studying current events and environmental issues as part of the specialized curriculum.

Learning is done mostly by hands-on experiences; for instance, students are able to go to the zoo frequently and have extended yet limited access to go inside certain animal enclosures.