The Tropics (formerly the Jungle), Sedgwick County Zoo

The building, then called the Jungle, was built in 1976 according to the contractor Eby Construction, and most sources place its opening to the public in 1977, six years after the zoo itself (1971). Visit Wichita describes it as the second walk-through jungle exhibit in a US zoo. In 2015 the zoo's bird curator noted that some of the ficus trees have grown there since 1977, and that the last roof, installed in 1992, had clouded over so much that it let hardly any light through.

The zoo therefore closed the exhibit for a renovation costing about 3 million dollars. In March 2014 the birds and fish were moved out and the roof was removed, while the plants stayed in place despite Kansas weather. The zoo had also suspected low ultraviolet light of being behind a decline in breeding among its birds. According to the contractor, the new ETFE roof made it the second zoo in the United States with such a system, after Buffalo. The building reopened to members and then, on 22 May 2015, to the public, under the name Tropics.

Since then it has repeatedly closed as a precaution against avian influenza: about a year until February 2023, again from December 2024 to January 2025, then in December 2025 and in late January 2026. A county document of August 2021 also refers to roof repairs that required housing the birds and bats in a temporary building.

The hall covers about 28,000 square feet (≈2,600 m²). According to the contractor, the former covering relied on a Kalwall and structural skylight system; during the 2015 works it was removed and replaced by a galvanized steel frame carrying an ETFE cushion roof. This transparent polymer, used in place of glass, forms three layers of film separated by air here: the bird curator described it as insulated from Kansas heat and cold extremes and tough enough to withstand most local hail.

The contractor reports that light in the exhibit rose from 49 to 4,000 foot-candles, more than eighty times the original value, and that fruit has appeared on plants that had never bloomed before. The works also covered heating and air conditioning, electrical systems and the entrance lobby. Inside, the target temperature is about 80°F (≈27°C) with humidity between 50 and 65 percent.

The zoo reports more than 300 plant species. According to the bird curator, no tree there is artificial: ficus trees have grown on the spot since 1977, a strangler fig with roots that children can walk through is set up for them, and visitors find banana, pineapple, citrus, mango and papaya plants. Orchids, which once suffered from low humidity, now appear all along the route.

Animals are mixed in with the vegetation: about fifty species of free-flying birds according to the zoo (the Wichita daily reported 170 in 2015, so the figures diverge), from Africa, Asia, Australia and South America, along with bats, fish including an Australian lungfish, and a Fly River turtle. The zoo lists 73 species in all. In the lobby, a simulated tropical storm with lightning and thunder introduces the exhibit.

The hall stands inside Sedgwick County Zoo and is visited with zoo admission. The route winds along mulch-covered paths, with benches for watching birds; the atmosphere is warm and humid, which makes it worth shedding a layer in winter. It rewards a slow pace, since birds move about close to the paths and the water.

The building has closed several times during avian influenza alerts, so the zoo's notices are worth checking before a visit. It combines with a visit to the zoo's other habitats.