Exhibit Progress

An up and coming tourist attraction in Evansville is getting some help from an international corporation. Toyota is expected to give a significant donation for the Zmazonia Exhibit at the Mesker Park Zoo. Zoo Director Dan McGinn just recently learned Toyota would make a donation for Amazonia. Hes not even sure how much theyre giving. With only 6 months left until the exhibit is set to open - you may think its a little late, but McGinn says they need this donation or any others to make amazonia complete. Right now the focus of construction at the new Amazonia exhibit is the 65 hundred square foot plaza. Theyre putting up the walls for a dining area, bathrooms, gift shop and ticketing offices. The inside of the exhibit is about 90 percent complete What McGinns likes most changes daily. "Today my favorite part is the inside waterfall." He loves it so much hes keeping most of it hidden from our cameras until opening. "Until June we are constantly adding and improving things." Its donations that will mainly pay for the additions and improvements. "Everything is happening because people in this area want it to happen." McGinn cut back on the original design created almost 5 years ago because of the rising cost of raw materials. So when donations come in you can be sure McGinn has a place for it to go. Right now one of the focuses is a soundsystem. "Weve had it prewired with conduit." Donations dont pay for everything. Bond money covers about 15 million dollars of the exhibit. But in the end McGinn says it will be worth almost 18 million. Hes sure it will be worth every cent - no matter where the money comes from. Early June 2008 is when the zoo hopes to open Amazonia. Tomorrow McGinn is letting cameras into just one part of the exhibit to announce this donation from Toyota. But the public wont get to truly take in this state of the art exhibit until its complete.