Long Island Game Farm — music venue
Norman Rockwell’s depiction of a children’s zoo graced the cover of a 1958 edition of the Saturday Evening Post. Captivated by the illustration and its potential to become a reality, Stanley Novak found a sense of hope and wonder at the image. It was this same year that he married his wife, Diane, who shared a love and passion for animals. In the little spare time they had between work and raising two daughters, they researched species of all origins that they may one day host at a zoo of their own. Sharing the beauty, mystery, and biology of wildlife grew from dream to reality when the Novaks moved to Manorville, New York in 1969. Having purchased a 26-acre hay and cattle farm on Long Island, they set to work building facilities and creating open spaces that would soon be home to more than 100 animals. Long Island Game Farm Wildlife Park and Children’s Zoo officially opened in the spring of 1970, becoming the island’s first zoo. Buffalo, camels, chimpanzees, deer, goats, lambs, and exotic birds were the earliest residents of the zoo, which also included various education areas and entertainment. After Stanley’s passing in 1999, his daughter, Melinda, soon took the helm and shifted the focus of the park exclusively toward animals, nature, and education. Nearing 55 years as Long Island’s premier education and attraction center for wildlife, the zoo is evolving further to include a new nonprofit arm, the Foundation for Wildlife Sustainability, Inc., in late summer 2023.
Address: 489 Chapman Boulevard, Manorville, New York 11949, United States
Phone: +1 (631) 878-6644