The Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo was founded in 1934 by Josephine O’Hara in the basement of a local elementary school. It later moved to a building at Rinconada Park.
A $33 million rebuilding, mostly paid for by donations to the Friends of the museum, doubled its size, and it reopened on November 12, 2021. Its outdoor zoo has more than 50 animal species under a netted roof.