A huge open-air refrigerator filled with pack-ice and arctic and antarctic animals: walrus, polar bears, penguins, seals, etc. These animals are commonly seen in zoos, but not to my knowledge on ice, just in rock and cement landscapes.
Visitors would be issued with parkas, and would trudge across ice paths and through underwater viewing tubes. They would gain the benefit of seeing animals in something closer to their natural habitat. Booths would sell hot soup and coffee. The cool environment would be particularly popular with visitors in long, hot summers.
Since there are now indoor ski slopes with artificially frozen snow, and zoos are becoming ever more complex, I wouldn't be too surprised if this exists already, but I can't find anything. Although polar bears in captivity seem to have a tendency to go insane, how can you go wrong with penguins?-- pottedstu, Jun 05 2002 Displaced penguins surf into Rio http://www.guardian...273,4119067,00.htmlThe closest link I could find [Aristotle, Jun 05 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004] Refrigerated Penguin House http://familyfun.go...0700zoonewyork.html [DrCurry, Oct 04 2004] //how can you go wrong with penguins?//I assume the facilities computers will be Linux-- thumbwax, Jun 05 2002 Goo goo g'joob.-- waugsqueke, Jun 05 2002 those are not Welsh penguins, then bliss.-- po, Jun 05 2002 Since we're on a welsh spree today...
Did you know that penguin (pen gwyn, white head) is a welsh word? Prize to the first person to tell me what corgi means...-- yamahito, Jun 05 2002 yapping pet of the brown variety in the big house on the Mall near the puddle called serpent at the big smoke in the South.-- po, Jun 05 2002 uhhh - cold..-- yamahito, Jun 05 2002 cur-- thumbwax, Jun 05 2002 warmer...-- yamahito, Jun 05 2002 yet another breed of rat-dog-- kaz, Jun 05 2002 hot..-- yamahito, Jun 05 2002 dwarf dog. cor/dwarf + ci/dog-- thumbwax, Jun 05 2002 thats a corci, thumb.-- po, Jun 05 2002 fehcorgi n. ( pl. corgis) (in full Welsh corgi) a short-legged breed of dog with a foxlike head. [Welsh f. cor dwarf + ci dog] The Oxford English Reference Dictionary, © Oxford University Press 1996-- thumbwax, Jun 05 2002 na na na na nah. typical OE Ref Dick typo!-- po, Jun 05 2002 it's gi not ci because of a nasal mutation. The spelling's actually correct.-- yamahito, Jun 05 2002 <action>moons po, does a mutant snoopy dance</action>-- thumbwax, Jun 05 2002 He's cheatin' , he has BOOKS.-- po, Jun 05 2002 xrefer.com, actually - muahahahaha-- thumbwax, Jun 05 2002 Somehow I missed this one the first time around. The Children's Zoo in Central Park has long had a refrigerated penguin house (although the polar bears still get to sweat it out in the sun). See link.-- DrCurry, Nov 27 2002 random, halfbakery