Helmeted guinea fowl yells and wildebeest grunts are joining the chorus of sounds at the Minnesota Zoo this summer.

The zoo features African animals in its summer exhibit “Africa!,” which opened May 25 and will remain open until Sept. 2. The exhibit includes giraffes, bongos, ostriches, wildebeests, addaxes and helmeted guinea fowl.

“Dinosaurs!,” an exhibit featuring realistic, robotic dinosaurs and their habitats, is also at the zoo until Sept. 2.

According to the zoo’s social media and marketing coordinator Josh Le, the zoo had the exhibits temporarily in previous years, but chose to offer both for the summer because of their popularity.

“(‘Africa!’) is a popular exhibit, so we bring it back occasionally. 2012 was the first year we had “Dinosaurs!,” and it was extremely popular,” he said. “We have two temporary events, so we combined them to make one really fun experience.”

Similarly, freshman Jack Reddan said he thinks many guests are attracted to the exhibit because it is a change in what is usually seen at the zoo.

“You can’t outgrow the zoo. It’s always fun to experience new things,” he said. “(The exhibit) is a learning experience, but it’s also a new experience.”

In addition to seeing animals, the exhibit allows guests to feed giraffes for $5.

Le said he thinks the excitement created by the change in animals helps make the exhibit interesting for everyone.

“No matter how old you are, if you see a giraffe or an ostrich, you’ll be interested,” Le said. “With feeding the giraffes, guests can get close and have that really cool experience on a daily basis.”

Junior Jacob Rasmussen said this opportunity to be near the animals makes the exhibit appealing.

“You don’t see the giraffes eat a lot when you’re at the zoo and (feeding them) means you get to be close, which you aren’t normally,” Rasmussen said.

Sophomore Chloe Johnson said she usually dislikes zoos, but would like to visit the “Africa!” exhibit more than other exhibits because of its learning opportunities.

“The zoo isn’t my favorite thing because I don’t like to see caged animals, (but) I would go see the exhibit to learn more about the different animals and get to see things I don’t always see,” she said.

During the exhibit’s opening weekend the zoo provided African drumming. Senior Sabrina Datt said she thinks the exhibit’s focus on Africa and events like these make it appealing.

“Since they’re bringing Africa here, why not show off the nature and culture Africa has to offer,” she said. “I’d like to see what makes Africa rich.”

Aside from an emphasis on Africa, Le said visitors should anticipate an enjoyable time at the exhibit.

“Expect the unexpected, because there is always something new at the zoo,” Le said. “Especially with animals because you never know what will happen.”