Children's Privacy Policy
Thank you for visiting the website of the Smithsonian's National
Zoological Park and Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) and
reviewing our children's privacy policy. This site is part of the Smithsonian
Institution network of Websites. You may review our privacy policy, at Privacy Policy Overview. The Smithsonian Institution
and FONZ do not collect personal information about visitors
to our Website unless you choose to provide that information
to us. The Smithsonian and FONZ do not sell, exchange, or
release your personal information to parties outside the Smithsonian
or FONZ without your consent. Once we obtain your consent,
we consider it valid until revoked by you.
In compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, however, we follow special guidelines for visitors under the age of 13. These are outlined here.
Children Under 13
Here are some important things to know about surfing the Internet:
- Surf the Internet with your parents. If they aren’t available, talk to them about the sites you’re visiting.
- Always ask your parents for permission before you send any information about yourself to this site or any other Internet site. This includes your name, address, telephone number, email address, and similar information.
- Never tell other kids your screen name, user ID, or password. Sites are not supposed to collect more information than they need about you for the activity you want to participate in. You should be able to participate in many activities online without having to give any information about yourself.
- If a site makes you uncomfortable or asks for more information than you want to share, leave the site and tell your parents.
Parents/Guardians
Under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, websites that ask for certain information about kids under 13 have to get a parent's permission to get the information. We encourage you to monitor your children's Internet use and to take an active role in giving/denying consent to websites that want to collect personal information about your child. Please note that if your child voluntarily discloses his or her name, email address, or other personal information, he or she may receive unsolicited messages from other parties. For their protection, discourage your child from doing so.
Personal Information
The Smithsonian's National Zoological Park and Friends of the National Zoo only collect email addresses from children in order to allow them to send electronic postcards and enter contests. Any personal identifying information collected by this site from children will be used by the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park and Friends of the National Zoo only for internal purposes such as audience research and editorial feedback. Such information will not be posted or published or sold or rented to any third parties. We do not make a child's participation in any website activity contingent on that child's disclosure of more personal information than is reasonably necessary to participate in that activity.
Children’s Contest Entries
Entrants are required to submit the following information: first name, last name, and email address. Information collected from entrants in the children’s contest is used to notify, verify, and award prizes to contest winners. We do not sell, rent, or share this information to or with others. Children under the age of 13 must include a parent's (or guardian's) valid email address. Entries will not be accepted unless and until we have received verification of parental consent via return email by the response deadline date.
Children’s Email Postings
Child visitors to parts of our website may be invited to send us email. The content of email is at the discretion of the visitor; however, personal information submitted to us via email may be edited or excerpted at the discretion of the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park and Friends of the National Zoo and posted elsewhere on our site. We do not reveal personal information that may identify any visitor who has submitted comments via email.
Children’s Electronic Postcards
We may collect children's email addresses to allow them to send electronic postcards and other communications to third parties, such as their friends. In order to send electronic postcards, children will be asked to provide their email address as well as the recipients' email addresses. All information collected for electronic postcards is used only to send the requested electronic postcard and is deleted from our system once the electronic postcard is sent.
Contact Us
To inquire about any of the content on our site or the conditions of our Privacy Policy, please contact us.
Smithsonian's National Zoological Park/
Friends of the National Zoo
Communications Office
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: 202.633.4084
Fax: 202.673.4783
Email
