Privacy Overview
Thank you for visiting the website of the Smithsonian's National
Zoological Park and Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) and
reviewing our privacy policy. This site is part of the Smithsonian
Institution network of Websites. 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.
Information Collected and Stored Automatically
If you visit our Website, we automatically gather and store
the following information about your visit so that we can
track the use of our Website in order to make improvements.
This information is stored and used in the aggregate only,
and is not used to contact you personally:
The IP address from which you access our Website
The name of the domain from which you access the Internet (for example, aol.com, if you are connecting from an America Online account)
The type of browser and operating system used to access our Website
The date and time you access our site
The pages, files, documents and links that you visit
The Internet address of the website from which you linked to this Website.
Cookies
In addition to information collected automatically, we may
also collect cookies, which are small pieces of information
sent to your browser by a website that you visit. Cookies
are used to track usage patterns, traffic trends and customer
behavior, as well as to record other information from the
Website. When you register on the Website, cookies also allow
us to save information so that you will not have to re-enter
it the next time you visit. Many content adjustments and customer
service improvements are made based on the data derived from
cookies. Information that we collect from cookies will not
be used to create profiles of users and only will be used
in aggregate form.
You may set your browser to refuse cookies from any website
that you visit. If you so choose, you may still gain access
to most of the Smithsonian’s Website, but you may not
be able to conduct certain types of transactions (such as
shopping) or take advantage of some of the interactive elements
offered.
If You Send Us Personal Information
The Smithsonian’s Website will only collect personal
information which you knowingly and voluntarily provide by,
for example, sending emails, completing membership forms,
registering for classes, events, or other programs, responding
to surveys or ordering merchandise. If you provide us with
personal information, we will normally respond to your inquiry,
request, or order. We may also contact you to provide information
about Smithsonian activities, programs, membership, and development
opportunities, products and special events that may interest
you. We will never share your name or information outside
the Smithsonian or FONZ unless you affirmatively authorize
us to do so by opting-in.
When we send you such information by email, you will always
have an immediate opportunity to decline further communication.
Please use the contact specified in the email so that we
can remove you from the list that contains your name. If
you are
uncertain about whom to contact, you may contact the Smithsonian
webmaster
by email
or the National Zoo/FONZ webmaster
by email
There may be sites within the Smithsonian’s network
of Websites where you can opt-in to receive information from
non-Smithsonian or non-FONZ entities. If you opt-in, you may
receive correspondence from these organizations on programs,
products, or services that might interest you. If you decide
to opt-out of receiving any further correspondence from a
non-Smithsonian or non-FONZ entity, please correspond directly
with that business or organization to be removed from their
mailing list.
Children and Privacy
The Smithsonian is concerned about protecting children's privacy.
We do not collect personally identifiable information from
children. There are some sites within the Smithsonian’s
network of Websites where children may post messages or provide
feedback, but children are discouraged from providing personal
information. If a visitor known to be a child (under the age
of 13) sends an email to the Smithsonian, we will only use
it to respond to the writer and not to create profiles or
otherwise retain the information.
Security
We take reasonable precautions to ensure that all credit card
transactions that occur on the web site are secure. When you
submit your credit card for any purchase at the Smithsonian’s
network of Web sites, including at the National Zoo Stores
Online, that transaction is encrypted using “Secure
Socket Layer” (SSL) encryption to prevent your credit
card information from being seen as it travels over the Internet
to our servers. We monitor network traffic to ensure that
our site remains available to all users and to identify unauthorized
attempts to access, upload or change information or otherwise
cause damage.
Unauthorized access is prohibited and punishable under the
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information
Infrastructure Protection Act.
Linking
Within the Smithsonian’s Websites there are links to
non-Smithsonian websites. When you link to third party websites,
you leave our Website and no longer will be subject to our
privacy policy. The Smithsonian is not responsible for the
privacy practices nor the content of non-Smithsonian websites,
and such link is not intended to be an endorsement of the
non-Smithsonian website or its content.
Comments
The Smithsonian is a large organization with many people sharing
responsibility for the content of our Website. Please help
us respond to your comments and inquiries by sending them
to the appropriate Smithsonian, National Zoo, or FONZ office.
Consult the Smithsonian's special Web page to help you determine where to send your inquiry at http://smithsonian.org/contacts/.
For National Zoo and FONZ contact information, go to Contact.
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please
contact us via email at privacy@ogc.si.edu.
