The Detroit Zoo has announced a $10 million gift from the Polk Family Fund toward development of a $21 million penguin conservation center.

The gift from Stephen R. Polk and his family, the largest in the zoo's history, will help fund construction of the Polk Family Penguin Conservation Center, which, in addition to housing eighty penguins belonging to four different species, will feature a 310,000-gallon 25-foot "deep dive" tank with above- and underwater views and physical effects such as ice crevasses, waves, and snow. The center, which has been in the planning and design phase for two years, is scheduled to open in 2015.

"The Detroit Zoo has a reputation for creating world-class facilities that provide the best environment for animal conservation and welfare and an educational and exciting experience for visitors," said Polk, the former chairman, president, and CEO of the R.L. Polk Company and vice chair of the Detroit Zoological Society, who traveled with DZS executive director and CEO Ron Kagan to Antarctica in early 2013. "Our family is honored to support this exciting and important conservation center."