Minnesota Zoo is raising money to create a treetop walkway on an old monorail track and to repurpose a former IMAX theatre for use as an adventure hub.

The plans are part of a capital investment request and – the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune newspaper reports – have been developed as an alternative to acquiring new or exotic animal exhibits as a means to attract visitors.

The $11m (€9.9m, £8.4m), 1.3mi (2.1km) Treetop Trail has been conceived to give visitors a new perspective of the zoo's animals in their natural surroundings and would provide opportunities for unique programming, like events and outdoor classrooms.

Animal "encounters" could be manufactured in new areas, such as by organising hikes out to visit an elk herd, or by zookeepers bringing certain animals to campsites or the Treetop Trail.

"The Treetop Trail is what's got everybody buzzing," Charlene Briner, vice chairwoman of the zoo board, is quoted as saying. "They like the idea that we are redeploying and modernising an asset that is right now unused."

A second, $15.5m (€14m, £11.9m) project would see the revitalisation of a number of parts of the zoo.

These include the transformation of the zoo's theatre building into a nature adventure hub with indoor and outdoor nature-themed challenge courses, following the departure of its tenant last year, and the reopening of a nocturnal trail exhibit.