A quick trip to the zoo!

One of the great things about our local zoo is that it is divided into 3 areas. Since we have a membership, we can go as often as we like and that's usually 9-10 times a year. This means each time we go we can visit one of the 3 areas. The trip is more doable with this age and we don't try pushing past our kids limit just to see everything in one visit.

 The 3 areas are Zoo North, the Children's Area, and Wilds of Africa. My favorite is the Wilds of Africa. It has only been open for a couple of years and they are able to introduce animals to each other. You look out into a giant savannah and will see herds of many different types of animals together. It's much better than a zoo with the animals in cages and segregated.

 My kids love all of the areas, but this trip we focused on the Children's Area. You can walk along the path or climb over the rocks to enter. We don't believe in doing things the easy way, so up and over we go.

 The petting zoo has mostly goats, but a few other animals as well. There was only one black goat in the bunch and while the other kids all went to the white goats, my kids were fascinated by the one that's different.

 He's singing "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and is very happy about it. In other ares of the children's section there are farm animals, birds you can feed, pony rides (for a fee), a nocturnal animal area, indoor educational areas, a riverbed for kids to splash in and a playground.

 All of the playground items are based on animals rather than a traditional climbing/sliding playground. One of the best parts of the zoo is the Nature Exchange. If a child (or adult) brings in an item from nature they get to trade it for something else from nature. The more you know the more points you get. You can save the points or exchange every time you attend. Items like acorns aren't worth much because they have so many, but specialty items like sand from a beach in Dubai are worth a lot more. When you bring in an item they ask you to tell them about it and the more you know, the more points you get. They also teach you about the item you select to take home. It's fun and educational!

I'm waiting until my kids are a little older before they start participating in the nature exchange each visit. There is no age minimum or limit, but I want my kids to be more verbal and to understand what is going on when they start participating. I hope they can start nature journals when they are around 2.5 years old which they will be able to take in for credit as well.

My favorite part of the nature exchange is the sand. They have sand from all over the world. They will take a small amount out and put it under the microscope so they can help the child analyze it. They talk about why it's certain colors, if it is magnetic, and how sand is made. Many of the people who work there can look at a rock or sample of sand and tell you where it came from. I'm always impressed when people know things that I have no interest in learning. :)