Zoos

We love zoos. A couple summers ago, we took the "zoo vacation" where we traveled down to Corpus Christi, TX, visiting almost all the zoos along the way- Tulsa Aquarium, Dallas Zoo, San Antonio Zoo, & another aquarium by the ocean. After we had Zachary, we became members of the local zoo, which allows us to have free or discounted admission to almost all the accredited zoos in the US. Zoos offer so much in the way of real-life encounters that you can't get unless you have an expensive safari in Africa or elsewhere. Books can only tell so much about animals. It's the seeing them up close and in their habitats that children learn what they really look like, how big they are in comparison, and what sounds or smells they have.

Like most children, my kids love the zoo. The exercise walking around is excellent and the excitement of seeing each animal is something I love to watch. We've seen some interesting sights at the zoos we've visited. The boys have been able to touch sting-rays & starfish. We have seen animals that have just been born as well as animals procreating (see the turtle picture below). (Thank goodness the children were younger at the time and we skirted a few awkward questions.)

Some zoos that are among our favorites (here in KS) are the Great Bend Zoo- It's free (a definite benefit). It has crocodiles, bears, beautiful walkways, lots of shade, reptiles, exotic birds, many neat animals. We haven't been there for awhile, but I would enjoy going again. One memory of that particular zoo was that Shawn was teasing a black swan while I was taking pictures. I backed up by the roped area, and the swan crossed into the walkway path and bit my toe, even drawing blood. It was shocking, and completely undeserved for me.

We also love the Clay Center zoo. Again, it's free, which is nice because then you know that they allow anyone in the community to come take part in the zoo experience. And, while it's a little odd (they have caged squirrels, rabbits, phesants, etc.), it is still nice for the kids to explore and spend time at. They have a bear now, a black cougar, and some little monkeys.


While we do live close to the Manhattan zoo, and visit it quite frequently, we are not all that fond of it. It's got some neat animals, but the spacing between the animals is a little too much and it's a really long trek (up some steep hills) if you want to see most all the animals.

Yesterday, we took a day trip to Topeka to visit the zoo there. While we absolutely love that zoo, it was incredibly hot & humid (go figure- it's July!) and so we didn't stay all that long.

My 4 boys at the zoo yesterday.