Children's Zoo: Not just for kids
Don’t let the name fool you–our Children’s Zoo is for everyone to enjoy! But there are more than 30 special animal exhibits and activities designed with our younger visitors in mind. The popular Petting Paddock allows kids a chance to feel the wooly coat of a sheep or comb a gentle goat’s hair. Our animal nursery has large viewing windows to let you watch animal babies being bottle-fed or cuddled by our caring keepers. Don’t be dismayed if there are no baby animals in the nursery when you visit—it just means all our animal babies are being cared for by their mothers and don’t need our help!
The Children’s Zoo has animals not found anywhere else on Zoo grounds, such as spider monkeys, an American alligator, and our ever-fascinating naked mole-rats. Best of all, about 45 of the 200 critters living here are trained as animal ambassadors, so you might get to feel how sharp a hedgehog’s quills are, or hear how quietly a horned owl can flap its wings.
During the summer, weekends, and other seasonal holidays, our wacky resident scientist, Dr. Zoolittle, delights audiences with some zany science shows. At special times of the year the Children’s Zoo is host to special animal-themed events that include craft stations, up-close animal encounters, and more. There are a variety of gardens that are both educational and functional. And our famous racing pigeons are fun to watch as they fly overhead before returning to their Children’s Zoo roost.
