The children's zoo is a unique place for families because it is one of the few places in the zoo where the visitor can get up close and personal with many small animals. You can meet strange and unusual animals like Stitch, the blue-tongue skink, or Petunia, the kinkajou, and the more recognizable like Maggie, the blue and gold macaw. You can also shoot the perfect photo with your little one astride a camel or visit one of our wonderful areas, detailed below.  

 

Camel rides are available for $5/ride from 11a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. High a top a graceful camel, riders experience the traditional form of transportation used by the desert people of Africa and Asia for thousands of years. Meet Charlie, Fluffy, and Randy, the three trained dromedary camels that you can hop on! Decide which boy is your favorite, each have different personalities and range in age.

Toadstool is an air-conditioned exhibit room where most of the zoo's small reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates (bugs and other creepy crawlies) are housed. Here you can view blue poison arrow frogs, endangered Egyptian tortoises and bearded dragons. Some of the reptiles may be taken out by the zookeepers for little fingers to gently touch. Don't forget to go to the back of the room to view Butterscotch, the 13-foot Burmese python, and find out what she likes to eat.

Speaking of food, you may want to get yourself something to eat at the snack bar. Families can enjoy a taste of the classic American favorites like hot dogs, burgers, corn dogs, popcorn and nachos. Cuban sandwiches and chicken fingers with French fries are also available. If beating the heat is your top priority, soft serve ice-cream, Icees, cold sodas and water are also great choices.

After breaking for a snack, you may want to stroll by our butterfly garden to see a variety of colorful butterflies. The plants and flowers make a beautiful home for these gorgeous insects. Try to spot them feeding on the flowers for nectar.

Once you've tested your boating skills, take a ride on an endangered animal on the Wildlife Carousel! Ever heard of a barbarusa? Well if you have never seen one before, you will be able to climb aboard this unique pig and take a whirl. This carousel features beautifully handcrafted animals and is a welcome sight for tired legs. Adults may ride too! The carousel is open from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

The Petting Zoo or contact yard is always a delight for the young and the not-so-young. Enter and feel the bristly hair of our pot-bellied pig "Itsy" and pet our Barbados black-belly sheep.

 

Make a point to see the frenzied feeding of the meerkats, daily at 12:30 PM. An appetizing mixture of grubs and crickets are sprinkled around the exhibit and make for an entertaining backdrop while one of our zookeepers provides you with the details of our family of six. See if you can tell them apart!

 

Zoo Scene Investigations - help solve animal mysteries! Meet and greet different animals three times daily (11:30 AM, 1:00 PM, & 3:00 PM) at the Children's Zoo stage. These presentations are educational and fun, and are carefully geared towards the age group in the audience. A wide variety of reptiles, birds and mammals are exhibited and the best part is when you get to touch some of them at the end of the talk!