Attractions

Zoo Lights

This is the time of year when special displays light up town squares, department stores, and homes around the United States.  Not to be left out of the excitement, many zoos also present special light displays.  Here are some of the best:

• The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden’s PNC Festival of Lights runs from November 27-January 3 from 5-9 p.m.  Now in its 27th year, the festival includes puppets, storytelling, train rides and the Polar Express 4-D Experience.  See this preview of their Wild Lights show:
• Christmas at the Zoo is the Indianapolis Zoo’s popular Christmas light display and program.  From December 4-30, the zoo lights up with special displays and visitors can see Santa’s Village, carolers and choirs, ride the Holiday Train, and see the Holiday Dolphin Show.  Full Christmas at the Zoo festivities are from 5-9 p.m., but the zoo opens at noon so you can come earlier and see the animals before the fun begins.  Admission discounts are given for sharing a hat, scarf, or gloves with the Mitten Tree or for recycling a phone book. Read More »

‘Tis the Season–The Wildlights are back in Ohio at the Columbus Zoo.  This display of LED lights and special holiday activities has been an annual attraction at the zoo for 21 years.

Columbus Zoo Wildlights

We rang in the new year with a trip to the Wildlights on New Year’s Day, arriving mid-afternoon to see the animals and then staying for the lighting of the zoo and the musical light show, which was a hit for the entire family.  This year, some of the features from last Christmas are back, and others are new or improved.  If you go to see the Wildlights, you’ll be treated to the following:

• Visits with reindeer
• Entertainment by local musical groups on select dates
• Photos with Santa
• Treats from Mrs. Claus’ kitchen
• Special shows featuring zoo animals

Admission to Wildlights is included with zoo admission of $12 for adults and $7 for children and seniors.  Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo runs from November 20, 2009 through January 2, 2010, Sunday-Thursday from 5-9 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 5-10 p.m.  (Zoo is open additional daytime hours.)  The zoo is closed November 26 and December 24-25.

Photo credit:  minnemom on flickr.

Linda (minnemom) writes about family travel at Travels with Children.

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Everyone smiles at Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater Beach, Florida! Trainers who hand-feed the otters smile. People attending the dolphin shows smile. Kids running their fingers along the back of sting rays in the touch tank smile. But of all the smiles, the most memorable and inspiring is from the aquarium’s most famous resident, Winter the Dolphin.

One of the happy dolphins at Clearwater Marine Aquarium

Featured on the NBC Today Show, CNN, and hundreds of newspapers around the world, Winter has a lot to smile about these days. In December 0f 2005, at only three months of age, Winter became inextricably entangled in a crab trap line in Mosquito Lagoon near Cape Canaveral, Florida. Although the odds of her survival were very low, the dolphin was transported to Clearwater Marine Aquarium for rehabilitation. As a result of her injuries, Winter lost her entire tail and two vertebrae. Read More »

Zebras at Assiniboine Park Zoo

Located in Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park, Assiniboine Park Zoo is a family-friendly Winnipeg attraction.  Not too big, not too small, with many typical zoo animals, our family enjoyed our visit there.

Begun in 1904, the Assiniboine Park Zoo has continued to grow and is currently working to add a lion exhibit.  Our children especially liked seeing the zebras, camels, polar bears, and caribou.  There are two play areas at the zoo; my children’s favorite was the camel slide. Read More »

The nursery is open and now is a great time to visit the Vancouver Aquarium. In June 2009, a baby beluga was born to Aurora, and joined Qila and her year-old calf Tiqa, born in June 2008. In an interesting twist, Aurora is also the mother of Qila, so the whale who just gave birth is also a new grandmother. Love the animal kingdom!

Beluga Whale

Read More »

Turtles at Great Lakes Aquarium

On the shore of Lake Superior in the Canal Park area of Duluth, Minnesota, is the Great Lakes Aquarium.  Opened in 2000 as an aquarium of primarily freshwater species, Great Lakes Aquarium is home to a variety of species found in the Great Lakes and around the world.

Exhibits at the aquarium range from educational to playful, and usually the two are intertwined.  My children enjoyed watching the stingray feeding session as well as playing at the water tables.  Fish, turtles, and other sealife are displayed, as are exhibits pertaining to Great Lakes ecology and history.

My favorite part of the aquarium was the vantage point of Duluth’s Aerial Lift Bridge and watching ships head out onto the lake.

The Canal Park area is home to many shops, restaurants, and hotels, as well as harbor tours, museums, and a convention center.

Great Lakes Aquarium

• Open daily, except Christmas Day, from 10-6.
• Adults $14.50, ages 3-17 $8.50, seniors 62+ $11.50, under 3 free.
• Parking $4; more during special events.
• 353 Harbor Drive, Duluth, MN.

Photo credit:  minnemom on flickr

Linda (minnemom) has visited many Minnesota attractions with her family.   She writes at Travels with Children.

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Lion at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo

Located in Lincoln Park, not far from downtown Chicago, is Lincoln Park Zoo.  Perhaps the best thing about Lincoln Park Zoo is that it is free, so that anyone can enjoy it.

Its paths meander in and around various animal spaces, with several entrances and exits from the park area.  A carousel ride (for a small fee) is available, as are concessions and various visitor services.

Lincoln Park Zoo is home to many “traditional” zoo animals, but also has a farmyard area where children can visit with cows, goats, pigs, and ponies.  It has been honored with an entry in America’s Best Zoos.

There is paid parking near the zoo and free street parking (if you can find it) a little farther away.  Other activities in the Lincoln Park area are the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and the Chicago History Museum, and there’s a footbridge across Lakeshore Drive to a large beach on Lake Michigan.  When we visited, we parked our car in the morning and spent the day on foot enjoying all of these things to do.

Lincoln Park Zoo is open daily and is always free.  Hours vary by season; please check the zoo’s website for details and parking information.

Photo credit:  minnemom on flickr

Linda (minnemom) lives in Minnesota and writes about her Travels with Children. 
Chicago is one of their favorite vacation destinations.

Uptake writers have also enjoyed these zoos:

• San Diego Zoo
• Fort Worth Zoo
• Minnesota Zoo
• Reid Park Zoo, Tucson, AZ
• Columbus Zoo
• Houston Zoo
• Central Florida Zoo
• Dallas Zoo

The Parker Manatee Aquarium in Bradenton, Florida isn’t the largest aquarium in the country nor is it the most impressive. As a “second stage facility,” it provides a temporary home for manatees that will be released back into the wild after having received treatment for illness or injury, thus its 60,000-gallon tank was designed to hold only three manatees at a time. However the Parker Manatee Aquarium has something that can’t be found at any other aquarium. They have Snooty.

Handler feeds Snooty by hand, but throws full heads of lettuce into the pool for the other two recovering manatees

A 61-year old West Indian Manatee, Snooty was was the first recorded birth of a manatee in captivity and is the oldest manatee living in captivity. He was born in a Miami aquarium in 1948 and was transferred to Bradenton Read More »

Moody Gardens is a huge tourist attraction in Galveston, Texas with three main features: The Aquarium Pyramid, The Rainforest Pyramid & The Discovery Pyramid.

Moody Gardens

The Aquarium Pyramid currently features a shark exhibit & offers an opportunity to meet a live penguin.  In addition to these new attractions, they also have eels, sea turtles, and thousands of tropical fish in the Caribbean exhibit.  The Antarctic South Atlantic Exhibit has at least five different kinds of penguins. The North Pacific Exhibit focuses on seals and sea lions, while the South Pacific Exhibit takes you into the world of the Great Barrier Reef and tide pools.

Penguins

The Rainforest Pyramid is ten stories tall with over 1000 species of exotic plants from all over the world.  Amid the lush flora you will find beautiful macaws, an anaconda, turtles and fish.  The Asian, African and American Rainforests are all considered the most complete reproduction of actual rainforest available.

Macaws

The Discovery Pyramid allows visitors to explore the world of science.  Currently they are hosting a bones exhibit called Bones: An Exhibit Inside of You,  where you can learn how modern technology helps us keep our bones healthy, as well as how bones have found their way into art, music and literature.  Other traveling exhibits from around the world provide interactive ways to learn and have fun learning more about the world around us.

Bones

Moody Gardens also has a golf course, a 4D theater, an IMAX theater, Ridefilm, Palm Beach and a bayou paddle wheel boat tour. It’s open 365 days a year and is one of those places that you need to spend several days exploring.

Photos curtesy of Wikimedia Commons

by Tamara Rice of The Rice Paper

The Entrance of the Aquarium of the Pacific

I’ve been to aquariums in Monterey, California and Seattle, Washington–heck, I’ve even been to Seaworld in San Diego, California. However, I truly believe the best aquarium on the West Coast is the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California.

First of all, you need to know it’s in Long Beach, so no matter where you are coming from in California’s Southland (unless you are coming from the yacht parked next door) you are going to be on ugly freeways and stuck in traffic on your way there. (Some of us, truth be told, have caused four-car pileups on the 405 Freeway on our way to the aquarium–I’m just saying … )

But once you get there, the sight of the ocean takes all that stress away. (Well, not so much after the four-car pileup.) It’s not outrageously expensive–especially for kids. In fact, right now they are having special rates for their tenth anniversary.

It’s a very kid-friendly place. If I had a nickel for every time I pushed a stroller around the place, I’d be a rich woman. There’s sea life to touch (the stingrays are amazingly soft), but really the most memorable part of this aquarium–ask anyone who’s been there–are the insanely amazing creatures you will see in the aquarium’s glow-in-the-dark exhibit. Creatures who literally light up. Hold on to your kids–it’s pretty dark after all–but you will both be mesmerized.

Glow in the Dark Jellies at the Aquarium

Jellyfish at the Aquarium of the Pacific

These pictures are not from Animal Planet or stills from one of those fancy earth documentary series. These are pictures taken by a visitor at the aquarium.

Sure, he had a good camera. Still, I think they speak more highly of the place than I ever could.

The Aquarium's Finest Sea Creature

Photos by Woofiegrrl, Vihn! and mstickmanp of flickr.com