Animal Planet Giraffe Neck Support Pillow

 ** A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review **

We recently took a family road trip to Florida which involved four days in the car driving back and fourth from Michigan.  My daughter loves giraffes and this wonderful neck support pillow from Animal Planet really delighted her.  Amazingly we made it through the whole trip without her complaining of being uncomfortable as this pillow was a great fit keeping my seven year old's head comfortable and avoided it ending up in awkward positions which could cause aches and pains during the car ride.

We had such a great experience with this product, I highly recommend it for families who will be traveling with children that will have to be sitting in seats for any extended time whether that be by airplane, automobile or train.  Of course every parent knows that kids who are comfortable while traveling make the trek much more enjoyable for mom and dad too!  This Animal Planet giraffe neck support pillow really did the trick and I'm so glad we had it along with us for our long ride.

In addition to the giraffe, these Animal Planet neck support pillows are also available in a variety of other cute animals as well including a monkey, lion and elephant from retailers like  Walmart.  Recommended for children toddler aged to ten years old these pillows are made from soft polyester material that in addition to being comfortable also can survive the messes kids throw at it. The animal design also adds a bit of fun to the pillow that can also entertain kids while they are traveling.

Discovery Communications also provides a variety of toys and products associated with the programming on their television channels like this giraffe neck support pillow (Animal Planet, Discovery, Discovery Kids, Destination America, ID, Science Channel, TLC, and Velocity).  Check out what they have to offer at store.discovery.com.

Snow on the Ground Doesn't Mean You Can't See Animals Around the Zoo

We made a trip to the Detroit Zoo the other day because my kids wanted to visit its baby giraffe Mpenzi (named the Swahili word for love).  Mpenzi was born on September 30, 2014 is almost four months old now and sure is a "big" baby.  We spent a half hour with no other visitors around watching Mpenzi and his mother Kivuli play together in their pen while a volunteer docent told us about all sorts of interesting facts regarding giraffes.  Kivuli's father Jabari (the second tallest giraffe in a North American zoo) kept sticking his neck out to get our attention and show-off from his pen located next to the mother and baby's.  The docent chuckled that "Jabari loves visitors and can be a real attention hog."

Many people don't think of winter as being a time to visit the zoo, but most are open year long and if you are willing to bundle up and embrace dealing with some cold weather it can be a great experience.  We've made several winter visits to the Detroit Zoo over the last few years and every trip we've essentially had the place to ourselves while having some memorable animal encounters.  During our most recent visit the zoo's grounds were covered in snow and it was a brisk 30 degrees out, but it was also sunny with no breeze so it really wasn't that chilly out as we made our way around.

 

There are plenty of animals on display outdoors even when snow is on the ground.  We have seen our best views of the tiger at the Detroit Zoo on winter visits.  You wouldn't think that Lions from Africa or Kangaroos from Australia would be out in the cold, but we've seen them outside during winter trips as well.  Though the lions do like to lounge on the warming rocks in their exhibits on these snowy cold days.

 

Winter is a great time to see the polar bears who are much more active and playful when there is snow on the ground.  The Detroit Zoo provides multiple heated indoor locations where you can view the bears, as well as an assortment of seals that are also native to the arctic climates, and while these areas are often uncomfortably crowded when the weather is warmer my kids normally have the run of the place during our winter visits.

The best plan for a winter zoo visit is to make sure you know where all the indoor exhibits are and map out how you can get around using them as bridges to get out of the cold.  Our normal path at the Detroit Zoo involves jumping inside these display areas between viewing the outdoor exhibits: Penguinarium, Butterfly Garden/Bird Aviary, Otter Habitat, Reptile House, Chimpanzee & Gorilla Enclosure, Rhino Exhibit, Giraffe House, Arctic Ring of Life, and wrapping up our trip with a stop at Amphibianville before leaving.  The Detroit Zoo does have a Winter Map posted online of their own recommendations for a route through the zoological park which is pretty much the reverse of what I just described.

Here is some info on some of the indoor areas that people who don't have annual memberships and regularly attend the Detroit Zoo may not know:

The Reptile House is in the middle of the grounds and a nice break to get out of the cold between the long walk between the indoor exhibits at the rear of the zoo and those at the front.  It is normally empty of people when we have visited in the winter and kept at a tropical humid temperature making it a very comfortable place to be on a cold day.  The real bonus though is that the snakes are always very active when we've stopped in on our snow day visits compared to the summer months when the crowd noise tends to send them hiding in their exhibits.

I don't believe many people realize their is an indoor Rhino Exhibit at the Detroit Zoo as it is always empty when we visit.  It provides nice views of the animals from a heated gallery, plus some cool benches to sit down and take the load off.

The Giraffe House is heated, open and has benches to sit on.  You can get up close to these gigantic creatures with a much better view than what you can see outdoors during the warmer months.  You really don't understand how tall these animals are until you stand up right next to one.

The Otter Habitat viewing area is heated but the pond environment where the animals swim and lounge about isn't and when the weather is cold these animals love to play....the most active we've ever seen the otters has been during our winter trips.

Going stir crazy in your house, maybe a winter road trip to a zoo is just the ticket to get out and about.  Make sure you contact the zoo before you go to confirm their winter hours (which normally are normally different than during the peak months) and that they are actually open the day you want to go.  Check to see if the zoo has any special events going on during the winter too as part of your trip planning.  For example the Detroit Zoo has several WILD WINTER WEEKENDS with special themed activities going on during those events.

 

CLICK HERE to search a list of all the accredited zoos and aquariums in the United States and see which ones might be close enough to you for a family road trip.

Best time to go to the zoo: try a winter road trip!

It wasn't a busy work week for me following the Easter weekend so I took a day off and decided to enjoy a trip to the local zoo with my kids on one of the nice Spring days we were blessed with.  I was surprised as we pulled into the zoo driveway to see the parking lots closest to the entrance crammed full of cars and to find ourselves parking in one of the outer lots with a trek to the entry gates.  I shouldn't have been shocked because as the weather becomes warmer and it is more enjoyable to be outside the zoo is a great family day trip.  It's just that our family has become used to having the zoo as our own private place the last few months because we regularly go during the winter and during those colder months we practically have the place to ourselves.

Yes, it may be a little cold out but not only are there no crowds to bump up against for a good view but without the noise and distractions created by all the human visitors many of the animals are much more comfortable and are more active while you watch them during a winter visit compared to a trip in the spring or summer months.  Going to the zoo with my kids has actually become one of my favorite WINTER activities. Most zoos are open to the public all year long - check with your local zoo and see what they have to offer during the months of November - March.

Here's a video from a trip we took to the Detroit Zoo in February that shows some of my kids favorite animals to view: lions, rhinos, lemurs, and meerkats:

We have an annual pass to our local zoo and go throughout the year.  The Detroit Zoo is actually open 362 days per year.  There are fun things to do in the warmer months that you can't do in the winter like riding an animal themed carousel, hand-feeding giraffes or playing on the kids playscape but there are a lot ot fun things that you can do in the colder weather too!

 

 

The Detroit Zoo's Reptile House (aka Holden Reptiles Conservation Center) is kept a warm tropical 80 degrees all winter long to keep its 250 residents happy and comfortable.  During the summer when the place is crowed with visitors it often seems as if the snakes, lizards, turtles, and alligators who call the reptile home hide out in their exhibits.  If you can brave a frigid run or walk through the zoo's grounds in the winter months you'll find without all the motion and sound created by crowds these animals are very active slithering and swimming around their display areas.  My kids really enjoy racing the turtles along the window in their tank everytime we go ... they aren't as fond of the snakes though. 

 

 



A visit to the Giraffe Encounter during the colder months is always a treat for the kids, and parents, because you can get closer to the animals than when they are outside.  You can walk right up to a glass partition and see the giraffes up close and wow does that really let you get a feel for how tall these animals are!

 

If you're going during the cold weather than that is the perfect time to stop by the Artic Ring of Life where you can see foxes, seals and polar bears.  While it is a little bit of a trek through the outside of the exhibit you eventually will be able to observe the seals and polar bears from indoors either through an underwater tunnel or a mock up of a north pole scientific exploration station.  We've seen the polar bears from the underwater observation area more often during the winter months than during the spring, summer or fall and the only times we've seen the artic foxes out on the grounds of the Ring of Life where we could get a good view of them has been in the fall and winter months.

 

 

You can also get out of the winter air and explore the National Amphibian Conservation Center ( aka Amphibiville ) at the Detroit Zoo which my kids love to go and look at all the multi-colored varieties of frogs they have on display.

 

 

 



Like the Reptile House, the zoo also keeps the Matilda Wilson Free Flight Aviary & Butterfly Garden at a nice tropical 80 degrees all year long and we can't go for a visit without stopping by to see the butterflys and parrots.

 

 







Other animals with indoor buildings where you can get out of the cold and observe them include the chimpanzees and gorillas in the "monkey house", the meerkats have their own building as well as the lemurs, the otters may be outside all year long but you can view them from indoors in the heated Mardigian Otter Habitat building, and you can even go indoors to view the rhinos up close.

 

 

Depending on the temperature outside you never know what might be outside roaming around during the winter months and you could get an upclose unobstructed view of a lion, tiger, kangaroo, or grizzle bear.

 



 

You can't leave the zoo without one final stop which is a visit the the Penguinarium, this building was the first facility ever built in the United States to specifically house penguins and has been a highlight of a visit to the Detroit Zoo since 1968. It is located right before you get to the exit and is always the last stop we make before heading back to our car to head home so we can enjoy a nice mug of hot chocolate to warm up with and discuss our adventures at the zoo over.

 

If you haven't taken a trip to your local zoo when it's cold outside I urge you to give it a try!

 

For more information about planning a zoo roadtrip visit the Association of Zoos & Aquariums at www.aza.org