Toledo Zoo named BEST ZOO in the United States

We always make a special effort a few times per year to take a road trip with our kids to visit the TOLEDO ZOO because it really is a great park and a nice change of pace with different exhibits and animals on display to enjoy from our own local Detroit Zoo which with our annual membership itself is a pretty frequent destination for our family.  So it really wasn't that much of a surprise when we heard that this Midwestern factory town's zoo was named by USA TODAY as the "Best Zoo in the USA" and "one of the top 10 zoos in the U.S." by Family Fun Magazine. The Toledo Zoo is home to more than 9,000 animals representing over 800 species.  It also just completed a new 178,000 gallon aquarium so that a visit to the zoo not only lets you observe land animals but also takes you under the sea.

Because the Detroit Zoo is just a few minute drive from our house we've become pretty accustomed to that place so making a trip to the Toledo Zoo is always a special treat to check out new things.  My kids favorite three features of the Toledo Zoo ( the hippoquarium, elephant exhibit & salt water aquarium)  aren't available to see at our local zoo making the experience out of the ordinary and extra special for them.  These exhibits really provide a close up views of these creatures allowing for some extraordinary experiences.

The Hippoquarium

Visitors to this exhibit are treated to a view of the underwater world of Nile hippopotamus.  This 360,000 gallon pool has a filter system that cleans 8,000 gallons of water every 90 minutes to help provide a clear closeup view of the hippos as they lounge and wander about underwater.  My kids always are thrilled when they have an up close encounter with these humongous creatures.

 

Elephants of the Savanna

Speaking of larger creatures, right next door to the hippoquarium is the elephant enclosure.  Whenever my daughter brings up a trip to the Toledo Zoo the first thing she references is wanting to go see the elephants.  The Toledo Zoo enlarged and renovated this exhibit in 2012 providing for expanded viewing areas for people and more stimuli for the African elephants that call it home including elevated feeders, enrichment walls and trees that creating a dynamic space for the animals.

The Hippoquarium and Elephants of the Savanna exhibits are part of a larger themed African Safari themed display area called the Tembo Trail.  As you venture along the Tembo Trail in addition to elephants and hippos, you'll also encounter lions, white rhinoceros, spotted-necked otters, slender-snouted crocodiles, naked mole rats and meerkats.



Aquarium

After a two and half year closure for a $25 million dollar expansion and renovations just re-opened in the Spring of 2015.  This exhibit has transformed a 46,000 gallon aquarium that had mostly displayed local freshwater varieties of fish into a 178,000 immersive underwater experience where people can view more than 3,000 creatures from a variety of ecosystems around the world.

We took a road trip this summer to the Toledo Zoo just to check out the new aquarium facility and I have to say it really is fin-tastic!  CLICK HERE to check out A Geek Daddy's review of the Toledo Zoo's aquarium "Sea-ing the Toledo Zoo Aquarium is Fin-tastic!"

Playgrounds

It just figures though that my kids enjoy playing at the Toledo Zoo almost as much as venturing around observing all the wonderful animals.  The zoo has a nice area called Nature's Neighborhood that has a playscape area featuring a kids only tree house to explore, rock walls to climb and a stream to wade in.  There is also the Jumpin Junction indoor workshop area that has projects to do and presentations to see throughout the day all year long.  At Jumpin Junction kids can see themselves on a large TV screen with backgrounds from the natural world behind them or they can play around with animal costumes and puppets for a fun experience.

During the warmer months there also are daily performances at 2 pm each day featuring Toledo Zoo animals at the outdoor Fisher-Price Discover Stage for families to enjoy or you can pet African pygmy goats in Nature Neighborhood's Goat Yard.

As part of the aquarium renovation, the Toledo Zoo also just installed a great aquatic splash pad play area directly behind that facility that also includes oceanic themed play structures like a giant crab holding a tire swing in its pinchers.

A few other highlights of trip to the Toledo Zoo include taking a train ride around Africa! which circles a field filled with zebras, giraffe, wilderbeest, ostrich, and wild dogs; trekking through the Arctic Encounter to view polar bears and seals; meandering through the Primate Forest filled with lemurs, monkeys, and red pandas; and a walk through the reptile house which features a giant saltwater croc. CLICK HERE for a map with a full layout of the zoo.

Of course we can't head home for the day until we've taken a ride on the old fashion carousel situated by the park's main entrance.

 

If you happen to be visiting the area the Toledo Zoo has a nice Out-of-town Visitor Guide on its website to help with planning a trip to the zoo.  If you can make it to Toledo, A Geek Daddy recommends that a visit to their zoo is well worth it.  You'll always discover something that will put a smile on your at the Toledo Zoo!

Pope Francis Visits United States This Week

Photo by Dave Yoder/National Geographic

Our children have been going to Sunday and Holiday masses with my wife and I since they were infants, but the next few months are a particularly important time for their induction into the Catholic faith as they begin attending catechism and preparing for their First Communion.  So Pope Francis' visit to the United States from Tuesday, September 22 through Sunday, September 27th presents a great opportunity for us to have some teachable moments regarding the Catholic faith and the Pope's role in the Church as he tours our country.

As part of our discussion with our children about the Pope's visit, we read together as a family the book National Geographic Readers: Pope Francis.  This book was really perfect for our first grader twins because it is a Level 1 book meant for early independent readers or parents reading aloud to their kids.  This 32 page softcover book is recommended for children 4 to 6 years old and provides readers with an overview of the life of Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina who became the first Pope to originate from the Americas and the first to replace another living Pope for the leadership position of the world's largest Christian church which has a congregation of more than 1.25 billion people worldwide.

Photo by Dave Yoder/National Geographic

National Geographic Kids points out some fun facts in their book that can help children relate to Pope Francis such as:

• Pope Francis is the oldest brother of 5 siblings;
• He loved to play soccer as a kid;
• Praying was something he learned from his grandmother during his childhood;
• He has been featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine;
• The Pope is an excellent cook;
• He was the first Pope to take a Selfie;
• As a kid Pope Francis collected stamps and now his image is featured on several stamps.

This National Geographic Kids book written by Barbara Kramer is available for $3.99 from the National Geographic online store and other retailers such as Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.  It is part of the National Geographic Readers series which provides kid friendly profiles of public and historical figures including Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Graham Bell, George Washington, Rosa Parks, Sacagawea, Thomas Edison and President Obama.  These easy to read books also feature topics such as Coral Reefs, Ellis Island, Mars, Trucks, Weird Sea Creatures and Volcanoes.

Pope Francis visit to the United States begins in Washington D.C. where he will meet the President at the White House and give a speech to a Joint Session of Congress at the Capitol.  There will also be a Papal Parade through the National Mall and a special mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Pope Francis will be in Washington D.C. from Tuesday September 22 through Thursday September 24.

The Pope will arrive in New York City on Thursday evening.  While in New York he will attend an evening prayers at St. Patrick's Cathedral, address the United Nations General Assembly, attend a mulit-religious services at the Word Trade Center's 9/11 memorial and museum, visit a catholic elementary school in East Harlem, and have a procession through Central Park.  Pope Francis' stay in Manhattan will wrap up with a mass at Madison Square Gardens on Friday, September 25th.

Pope Francis arrives in Philadelphia on Saturday, September 26th for a two day stay.  While in Philadelphia, he will hold mass at Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, visit Independence Mall, meet with bishops at the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, tour the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, and meet with organizers, volunteers and benefactors of the World Meeting of Families.  The Pope then departs back to Rome on Sunday evening.

While hundreds of thousands of people are expected to see Pope Francis as he visits the US, if you aren't able to be in the area to see him in person here are a few suggestions on how to join in on the experience from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

• Take part in a "Virtual Pilgrimage" with these prayers as the Holy Father makes his way to more than a dozen different locations in Washington, DC, New York City, and Philadelphia.

• Learn more about the places Pope Francis will visit by following his journey on this interactive map.

• Have a Papal Visit Watch Party!  All events will be live streamed in English with audio commentary here.  Select events will also be available for video on demand here.

• Respond to Pope Francis's call to have a personal encounter with Jesus by reaching out to those in need, supporting parish or community charitable efforts, acting to promote life, human dignity, families and religious freedom, and by caring for creation. Find ideas here.

• Engage in social media: use our hash tags #PopeinUS and #PapaEnUSA.  Don't forget to use some Pope emojis!

• Support the many people working to make Pope Francis' historic US visit a success by praying for them to the Blessed Virgin under her title  Mary, Undoer of Knots. . . (a favorite of Pope Francis). Include in your intentions: Vatican staff, The US Secret Service, the US Bishops, their staff and volunteers, the World Meeting of Families committee and volunteers, and the three host archdioceses and host cities.

 For more information about Pope Francis's visit the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops web site.  You can also follow Pope Francis on Twitter at @Pontifex.

A Geek Daddy Blog is participating in the National Geographic Kids Insider brand ambassador program for the 2015-2016 school year. During this time, the “Insiders” will get a behind-the-scenes look at National Geographic’s resources, activities, content and projects for kids and families. National Geographic Kids Insiders review books, magazines television shows and toys, and will be offered interviews with authors, explorers and editors.

Photos uses in this blog post are by Dave Yoder/National Geographic from the book POPE FRANCIS & THE NEW VATICAN used with permission.  Copying, distribution, archiving, sublicensing, sale, or resale of these images is prohibited.  In other words you can look but don't touch the photos in this blog post - which in general is how you should treat all the photos on A GEEK DADDY as this is a copyrighted website with all rights reserved by the publisher. #NGKinsider

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.