The Fort Worth Zoo

My brother, sister, and I took the three kids to the Fort Worth Zoo this Monday.  The kids are 1, 2, and 3 years of age, and the two-year-old was bouncing off the walls for two days before we went.  (She wanted to “see aminals”.)

The 3 year old got to my mom’s house with my brother and his brother and decided that he didn’t want to go, he wanted to stay with me and wait for Gigi and Grandpa to get home.  He did not want to see the elephants of the zebras or the lions or tigers.  He wanted to wait for Gigi and Grandpa.  His dad told him to get in the car, but he, being stubborn (which he comes by honestly) didn’t budge.

So I asked him if he wanted to see the alligators.  I was just trying to think of anything that I thought a little boy would want to see since lions and tigers weren’t cutting it.  His eyes got big and he nodded.  Then I asked him if he wanted to go see the frogs, and he nodded, and then said, “And snakes?”.  I asked him if he wanted to see the snakes and he nodded and then proceeded to run his hand up my arm like a snake while making hissing noises.  I acted like I was scared and he laughed and I told him if he wanted to see the snakes he had to go get in the car.  Problem solved.

We get to the zoo and it was fun.  All of the kids figured out pretty quickly that if the adults held them they could see more, so us three adults got stuck hoisting them up a lot, but it wasn’t bad.  They all liked the primate house and the white tiger, and the sun bear had climbed up to the top of its climbing apparatus, so they liked that.  The Fort Worth Zoo is actually really nice, I have always enjoyed going there.  They don’t do menagerie style cages anymore, but instead have these great natural habitat enclosures and the kids really liked all the running water and green things in the with the animals.  In fact, a couple of times I had to tell the 2 and 3 year olds that they couldn’t climb in with the animals and swim.

All three of the kids REALLY like the reptile house with the snakes and lizards and turtles but their favorite animal seemed to be the penguins.  They really liked that they could see under the water with the penguins swimming and the penguins standing around eating fish.  We had to stay in there for a good twenty minutes while they sat (or stood) completely engrossed in them before we could get them to come and see some other animals.

We took them on the little mini train around the zoo which they loved, and let them see the fish and the sharks.  They didn’t really like the kangaroos because they were laying down, but were enthralled with the long horn that was rubbing its head against a tree.

On the way out I got the 3 year old a rubber snake that will grow up to 3 times larger in cold water.  The two year old got herself a stuffed penguin and the one year old (who was out like a light by this time) got a stuffed rhino with big puppy dog eyes.

I am thinking about going back next week to do some sketches, especially in the bird house where they have eagles and owls and the primate house.  I couldn’t do it on Monday because you can’t really sketch and watch kids at the same time.  If you haven’t been to the Fort Worth Zoo, I recommend it.  It is a nice place to visit, but can be a little spendy.  Wednesdays are half price though.

~ by mexalapotis on August 7, 2008.