Nature Study at the Zoo

Today we took a trip to our local zoo to meet up with one of our friends. We were fortunate enough to arrive at the zoo in time for Animal Adventures - where they bring out animals for the kids to see up close and to touch, and for the Alligator/Crocodile Feeding. What's neat about the Alligator feeding is that they only get fed 3 times a week. Normally we're not at the zoo in the afternoon because of naps, but we made an exception today and boy did it turn out great!We started our afternoon, as we always start our day at the zoo, with the giraffes. Rafiki, the male bull, was in time-out while we were there. He had been swinging his head around at people, so he was put in a time out. I was explaining to Brian and Sean that Rafiki didn't obey, so he was in time-out.Next up was the Animal Adventure. Brian was a little timid about petting the tortoise and would only go up with Sean. But they were really excited after getting to pet Shelly.

After Animal Adventures, we went over to the Alligator/Crocodile Feeding. It was such a neat experience!

After watching the reptiles eat, the kids got in line to touch a baby alligator. This alligator is about a year old and is only 19 inches long. However, he has razor sharp teeth already. The keeper told the kids to hold 1 finger in the air. Then she let them know that that was how many fingers they could use to touch the baby alligator.Brian petting the baby gator. He kept his 1 finger up in the air all the way through the line.Sean gets his turn at petting the baby gator. He is my adventurous boy. He went back for a second turn!And even Colin got to touch the baby gator. He was very brave, and didn't even hesitate.

We had a fabulous time at the zoo today, and I was amazed at how many facts about alligators the boys were able to recount to their daddy over dinner! Learning and fun...it's what this is all about.