It’s been a while since we visited the animals at our local zoo. We were just at the Oregon Zoo for ZooLights but today we had a great opportunity. In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the Zoo gave free admission. They did take donations of food for the local food bank in the spirit of giving back we donated some food items.
We had yet to see the new Predators exhibit at the zoo and we had the perfect chance to check it out. Were we in for a big surprise!The exhibit goes through different predators, I don’t think I’ve seen a hyena in person. The lions were beautiful and were such a great sight to see. 
The large glass windows allowed for plenty of viewing room and was open enough for Brooklin to actually get a peak. Which we found was quite difficult. It was a very neat experience and as it starts to get warmer I hope to make going to the zoo a more regular thing.
What I love so much about the Oregon Zoo is how well they take care of the animals, and how much sustainability is a part of the zoo. It’s the perfect place to bring the kiddos and there’s so much to learn. Around the zoo are plenty of boards, and information sheets. My husband Del read them off to the family as Kaila oohhhed and ahhhed.
As far as learning locally there’s a great Northwest area that shows how salmon make it upstream. It’s very important no matter where you live that your children do know what is around them. We enjoy hiking near the river and camping in the mountains. All of these are great ways to better teach our children about the environment around them, and I think for Kai seeing how the salmon get upstream was important.
In the end it was a fantastic day filled with plenty of extra opportunities for both of our children to learn. We even had a little fun.
Have you been to your local zoo lately?
Looks like a really beautiful zoo! My desk calendar at work for the past month has had the most adorable photo of polar bears on it, and I’ve been dying to go to the zoo to see them…it’s just too cold at the moment, I’ll have to wait for the weather to get better~
I love the zoo! We actully went when it was only 30 degrees outside. Crazy, I know, but we got to see the animals that enjoy the winter in their natural habitat. It was really great!
I am so happy you did this post. I was wanting to hit the Zoo soon and I have yet had a chance to see the predator exhibit as well. I am going to be taking the twins soon!!!
Aww. Such cute pictures. Kai looks like a mini you in the pic of you both on the lion statues. We LOVE to go to the zoo. I hope to go several times before the hot weather comes back. I’m not into going to the zoo in the heat. (Texas)