With the arrival of spring, and with summer just a few months away, you might be wondering (like me!) how to safely get out of the house with your kids. The good news is that more places have reopened, but it’s not necessarily business as usual wherever you go. One of those spots might be your local zoo. However, given that most zoos have large outdoor areas, it can be a safe escape from home.
What to Expect at Your Local Zoo
You’ll want to do a little research before your visit. Reservations or advance tickets might be required. If you’re visiting a zoo you’ve been to before, you might discover that certain things you enjoy doing are temporarily off limits. While each location is different, some things you’ll likely experience are:
- The need to make reservations and/or buy timed tickets in advance.
- One-way paths directing traffic though the zoo.
- The closure of some exhibits, especially indoor exhibits and high-touch areas.
- Closed playgrounds and play areas.
- Limited food options.
- Mask requirements.
If that sounds like a lot to worry about, don’t be deterred. There’s still plenty of fun to be had. We’ve also found that the zoo is a good place to meet up with friends, as you’re outdoors and can be social, while maintaining social distance.
Many zoos have found new and innovative ways to attract visitors with adapted animal experiences. We recently visited Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington to participate in a few of its Zoo For You animal experiences.
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Heroes of Unusual Size
My family signed up for Heroes of Unusual Size, somewhat reluctantly. My first thought was, rats, yuck! But I learned there’s a lot more to these small creatures. They’re really smart and some have important jobs like saving lives. (Truth be told, I thought they were kinda cute, too!)
The rats we met weren’t your ordinary sewer rats. They were African Giant Pouched Rats, specially trained to sniff out landmines. That’s a big job for little rodents.
A non-profit called APOPO in Tanzania trains the rats as part of a program called HeroRATs. Rats are perfect for the job. They have excellent sense of smell, work quickly and they’re too light to set off the landmines. They find them and then alert people to the location so that they can be safely removed. The rats get paid in food, which is a big incentive for rodents!
The Tacoma Zoo is one of the few locations outside of Africa where you can meet these HeroRATs. The trainers showed us the rats in action. Don’t worry, no landmines were involved! The trainers fill tea balls filled with nutmeg, hide them in dirt, and the rats sniff them out and return them. They’re rewarded with a treat, which is baby food squirted from a syringe.
We got to spend about a half-hour watching Celine (named after the famous singer) and Mona Lisa do their work. We learned a lot about the rats, and the unique program, from the handlers. One of them was the staff biologist, Jessie, who helped bring the program to Tacoma after learning about the HeroRATS on a podcast.
The Heroes of Unusual Size experience is limited to up to 5 people of the same household. It’s offered every weekend, but it’s now sold out for the season. Look for its return in September. The cost is $100 for member groups and $150 for non-member groups and that includes zoo admission. The experience lasts about a half-hour. There’s enough time and supplies for each family member to participate in hiding balls and feeding the rats.
Groovy Goats
Feed, pet and play with goats. Sounds like a pretty good way to spend an afternoon, right? The Groovy Goats animal experience allows guests to get up-close-and-personal with the zoo’s large group of goats.
The goats live in an area called Contact Junction in the Kids’ Zone. Typically zoo guests can pet the goats and feed them pellets. But right now, the goats are off limits except to guests who’ve signed up for the exclusive Groovy Goats experience.
Upon arrival, we were instructed to grab a brush from a bucket, then we got mobbed by a bunch of friendly goats who enjoy hanging out with humans. After we sufficiently groomed the goats, it was play time. We set up an enrichment activity for the goats. That involved stuffing toys with hay then hiding them around the pen. It didn’t take long for the clever goats to find the toys. Playtime made the goats hungry. So then it was feeding time. This was probably the goats’ favorite part of the experience! They appeared from all corners of the yard to lap up food from our hands.
The Groovy Goat experience is offered twice daily. It lasts about 30 minutes. The cost is $100 per member group or $150 per non-member group and includes zoo admission.
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Wild Drive
If a vehicle tour is more your speed, Metro Parks Tacoma also operates Northwest Trek Wildlife Park home of the Wild Drive. Northwest Trek is located in Eatonville, Washington, about a 45-minute drive from Tacoma.
Part-zoo, part-safari, this location has also adapted due to COVID-19. Guests are now allowed to drive through the park (previously it was a guided bus tour). The Wild Drive takes guests through the 435-acre free-roaming area. When we arrived, we remained in our cars and formed a line in the parking lot as part of the guided tour. A park employee was in the lead car, describing what we were seeing over a specially designated radio station.
During the drive, we saw an assortment of animals, all native to the Pacific Northwest. Those included bison, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, caribou, deer, elk and moose. You’ll be driving at a slow enough pace to allow the passengers in your car to take photos. Each of my kids had cameras and enjoyed snapping photos of the animals we encountered.
Advance reservations are required. It costs $70 for members or $90 for non-members. That includes everyone in your car, up to 8 people. The cost also includes park admission.
After our drive, we stretched our legs with a walk through the park. Here we saw animals like bears, cougars and otters. It took us about an hour to do walk the park. Attendance is limited, masks are required and it’s a one-way path through the exhibits to maintain safety.
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Check with your local zoo to find out what’s new. Experiences like this might be available to you. The pandemic has been financially challenging for zoos across the U.S. Support them if you’re able to.
Metro Parks Tacoma provided the author free admission for purposes of this review. All opinions are her own.
