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Archive for January 31st, 2010

What’s the best zoo in the United States for children?  The world famous San Diego Zoo or the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Florida? According to Parents’ Magazine, it’s the Lowry Park Zoo, with San Diego coming in at second.  To qualify for the honor, a number of factors were considered, such as were the exhibits at the eye level of a preschooler, were any exhibits hands-on, and did the zoos have enough strollers to rent or tables on which to change young ones?  These factors mean it won’t always be the best known or the largest zoo that wins the top recognition.

If you’re traveling through Florida, stop in and stay at one of the luxury Tampa hotels and see this number one rated zoo.  It contains one thousand six hundred and fourteen animals over fifty-six acres.  Out of those fifty-six, four and a half acres are devoted to an Australian themed children’s zoo, a place where the kids can pet and feed wallabies and kangaroos, play as if they’re sheep-herding, and also play in and around fountains and statues of animals.  Devoted to safety, the zoo has eight first-aid stations, and conducts drills bi-monthly to rehearse what to do if animals should escape.  And, as long as the zoo is open to the public, there’s police security.   Your kids will also see a Safari Africa exhibit, the first phase of which has opened, and features a number of interesting animals, such as zebras, elephants, bongos, warthogs and giraffes — even the African ground hornbill, which is a species of bird with elongated eyelashes and big bills.

Second in the top ten was the San Diego Zoo, which is twice as large as the Lowry Park Zoo and holds four thousand animals.  It’s known for a very well educated staff, ninety-five percent of which have degrees in zoology.  It also operates a children’s zoo containing thirty exhibits and a petting zoo where children can touch goats, sheep, and even miniature horses.  A main feature is the polar bear plunge, where kids can watch two polar bear cubs play in a pool of a hundred and fifty thousand gallons.

All of the top ten zoos have something to recommend them.  The rest of the top ten were the Oklahoma City Zoological Park and Botanical Garden (number 3), the Brookfield Zoo of Illinois (4), the Phoenix Zoo (5), the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (6), the Bronx Zoo (7), the Toledo Zoo (8), the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, Indiana (9), and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (10).