North Carolina Zoo

In May of 2021, we visited the North Carolina Zoo for the first time. We made it a big family day with all of my siblings and parents coming down and meeting us there for the day. 

It was a long drive for us, but it was well worth the trip. We only had two kids at the time, but they love animals, so we knew it would be a great time. 

The Zoo is big and spread out. As you drive to it, it seems to be in the middle of nowhere (not in a big city, etc.). There are lots of animals to see inside and lots of walking to be done. There are restaurants and a gift shop as well.

Parking

The NC Zoo has two main parking lots. The North American Lot is open year-round. The Africa Lot is open only April-October. Parking is free at this zoo. Bus & RV parking is also available. There are electric car charging stations.

Tickets 

At the time we went, we had to make a reservation and purchase tickets ahead of time (because it wasn’t long after the pandemic).

Note:

If you have a Zoo or Aquarium membership check to see if you get a discount. At the time we went we didn’t have one but we currently do have an aquarium membership in NC which gets us in free to this zoo now. Many zoo/aquarium memberships can get you up to 50% off on tickets when you visit other big zoos.

Animals

The Zoo has many exhibits with animals based on their home geographical locations. Some of the exhibits are only open during warmer seasonal times, but we were able to see most of the animals during our visit at the end of May.

North America

Home to animals of North America, including polar bears, black bears, red wolves & hundreds more native to North America. It features these exhibits:

• The Prairie Habitat features American Bison & Elk.
• Honey Bee Garden
• Grizzly Bear Habitat
• The Streamside Habitat features a Barred Owl, Bobcat, Copperhead snake, Cottonmouth snake, North American River Otter, Timber Rattlesnake & Longnose Gar.
• The Cypress Swamp Habitat features an Alligator Snapping Turtle, American Alligator, Barking Treefrog & Cougar.
• Marsh Habitat
• The Rocky Coast Habitat features an Arctic Fox, Harbor Seal, Polar Bear & Horned Puffin.
• Red Wolf Habitat 
• Black Bear Habitat 

Africa

Home to animals of Africa, including chimpanzees, giraffes, gorillas, zebras & elephants. It features these exhibits:

• Baboons Habitat
• The Forest Glade Habitat features the Western Lowland Gorillas
• Lemur Island Habitat 
• The Kitera Forest Habitat features Chimpanzees
• Zebra & Giraffe Habitat 
• Red River Hogs Habitat 
• The Watani Grasslands Habitat features the Addra Gazelle, African Elephant, Bongo, Waterbuck, Fringe-eared Oryx, Greater Kudu, Southern White Rhinoceros & Thomson’s Gazelle.
• African Lion Habitat 

Desert

The Desert Habitat features a Blue-tongued Skink, Desert Pupfish, Desert Tortoise, Gila Monster, Ocelot, Vampire Bat, Spiny-tailed Monitor, Ornate Uromastyx, Beaded Lizard, Sidewinder, Laughing Kookaburra, Sand Cat, African Pancake Tortoise, Crested Coua & many Desert plants.

Other Attractions 

Other attractions include an outdoor carousel, a Giraffe deck for feeding the Giraffes, tree house trek, and the Kaleidescape Butterfly Garden. There is a Giant Garden Friends playground for kids, a kid zone & hiking trails. There is also a zoofari ride and ropes course.

Note:

Some of these attractions may be at an extra expense.

Note:

Some of these attractions may be seasonal only so check on availability/times they are open beforehand.

North Carolina Zoo is located at: 4401 Zoo Parkway, Asheboro, NC 27205. For more information about the zoo and/or to plan your visit, check out their website here: https://www.nczoo.org/

There is plenty to keep you busy at this zoo all day! So many animals to see and fun little statues for photo ops. Some animals or exhibits may be seasonal and not available all year round. Our highlight of this zoo trip was the Kaleidoscope Butterfly Garden. It was so much fun!

If you’re in North Carolina and have kids or just love animals, then you should give North Carolina Zoo a try!

Mess-Free Play for Traveling with Kids

One of the biggest things we put a lot of thought into when traveling with our kids is what to pack to keep the kids entertained. No matter their age, toys are a must for kids. Whenever we take a road trip, it’s easier because we can bring more…but during our recent flight in April, I had to rethink what to bring based on getting through security and having minimal space.

It was trickier, but we did it. You may have to get more creative with what you bring, but there are still plenty of mess-free toy options to keep the kids happy! Here’s my top list of our favorite mess-free toys for traveling!

Moldable Clay

My son loves playing with magnetic sand, Play-Doh, and molding clay. While the sand is his favorite, I knew we could travel with it because of the mess. So we opted to bring our moldable clay. He can still build and shape it, but it doesn’t crumble and leave a giant mess everywhere.

Magnetic Toys

Magnetic puzzles, books, or character story boards are another great option for kids who want to play with multiple pieces, but you don’t want to constantly be losing them. I’ve also heard of someone who took a cookie sheet pan to have her kids play with magnets on so they didn’t fall.

Window Cling-On Decals

There are so many great reusable sticker/window cling-on options these days. I’ve even gotten some at the dollar store. You could get some books or just the window cling-on decals/stickers, and the kids can play with them on car windows and/or airplane windows.

Fidget Toys

The current obsession with little fidget toys like the spinners, poppers, etc. is another great option to keep your kids entertained and in one spot, mess-free.

Writing Tablets

Probably our favorite mess-free toy options are the erasable writing tablets. Both of my kids love drawing and coloring and could do it all day. These tablets are great because they can draw and erase and draw again over and over. You can also play games on them like tic-tac-toe, hangman, etc. So many options for ways to use them. No more crayon or marker mess. My kids used these on every flight and layover we had during our trip in April. We don’t go on a trip without them!

I hope these tips help to keep your little ones entertained during long travels and keep you sane with no messes! Do you have any other mess-free play ideas for traveling that I didn’t mention? Let me know in the comments below!

Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle

On our recent trip to Seattle, our friends were eager to do a zoo day for the kids. With how much our kids love animals, we knew it would be a good fit. So we decided to check out Woodland Park Zoo.

Nestled in the middle of housing, the zoo seems a bit out of place as you arrive. But don’t let that fool you…this zoo is big! Plenty of walking to be done and animals to see once inside. They also offer a gift shop (we weren’t able to go because we stayed until closing and ran out of time…but we did get our zoo smooshed penny souvenir) and restaurants throughout the zoo. Many of the restaurants were closed at the time we walked through – guessing it was because it was off season. There is also a giant playground for kids outside the zoo near some of the parking lots.

Parking

There are 3 parking lots around the zoo. The zoo itself is close to downtown, so the parking can fill quickly. The first two lots we tried were full. Luckily, we got parking in the 3rd one. You do pay hourly for parking in the lots as well, with a fixed maximum day rate. If all parking is full, there is street parking around the zoo as well.

Tickets

If you purchase full-price tickets 4 days or more in advance, you can receive a 10% discount. The Zoo also offers discounts for military and persons with disabilities. If you have a membership with another zoo or aquarium, check and see if you qualify for any discounts through your membership to this zoo. For example, we have a membership to our local aquarium in North Carolina, and with our membership we get 50% discounts on tickets for most major zoos. Woodland Park Zoo was one of those included, so we got a big discount, which was a huge help for our family of four.

Note:

The Zoo does recommend you purchase tickets in advance but we waited and got ours at the Zoo and didn’t have any issues getting them.

Animals

The Zoo has many exhibits with animals based on their home geographical locations. Some of the exhibits are only open during warmer seasonal times, but we were able to see most of the animals during our visit in early April.

African Savanna

Home to animals from East Africa. We saw the lions, giraffes, hippo & Patas monkey. We didn’t see the zebra & ostrich.

Assam Rhino Reserve

We saw the rhinos. We didn’t see the Asian Brown Tortoise & Demoiselle Crane.

Australia

Home to animals from the Pacific Ocean area that includes Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea & Islands of the South Pacific. We saw the Kookaburra, Snow Leopard & Wallaroo/Wallaby. We didn’t see the Emu.

Molbak’s Butterfly Garden

Home to hundreds of free-flying North American butterflies. This is a seasonal exhibit. It was not open yet during our trip in April, so we unfortunately didn’t get to see it.

Humboldt Penguin Exhibit

Home to penguins from the desert coast of Peru. We were able to see them (it was my son’s favorite animal we saw), but I didn’t get any photos.

Living Northwest Trail

Home of many animals from the Northwest in the US/Canada. We saw the Gray Wolves, Lynx, River Otters, Snowy Owl, Steller’s Sea Eagle & Western Pond Turtle. We didn’t see the Brown Bear, Elk & Mountain Goat.

Temperate Forest

We saw the Chilean Flamingos, Hornbill, Kunekune Pig, Maned Wolf, Red Panda, Red-crowned Crane, White-naped Crane & the family farm. There is also a Bug World, but it was closed for renovations during our visit. We also didn’t see the Partula Snail.

Trail of Adaptations

We didn’t make it through this area during our visit, but it features: Indian Flying Fox, Komodo Dragon, Meerkats & an Egyptian Tortoise.

Tropical Asia

We saw the Malayan Tiger, Sloth Bears, Asian Small-clawed Otter, Orangutans, Malayan Tapir, Warty Pig. We didn’t see the Langur & Siamang.

Tropical Rainforest

We saw the Jaguar, Gorillas, Poison Dart Frog, Saki Monkey, Toucan, Yellow Anaconda & Colobus Monkey. We didn’t see the Ring-tailed Lemur, Red Ruffed Lemur, Golden Lion Tamarin & Tarantula.

Woodland Park Zoo is located at 5500 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103. For more information about the zoo and/or to plan your visit, check out their website here: https://www.zoo.org/

There is plenty to keep you busy at this zoo all day! So many animals to see and fun little statues for photo ops. Some animals may not be out depending on the cold/weather. We didn’t see all the animals they have, as some weren’t out when we walked by. But we would still love to go again during the summer to experience the butterfly exhibit!

If you’re in the Seattle area and have kids or just love animals, then you should give Woodland Park Zoo a try!