Touch Tank at the Library

The Riverwalk Nature Center set up a small touch tank at the library last week.  Thinking it was going to be fun for the kiddos, we headed over to check it out.  While the presentation was very informative, the representative from the nature center did not adjust her speech for her audience.  Most of the children were between 4- and 10-years-old.  The talk was geared more toward a high school or adult audience.  The children were naturally a bit bored and fidgety.

By the time the children were asked to line up for the touch tank, Wildman had been reduced to behaving like this…

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Taking the Monkeys to the Zoo

The boys were off of school on Monday for a teacher workday.  Instead of rattling around the house looking for things to keep them occupied, I decided to make good use of our zoo pass.

Wildman and Cutie Pie donned their swim trunks so they could take advantage of the wading pools.  Hauling up a crab trap was loads of fun too.

They loved checking out the stingrays!

The touch tank with its horseshoe crabs was a hit as well.

Of course, we couldn’t leave without visiting the vet lab where the boys helped a dolphin and an armadillo get better.  I think the dolphin’s blowhole was clogged…

After a picnic lunch we wandered around in search of spider monkeys.  They were no where to be found.  Perhaps they were resting?  Their cage was empty.  Wildman was a little disappointed not to see his favorite monkeys.  However, he perked right up when we stopped to rest and have fruit snacks.  Fruit snacks cure most cases of the blues I’ve found.

Cutie Pie got pretty tired from all of the walking so we headed home around 1 PM.

We hadn’t been to the zoo in a long time so it was nice to enjoy a break from school with the animals 🙂

Paws On

The boys and I politely backed out of a day trip to the Orlando Science Center yesterday in favor of a visit to our local zoo to check out the new Paws On exhibit. We love the OSC but I just did not feel up to making the trek over there.  It would have eaten up our entire day.  B and her two kids were going with another friend and her four children.  So, I didn’t feel bad about backing out.  B had another mom friend to pal around with.

Yesterday was President’s Day so I’m pretty sure that every child in Brevard County was at the zoo.  Luckily we have annual passes that grant us early admission.  We were able to check out all that we wanted to see before the crowds began pouring in through the gate.

We began the day by feeding the giraffes.  All six of them, including the baby, were out and about.  The giraffe observation deck is wonderful.  Wildman and Cutie Pie love feeding the giraffes “cookies”.

Afterwards we went to check out the new Paws On area!  It is amazing! The buildings are painted in a gorgeous array of Key West colors.  The area is themed around the Indian River Lagoon so there are plenty of manatees, turtles and fish.  The attention to detail makes this place perfect for adults and kids!

The two wading pools will be perfect when the weather gets unbearable this summer. There were plenty of buckets, watering cans and squirt toys to go around.

The boys loved the real boat that was set up for “hookless” fishing.  Hookless fishing is where fish food is stuck on the end of a fishing line.  The kids get to dip the food into the water to feed the fish.

Ahoy!  The boat was real and rocked pretty dramatically with all of the kids on board.  It was so fun!

We checked out the aquarium that contained sea life from the Indian River.  The top of the aquarium is open for use as a touch tank.  There weren’t very many animals in there yet though.  We managed to see one blue crab and that was it.  I think they’re still trying to regulate the water before they add the rest of the marine life.

Cutie Pie enjoyed digging with all of the sand toys at the Turtle Beach area.

The Brevard Zoo really stepped it up when they designed this new area.  We could easily have spent our entire visit right there.  The boys loved it.  We’re planning to go back with the boys’ swim trunks next time.