The zoo is really good for kids, but having grown up in Toronto, with the Metro Toronto Zoo (MTZ), I'm a little spoiled when it comes to zoos. It's a very small zoo and the exhibits are packed together without a lot of context (e.g. a South American Cassowary across the path from the African lion, which was next to the Asian tiger and the Zebras and Gazelles were separated from the lions by the deer feeding exhibit and the emus). The information about the animals was a little sparse and didn't contain much more than the geographical distribution of the animal and some non-sequiturs that I'm guessing were meant to add some color and context but just left me with more questions. It reminded me of the Bowmanville Zoo in Ontario, Canada (I have pictures of me as a child there in the 70s) with the small exhibits and the emphasis on feeding and interacting with the less ferocious beasties. Throughout the park there are vending machines dispensing food for many of the animals. There are ducks, deer, llamas and goats that can be fed. The deer allow the kids to get right up close (see photos) and the kids can go right inside the goat pen to feed them. I have kind of mixed feelings on that sort of thing, but the animals seem to enjoy the food (maybe a little too much – I really could have done without having mud and deer snot wiped across the back of my hand when one deer thought I was taking too long at the vending machine).
Our daughter loved the butterfly exhibit, to the point that at the end of our visit when we went in for the last time, one of the curators said "isn't this like the third time I've seen you in here?" In spite of the sparse information on the signs, the staff (at least in the butterfly exhibit) seemed to be very well-educated about their charges and were happy to try and teach a 5 year old the names of different butterflies and show her some of the differences between them.
We did not check out the amusement park or the food concessions, beyond marveling that not only were they charging $3.75 for a hot dog and $8 for a hamburger, people were paying for them.
On the way home we decided to stop in Kittery, Maine at the Outlet malls to do a bit of shopping and get some dinner. Yes, really. Dinner was a reason to drive 30 minutes and forgo the pleasures of a $7 chili dog, but that is a subject for the food blog…
