Visit to the Lincoln Zoo

Yesterday we had a play date with the Allen Family at the Lincoln Children's Zoo. We had never been there, but we had been wanting to go there for a couple years. I had heard very good things about it.

What a nice place to visit! Everything seems so clean, well taken care of, and new. There are many hands on activities for the kids, too. For example, in the butterfly exhibit, they spray sugar water on your hands so the butterflies will be attracted to land on you. Really?! In Omaha, we can not even touch them! How fun is that?! The kids pet a rat (Ick! They said rats are one of the cleanest animals!? Really? And they live in sewers?), a very soft bunny, a bird, a cockroach (really), and a grasshopper just to name a few. They have pony rides (which we did not do) and a train ride that goes around the outside of the zoo twice. The kids really liked the train. We all loved all the play areas for the kids, too. The exhibits were close together, so you go from one to another without time for whining between. And, every few exhibits there is a sand pit, climbing thing, or some fun kid activity.

It took us 3 hours to see all we wanted to see, eat lunch, play on the playsets, sand pits, climbing things and more, and ride the train. We could have stayed longer and played longer on the play things too. I believe one could stay all day at this zoo, if you took your time.

Pros: Hands on activities for kids, shaded walk ways, smaller in size, easy to walk without hills.
Cons: Officially, no outside food is allowed within the zoo. We did not know this, however, and at our own picnic lunch near the dino dig sand pit. Maybe this is why the zoo is so clean! I guess there is a picnic area someplace outside of the zoo. I found this quite interesting and weird. I mean kids eat, and eat often. Humm. Also, I did not find some of the trails very stroller friendly. Kim and I no longer use strollers for our kiddos, but just pointing this out if you do use one.

After the zoo, we visited a HUGE playground, Antelope Park, the kids just loved. They played until it was just too hot, and it was time to head home.

What a fun day! Would totally recommend a visit to the Lincoln Children's zoo! 

If you plan to go yet this year, go soon as they have short season: April 15th - October 15th. Open daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m. You do get a discount for being a Omaha Zoo Member, which is so nice!

The zoo crooked house and playset

Antelope Park