Holidays at the Zoo

This year don’t forget the zoo when you’re planning your holidays. Zoos around the country are festive, fun and educational. There are light displays and special events throughout the month of December and on into the new year.

The Indianapolis Zoo has set up a landscape of Christmas towns and villages in the conservatory, where “O” and “G” sized model trains travel throughout the day. The Toledo Zoo in Ohio celebrates “The Lights Before Christmas” with over a million lights and an 85-foot Norway Spruce that’s been decorated with 32,0000 lights. Or how about the Holidoze at the Philadelphia Zoo? Spend an overnight with your family in the Children’s Treehouse and learn how animals play a part in our holiday traditions.

After the holidays, when those pine needles start to fall, before chucking the tree in the dumpster check to see if you’re local zoo or animal sanctuary would like to help you recycle that real tree. Christmas trees can provide valuable enrichment for zoo animals. They’re fun for the animals and fun for the zoo’s visitors to watch.

And if you’re still looking for the perfect gift for that hard to buy person, how about adopting an animal at their favorite zoo? Adoption programs usually come with a gift of a stuffed animal, information on the animal and updates on how they’re doing. You’ll be buying a gift that will ensure the continuance of the zoo's conservation programs and as there’s nothing to break or throw away, it’s gentle on the environment, too.