Paws-On Opens!

After nearly two years of planning, fundraising and construction, the Zoo's refurnished children's "playground" opened to the public today with great fanfare. The area now makes up a small representation of the Florida coast providing a beach area where kids can dress up as sea turtles and crawl through the sand afterward they can slide into the belly of a whale. We then move to to the lagoon where kids can fish from a shrimp boat (no real hooks, or course), play in the "lagoon flats" right next to the 20,000 gallon aquarium that holds all sorts of coastal fish. Finally we move into the uplands area where you can build forts, camp out, crawl through tunnels and visit the contact yard to get up and personal with armadillos and gopher tortises (along with the standard goats and deer). The boys loved it and it appears to be a big hit with the rest of the children that made it out today. Come visit us and take a look!