Over the weekend the family headed out for our first adventure to Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo. We had to check out the new Wallaroo Station I told you about recently. I won’t lie. It was very hot out but I think we had a great time and I would love to share a bit about our trip. I may even share some excellent animal pictures just for you.
We were very excited to get into the park. In fact, the second we walked through the gates the children started to point out what direction they wanted to go first. As a mom, I chose the bathroom located to the left first. Let’s be honest, the priority for any trip going well is a bathroom break at the beginning. I loved that there is a bathroom right by the gate to make things easier on us.
One of the things I really loved about this zoo were the plaques that offered additional information. In many of the enclosures there were hens and roosters. I did not know why they were there but these plaques made it easier to answer the questions. For homeschool parents this is a great place to stop and have a short teaching moment while enjoying the zoo.
It was fantastic to watch the children completely enamored with the different animals. I also loved that they were very close to many of the animals. This made for a very engaging experience. Instead of placing the animals far off there is a sense that the children could reach out and touch them. This helped to keep the kid’s interest for longer.
C was very impressed with rhinos. In fact, he spent about twenty five minutes watching them. I loved that this area had fans on many of the posts. This cooled us down while giving C the chance to be absolutely enamored with the Rhino. There were also many enclosures like this one that offered benches for you to enjoy the animals while catching a break.
Another great thing about Lowry Park Zoo are all the different options to feed the animals. Giraffes can be fed for $5 per feeding. We did not feed the giraffe but there was a very short line so we did walk up to see him closer. I have to say this was one of the highlights of my day at the zoo. Make sure to plan some extra money into your budget for feeding animals if this is the type of encounter your child will want.
In Wallaroo station there are some great animals including the koala and the wallaby. We really enjoyed walking through the portion that included the wallabies. You can also see penguins, bats, many different birds, and ponies.
One of the things you can also enjoy in Wallaroo Station is the petting zoo. The petting zoo is free and you can take the kids in to pet the goats or to brush them. There is an option to feed the goats once you step out of the petting zoo. Make sure to bring quarters. It’s fifty cents per handful and the goats will come ready to eat like this guy did.
The water play area in Wallaroo station was a lot of fun for the kids. There were many different interactive water elements. The bulk of the kids were surrounding the water element that filled with water and randomly dumped on the children. This would be a great location to cool off after a hot day in the zoo. In addition to the water elements you can find some great rides in Wallaroo Station. Please keep in mind that all rides have a maximum height. Knowing this in advance will help you to avoid having disappointed children later.
The part about this zoo that impressed me most was the focus on helping the animals. This eagle was unable to fly and stayed at the zoo for duration of his life. Many of the animals you will see are younger. There were even a few baby elephants. Make sure to take note of some of the great facts about the animals as you enjoy the zoo.
Have you been to Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo? What is your favorite thing to do there?
Leave a Reply