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I was provided with a complementary CityPASS All opinions are my own.
Whenever I visit a new city one of the first attractions I visit is the zoo. Naturally, it was no different when we visited Houston. I asked my son which of the attractions he would like to visit first and the zoo won hands down. One of the first things I noticed about the Houston Zoo was the abundant plant life. I’ve visited zoos around the country and this one was lush, green and boasted an abundance of flowers. Since we had never been to the >Houston Zoo before, we stopped to study our map. We were asked by three different zoo workers if they could help us find something. That’s never happened to us before, even when we wandered around various zoos with a confused look on our face.
It was hot and some of the animals preferred not to leave the shade. We had a difficult time spotting some of them, but one place we had no trouble spotting animals was the Animals Assembled exhibit, “a safari built with Lego bricks.” Each animal told the amount of hours needed to create the sculpture and number of blocks used. For those with young(er) children, be sure to check out the John P. McGovern Children’s Zoo. It’s an interactive, educational exhibit featuring hands-on fun with a petting zoo, realistic bat cave, a playful river otter and forty exhibits that showcase the six ecosystems of Texas. The petting zoo allows children the fun of entering an enclosure and playing with the goats, while they can touch cows and pigs if the animals happen to walk close to the fence.
Another “can’t miss” area is the reptile house. Filled with exotic, poisonous (and some not so poisonous) reptiles and amphibians, it’s a good way to get up close and personal with these animals while still being safe. My favorite was the albino alligator. Of course, no zoo would be complete without an assortment of lions, tigers and bears, oh my, accompanied by the African Savannah animals and primates.
I’ve included some tips for making the most of your zoo visit:
- Arrive Early. Not only is it cooler when the zoo first opens, but it is less crowded too.
- Pack a Cooler. Be sure to pack plenty of snacks and drinks so you can spend all the time you want visiting the animals. You can get your hand stamped for readmission so you can enjoy a picnic by the lake and then reenter.
- Take advantage of the mister machines located throughout the park to help you keep your cool.
- If you homeschool, take a look at the zoo classes they offer.
- Take advantage of the free parking at the zoo to save money.
The Houston Zoo is located in Herman Park, near other attractions such as the Houston Natural Science Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts. If you are interested in seeing several of these places, be sure to check out the CityPASS.
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The image of that lizard, I’m trying to figure out if its a green iguana or a rhino iguana. My eyes are not what they use to be. Anyways, I’ve never been to the Houston Zoo. Locally, we have Busch Gardens and the Lowery Park Zoo. I’d love to get to see other places if I only had the money.
Oh, I do want to go to the Houston zoo now! Thank-you for mentioning the classes. We are a homeschooling family, so that will be nice when we move back to the Houston area! I will definitely be looking into that!
What great photos and you had such a great time. What a fun place to visit! I’ll have to go visit Houston and look up these places to visit.
We love to visit different zoos too! We have two that are local that we have been to dozens of times and try to find new places to see animals as often as we can.
I think the best zoo I have been to yet is the San Diego Zoo. If I am ever in Houston, I will have to see their zoo too!
what a great zoo! Might have to take my kiddo there on a trip sometime soon 🙂
A safari built with Lego bricks?!? That is such a cool idea – I’m sure it is a huge hit with the kids!
Lovely pictures, I keep seeing zoo pictures at the moment and it’s really making me want to go and spend some time at one 🙂 x
Awesome Zoo! We recently went to the Atlanta Zoo and had so much fun! my kids love seeing all the animals!
I knew I wanted to visit Houston but you’ve been posting the coolest stuff to do there and now I REALLY want to go. Zoos are SO much fun!
My kids would love to visit here! That lion pic is awesome!
That lego tiger looks really cool. I was staring at it for quite a while trying to figure out what is was, before I read the text below!
*pout* i want to come to houston!! RIGHT NOW please!!
Love the Lego animals, what a fun exhibit! The zoo is one of our favorite spots to visit in any city, this looks like a very nice one and how lovely that have such great customer service, too.
The lion is just gorgeous! I would love to visit this zoo. Looks amazing!
How fun! We’d love to visit Houston. The only time I’ve even been in Texas is to drive through on our way to another state.
4th of July weekend was my very first visit to the Houston Zoo, and I wish we had known you can bring in coolers. We could have stayed hydrated and saved money!
My son would have a fun time here! He is 3 years old and animals are so much fun for him to watch.
Wow!! Love the picture of the lion. I have been wanting to take the family to Houston since its only 6 hours away. Thank you for the info!!
This looks like a great zoo – I’d love to see the reptiles. 🙂
I loved your picture of the Houston Zoo… sure sounds like it would be a fun family place to visit. I love that you can use the City pass and your tips are wonderful; arriving early is always a MUST for us, too and thanks for the free parking tip, I love that… Great post and will keep that in mind when we visit Houston.