A visit to the award-winning Toledo Zoo, with its outstanding indoor and outdoor enclosures is a great way to spend the day. Here are a few adventures you won’t want to miss.
Indoor Exhibits:
The bright, outdoor-like openness of the refurbished aviary allows you be part of the experience as you walk through the space while birds fly overhead, alighting on branches and greenery. Charts identifying the birds make it fun to locate the various species as they move around the exhibit. The red collared widow bird with its long tail and the blue lacy headed victoria crowned pigeon are real stand-outs. Visit the nursery to see the colorful young birds, especially the purple, yellow and red feathered baby gouldian finches.
You can also visit the new aquarium, an amazing underwater experience. Large tanks stretch from floor to ceiling, and reflections of the water and lighting create the incredible visual sensation that you are actually standing inside the tank surrounded by colorful plants and coral while the fish swim by you. Enjoy the moon jellyfish tank where you can press buttons to change the jelly fishes’ colors. Seek out the seahorse display to watch these odd creatures move gracefully through the water.
Other exhibits not to miss: naked mole rats running mazes in the elephant house, vampire bats hang out in Nature’s Neighborhood’s blue house and the Museum of Science’s cool creepy crawlies like gigantic walking sticks, hairy spiders and other awesome bugs.
Outdoor Exhibits:
As you exit the Tempo Trail, look for the meerkat colony on your way to watch the sleek sea otters dive into the water and swim up to the glass to say hello to you. The underwater viewing of the penguins (Penguin Beach) shows their grace in the water. Adults and kids can also enjoy some great interactive playtime in the Nature’s Neighborhood tree house. Pause to take in the colony of flamingos (Flamingo Key) that create a breathtaking expanse of bright pink color as they preen and call out to each other around the pond.
You’ll want to visit the beautiful white wolves near the Arctic Encounter before you take the safari railway to get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the animals. Scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend, Africa Expeditions features adventure activities within the Africa Exhibit (giraffe, ostrich and zebra) including zip lining, obstacle course/sky bridge trekking and giraffe feeding (additional fees and reservations required).
The Toledo Zoo 2 Hippo Way (Anthony Wayne Trail Entrance)
or 2700 Broadway (Broadway Entrance).
January –April 10am to 4pm. May -September 10am to 5pm.
Admission: Adults $19, Children under 12 and Seniors $16, under 2 years free.
Standard vehicle parking $7.
Visit toledozoo.org for info and maps.