Elmwood Park Zoo

Catching up with the last pre-Ireland post, we spent a fun afternoon this August at a small local zoo in Norristown, the Elmwood Park Zoo! I'd heard that this zoo was much better for younger kids due to its smaller size and less crowds than the big Philadelphia Zoo. We figured it'd be a fun way to test out Nolan's interest and whether it would be worth investing in a family pass to the bigger zoo soon.

Nolan exploring his first Zoo!

The consensus is that, although we had a really fun day, Nolan is not super interested in zoo animals yet. His favorite parts of the trip were climbing through the tunnel at the prairie dog exhibit, playing on the playground within the park, getting ice cream, and pointing out every stroller/wagon/thing on wheels other kids were riding on. The animals barely held his attention, and when we walked through the barn to see the barnyard animals all he kept saying was "Stinky Animals!" and crying to leave the barn! The extreme animal lover in me hopes he grows out of this stage. I know he has it in him with how sweet he is to Dean at home (even though he does still call him Stinky a lot! ... Did I mention that's one of his current favorite words?!)

Checking out the tunnel near the prairie dogs

He did the same loop over and over again (unless there were other kids in there... then he became "shy" again)

Daddy pointing out the animals at the buffalo exhibit

Mommy, Nolan, and a sleeping buffalo

Interested for a few seconds caught on camera

A "Bubalow!"

Capybaras (the largest rodents in the world)

Nolan is king of the playground!

Happy to pose when he has a fun playground to keep him occupied!

Swings at the zoo!

I want a big push, Daddy!

Weee!

Ice cream break on a warm August day = delicious. I think Nolan is a chocolate fan like Mommy.

Nolan's favorite of the day - the Flamingos!

The largest animal they have - Giraffes that you can feed at certain times of the day. This guy looks ready!

Even though Nolan wasn't the huge zoo aficionado we'd hoped, it was a really fun family activity and everyone had a good time. I'm sure we'll be back to try again soon!

Thumbs up, Elmwood!