Boo on the Zoo

I love informational brochures. There- I admitted it! When I renewed my zoo membership they sent me a handy dandy book full of all the things I can do with that membership, and I read it, even though I will not do 99% of them. I did, however, decide to check out a Tiny Tot class at the zoo last week with Elliott. Well, BOO on the zoo... it was no fun at all.
The theme of the class was "If you put me in the zoo..." and that was all the information I had. But I figured, it was listed for 2 and 3 year olds and it's at the zoo. Can't be that bad. Turns out it was about the different jobs that people do in the zoo. That would be interesting if you were an 8-year-old budding zoologist, but 2 and 3 year olds want to see ANIMALS! And then they want to touch ANIMALS! And then they want to eat a snack and run around. So when this woman started reading a poem (yes, a poem! with no pictures!) to a rug full of toddlers, I wanted to scream. Finally she brought out some toys for each of the different jobs, but it was too little too late. The toys were just something to fight over by that point- some kids were the "keepers" and they got cool stuffed animals, but some poor kid got stuck being the "groundskeeper" with a watering can. (Elliott was a maintenance worker with some blocks and plastic tools. She liked them, but we have those same toys at home and it doesn't cost $12 for her to play with them.) At this point I was thinking maybe we should cut our losses and leave, but they brought out a big snake... maybe a python? I'm not sure, I was busy making sure Elliott didn't try to touch. This was the two minute highlight of the morning.

Okay, I will admit, seeing the snake up close was pretty cool.

Then we were going to visit someone doing their job in the zoo. I'm thinking, this is more like it- maybe going to see one of the animal keepers or the veterinarian. Wrong again! They took us to visit the security guards!! Imagine a small room, with two zoo security guards, talking about what to do if you get lost at the zoo, to a room full of toddlers who have already had to be still for 30 minutes, and their parents, then imagine you paid money for this experience, and you can understand my frustration. So Elliott and I slipped out, at her request, to see ANIMALS. Then we actually had some fun!

This is the first time we have seen the Andean condors out of their nest. The keeper is teaching it to follow the target. Someone else told me they feed them frozen rabbits- ew!

First time seeing the black leopards awake and moving around, too.

Elliott said, "Whoa, BIG tut-tle."

We had lunch in the zoo with some friends (who had also suffered through the class) and then let the kids play for a little while. Of course we stayed too long... then Elliott fell asleep on the way home, but wouldn't go back to sleep once we got home, so it was a 20-minute-nap, long afternoon sort of day... But instead, I will try and remember this part: