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| - The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium is a lot like Pittsburgh. If you're expecting a huge zoo experience like what you'd see in a larger city then you'll be disappointed. If, however, you want a good experience with the kids and are able to enjoy the zoo for what it is, you'll be pleased. (For reference, my dad worked in the San Diego Zoo while I was growing up, and I've been to zoos/aquariums all over the world.) It is a nice a little zoo. It's well-geared for kids, and has some great things for them to do. Some of the displays are antiquated (the bears, especially), but the aquarium is very nice and they do a good job with the space and animals that they have.
While summer visits can be fun, our best times have been in the "off" season, especially if it's snowing. The tigers love the snow, the snow leopard and red panda are quite active, and the gorillas are inside so you can see and interact better, and of course the Polar Bears are in heaven :) The aquarium is inside so you can dry off and peel off some layers, and there are no crowds!
So, planning your visit. They're remodeling the main eating area by the gorillas at the "top" of the zoo - last we went, the path was blocked off and you had to backtrack a little. I expect it will be finished soon, and hopefully will feature an updated eating area. It was a little sad before.
Food: There are your expected food options--hamburgers, fries, pre-made wraps and salads. To stay on budget bring your own - there are plenty of places to sit and eat.
Tips for kids: If you have young kids, you might want to take the sneaky back way and go directly to the kid area. As you're walking up to the zoo, take a turn to the right across from the tigers--there's a path that leads to the PPG pavilion, and you can go directly to the aquarium from there, or turn to the right again and you've got the kids area. If you follow the path to the right you go around the sea lions (my favorite) and can get to the petting/domestic animals portion, plus a nice indoor area with lemurs, reptiles and bats. Oh, plus a huge tree/slide inside that the kids love. You can go "backwards" from there and make it to a nice, quiet eating area with a huge tunnel play area, toddler sandy area, and some older kid play places. There are turtle racers, and kangaroos. We've tried going backwards the entire zoo "path" but were discouraged from doing that. If no one's watching you can make it :)
Events: The zoo hosts some really great events, featuring free face painting, exhibitions, animal petting, etc. Sign up for their newsletter and you'll be informed, but it's worth going.
So, overall: Get a season pass, take your kids often, and enjoy.
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