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| - I visited the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium today with two young boys in tow. It's a great activity for my high energy boys, because they can stop for a minute or two to look at an animal while I try to interject something educational, and then they bolt away, running to the next exhibit. They had fun, and they were both asleep by 8 pm! The zoo currently has two+ adorable babies right now to show off, which was the focus of today's visit. First, we got an up-close peek at a baby orangutan, snuggling under his mother's arms. We were inches away, with only some glass separating us. Then in the indoor area near the Underwater viewing areas for the sharks and polar bears, there is a nursery set-up for a young sea otter that was rescued by fisherman and brought to our zoo to grow up. Again, we were only a couple of feet away, and not even glass separated us from him. They had a Zoo Docent standing there to answer my children's many, many questions about how the otter became stranded and how they're caring for him. This exhibit really engaged them, and they learned more about conservation and ecology in a few minutes than they'll probably learn in the next six years of elementary school. Kuddos to the zoo for having an informed docent standing by! There were also baby sea turtles on display in the windows to the left of the Aquarium's main entrance. I'm not a huge fan of the zoo's limited food menu so I fed my kids lunch immediately before we left, and got them ice cream as a treat halfway through our afternoon. We always carry water bottles with us and there are many water fountains with cold water to refill from. Kids Kingdom never disappoints with opportunities to pet animals, see them up-close, and with many zoo-themed playground items to play on. It was a great day!
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