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| - I have spent many a morning and afternoon hanging out at Henry Vilas Zoo with family and with friends. It is easily one of my favorite places in all of Madison for so many reasons:
1) It's free.
2) You are encouraged to bring your own food and drinks (so many times at other zoos we'd have to smuggle under a sweatshirt just a bottle of water).
3) It's fairly diverse--you've got animals from all over the world ranging from small bugs to the large bears and so many in between. And the animals have such personalities. We love watching the sea otters slide into their pond and hop out, watching the tiger pace around her enclosure and being separated by just a piece of plexiglass, and--even though this freaked out my son--watching a chimpanzee freak out when he pointed at it.
4) The animal exhibits are large enough so that the animals can move around a little bit but not so large that the animals can hide from visitors.
5) It's clean.
6) It's very walkable--you can easily see the entire zoo in just a couple of hours.
7) Although we try to just stick to viewing the animals, there are other fun, affordable (most free) activities for the kids if you need a break from seeing animals, such as the playground, carousel, train, and nearby park.
8) Did I mention it's free?
There is so much to love about Madison, and Henry Vilas Zoo is one of them. It's worth checking out, with or without kids, whether you have 15 minutes to spare or an entire day.
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