The Alaska Zoo

 When I was a kid, I LOVED animals. I always wanted to own lots of them. I remember watching National Geographic as a kid and crying when the antelopes would get eaten by the lions. I KNEW it was going to happen! Yet I would still watch hoping they would get away.

 The animal lover has been passed on to my son. He is animal crazy more then I was! He is our little Mogli. You can find him reading books on animals or running on all fours throughout the house. He is pretty quick! With him being the animal lover that he is, we have bought a family membership to the Alaska Zoo two years in a row. I wish we would of started it sooner!

 The family membership costs $85. It includes parents, kids and grandparents admission for up to a year! Check it out, they have a new friend pass that is $150! It's basically the same thing as the family BUT the admission includes two adults from different households! You and a friend can split it, then visit together with the kiddos! Visit the annual passes page to learn more!

 I thought we would just visit in the summer. I was wrong. We like to visit in the winter time as well to get out of the house. They are always having events that pass holders usually get discounts on. We visited the Zoo Lights last year and loved it! My favorite part was walking under the lights. Brooke loved watching the lights that danced to the music.

 Okay, so the Alaska Zoo is not crazy, big like all the other big city zoos. You know, the ones where it takes ALL DAY to see and you actually miss some of the animals! We can usually walk through the zoo under 2 hours. I actually think its like the perfect hometown zoo. The trails are clearly marked and coral little ones. It is very stroller friendly, even in the winter time. I've even seen parents bring a sled to pull their kiddos in. There is a little shop that you can grab some hot tea or hot chocolate to warm up.

 I really enjoy the fact that all of the animals have been taken in due to being injured or orphaned. You can read each animals story by their cages.

 There are a lot of education events going on. For little ones, you can visit the Sing-A-Long, which is on Mondays at 10:30a or the Storytime, on Wednesdays at 10:30a.  There are Adventure Camps, field trips, lectures and talks, Outreach Programs and more! You can even hold your kids birthday there! I might be doing this for Kaden's birthday coming up in January.

 I highly recommend the zoo for all ages. It's a great place to get some fresh air and see some local animals! Our favorite animal to visit are the tigers and snow leopards. Don't call the snow leopard the wrong name or my 4 year old animal lover will correct you. He has done this numerous times to strangers.

 Be sure to like Alaska Zoo on facebook to be in the know with upcoming events and photos!