The Maryland Zoo

On September 6th, we had our first official homeschooling field trip.  The girls and I went with our CCA (Chieftain Christian Academy) group to the Maryland Zoo.  Our family has never visited the zoo in Baltimore in the five years we have lived here because the National Zoo in D.C. is closer to us and less expensive too.  But I had heard some great reviews about how child-friendly the Maryland Zoo was, so we decided to try it out!  It completely lived up and even surpassed my expectations.  It is a much smaller zoo than the National Zoo but it has quite a few interactive animal exhibits for the kids.  The animals were active and energetic and I must say it was one of the most engaging and fulfilling trips to the zoo I have ever made in my entire life!!!! :-)

Faith as a tortoise at the Maryland Zoo.


Anna as a tortoise at the Maryland Zoo.


Jillian as a tortoise at the Maryland Zoo.

When we first arrived, we went to a pavilion and were given an introduction by a zoo educator. She had all kinds of interesting things to show us, including a python! Eek! 

Then we took the tram and our exploration of the zoo began. We saw a Green-Winged Macaw, a vulture, black rhinos, and a couple of Sitatungas.

Faith loved seeing the zebras and she now says that is her favorite animal. She was super impressed by their stripes.

African Leopard

It drizzled rain a little while we were at the zoo, but we didn't mind in the least, because it made it a really nice, cool day!

We enjoyed seeing the African Penguins eat their lunch and swim a little too.

Then we went to see the African Elephants. If you look closely at the photo, you can see a mama and baby elephant interlocking their trunks. It was special to see them show affection for one another.

Anna wanted out of her stroller to see the elephants up closer.

Faith took that opportunity to sit in the stroller and give her legs a little rest.

Jillian loves reading maps (just like her daddy) and was a big help to me as we navigated through the zoo.

The baby Colobus monkey was absolutely adorable and did all kinds of entertaining tricks for us! 

Then we went outside to the Chimpanzee exhibit.

While at the Chimpanzee exhibit, one of the Chimpanzees kept looking at me and shaking his head at me in a friendly sort of a way.  I am not sure what he was trying to communicate, but the next thing I knew, he had climbed onto the window where I was standing and "glued" himself onto it.  I put my hand up against the window where his ginormous hand was and we were hand to hand for a little bit. For me to get this photo of him, I had to actually move back several feet.  After that incredible experience, Jillian kept saying to me, "This is the best zoo EVER!"

 The kids enjoyed seeing the bats and snakes inside the "cave". 

 We met some new friends from CCA too!  The kids had a great time going down slides, exploring the "cave" together, and petting animals. 

My girls are girly girls and did not want to get their outfits dirty, so I took a photo of them outside of the tortoise shell. :-)

In the petting area of the zoo, the girls really enjoyed brushing the goat's hair.

The last animal we enjoyed was the Polar Bear in the Arctic section of the zoo. It was a memorable trip to the zoo and a terrific first field-trip!