USA Travel Magazine

For families it can be a challenge to find something interesting to do which is fun and educational. One of our favorite places to take our boys when they were young was to the zoo. As you'll see Missouri has plenty of Animal Adventures for the whole family to enjoy.

The St. Louis Zoo

The Saint Louis Zoo has added another amazing habitat to its collection of state-of-the-art living spaces for its animal residents with the opening of the Donn and Marilyn Lipton Fragile Forest. This new home for the Zoo's great apes expands the outdoor habitat with naturalistic areas for two endangered species: chimpanzees and orangutans.

The Kansas City Zoo

New KidZone Discovery Barn The Kansas City Zoo Discovery Barn, the first phase of the Kansas City Zoo's KidZone, is now open. The climate controlled Discovery Barn features exhibits of exotic, small-animals, including ring-tailed lemurs, colorful Prevost's squirrels, macaws, squirrel monkeys, agouti and marine toads. A favorite of kids are the meerkats, a small, burrowing, carnivorous mammal from southern Africa, related to the mongoose; it has a long tail, which it uses for balance when standing on its hind legs.

The Discovery Barn features an elevator, restrooms on both floors, and a two-story slide for kids. The barn allows zoo kids and adults alike to experience these animals up-close and personal, while offering a relaxing atmosphere. “The KidZone is being designed and built with kids in mind. The Discovery Barn is just the first of many steps to make the Zoo more kid-friendly,” said Randy Wisthoff, Zoo director. For more information on programs and Zoo events visit KansasCityZoo.org or call (816) 513-5715.

At the Wonders of Wildlife you'll find the “Shells, Scales, Fangs & Tails” gallery features six exhibit areas: American alligator, alligator snapping turtle, prairie habitat, woodlands habitat, stream habitat and lizards and skinks. The habitats feature snakes, including a rattlesnake, bull snake, and a cottonmouth.

At Dickerson Park Zoo , the Ambler Diversity of Life Center is home to the zoo's collection of reptiles, amphibians, insects and pygmy marmosets – the world's smallest monkey. Designed with three themed halls, the exhibits are grouped by ecosystems: Deserts and Dry Places, “Under the Canopy” Rainforest and Ozarks Glades and Streams. Children will love both destinations! Visit Springfield Adventures.com for information.