100 Days of Science # 31 -- Roger William's Zoo Trip

My younger boys really enjoy visiting the zoo and seeing all the animals.  While we often visit the same few zoos over and over again we do feel that each trip is unique.  This time we decided to head to Roger Williams Zoo.

The zoo often has new encounters, exhibits, and even animals to see.  Some animals are more active on some trips than others and we try to make sure we visit at different times of the year and different times of day too.  

We got to feed the giraffes!  This is something I have been wanting to do for a few years now and it seems like it never worked out at any other zoos or Busch Gardens but it finally all fell into place.

Alec told me the tongue swiped his hand it felt a bit like a cat's tongue; scratchy and like sand paper.

We sat and watched the harbor seals for a bit.  They were swimming around and then began chasing each other trying to bite one another's tails.

 The laughing kookaburra was pretty quiet and we were thankful as they can be so loud.

We read all about snakes in New England and the United States 

 Evan's favorites at the zoo are the snow leopards

Alec's favorite is the red panda

The zoo had a new gibbon; they used to have two but one died and now the remaining gibbon has a new friend.  As you can see they get along great!  A docent told us that they had to have a video loop of the old gibbon playing for the lonely gibbon until they were able to find her a new friend.  She was that lonely!

The tree kangaroo was a sleep again.

All the otters were curled up together in the shade.

We finally saw the Barbirusa up close and examined his horns.

The king vulture has one of the most powerful jaws of all vultures 

The moon bears were sleepy too 

I don't think I'd want to run into them in "real" life but they do have cute faces (but man, look at those claws!)

 Just before heading home we looped back around to see the leopards again.  They were up and about and pretty close to the cage.  We even watched them play fight and scuffle for a few minutes.

We sat to watch the red panda for a bit again too.

We took the long walk around the pond seeing a heron and some small turtles and birds.

The boys got an ice cream and we slowly walked back towards the entrance/exit and headed home for the day. 

It's always so much fun to visit the zoo and we learn so much by observing the animals, reading the signs, and talking to the workers.  A great hands- on way to learn more about science. 

Others in this series:

1. Bernoulli's Principle
2. Ecotarium Trip 
3. Air Molecule Experiment
4. Kitchen Science
5. Corn Maze Field Trip 
6. Birds of Florida 
7. Making Static Music
8. Un-Make It Monday
9. Wind Tunnel Experiment
10. Biomes Field Trip
11. Disappearing Coin Trip
12. Snuffing out a Candle With Baking Soda
13. Making Plastic from Milk
14. Friction Experiment 
15. & 16. Snow Experiments
17. Making an Iceberg
18. Floating Eggs
19. Pond Water Under a Microscope 
20. Planting Eco Plant Pals
21. & 22. Cotton Candy Experiments
23. Springfield Science Museum Trip
24. Signs of Spring
25. Color Changing Slime
26. Growing Our Own Tickle Plants
27. Learning About Soil Sampling
28. Making Bouncy Balls
29. Exploring the Shoreline
30. Color Changing Flowers

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