This year, we decided to buy a membership to a local organization for the family. In addition to "giving back" something, a membership locally provides us with a family activity and a chance to build fun, memorable shared experiences with Eloise. Among the choices we were picking through were the Morton Arboretum, the Brookfield Zoo, the Art Institute, Museum of Science and Industry, the Field Museum and the DuPage Children's Museum.
Through a fortunate situation at work, I was given family memberships for the year to the Art Institute of Chicago as well as the Museum of Science and Industry (more about those later!). Nat and Eloise have been to the DuPage Children's museum and it was awesome, but with the warmer weather here, who wants to be inside all summer. We've taken Eloise to the Arboretum for a few hikes (and have a backpack to use there!), but because of the diverse choices, the amount of guest passes included and the location, the Brookfield Zoo seemed like the best choice for us.
As a side note: We don't need to get into a debate about whether supporting a place that confines wild animals is ideal, but Nat did the research and the Chicago Zoological Society, who runs the Brookfield Zoo, runs one of the top operations in the world. They're doing what they can for conservation, endangered animals, and animal cruelty/protection/control.
Anyway....The passes arrived a few weeks ago it was a joyous day in our house. In fact, the exact day they arrived in the mail was a warm spring day so, Nat quickly packed her bag, grabbed Eloise a jacket, and out they went! Nat and Eloise together have been a few times already (which, to a Dad who wrote the check for the membership AND is actively doing the cost/visit averaging, makes me feel good that we're *ALREADY* approaching a 'break-even' point cost-wise on the passes!)
So fast forward to this week. With a bunch of factors converging, we found time to head to the Zoo as a family in the afternoon. The weather was perfect (not to hot) and because it is early in the season, there were almost NO crowds. No bus-loads of junior high kids, is a bonus.
Although the stroller is NOT the idea vantage point for a lot of the animal viewing, Eloise seems to enjoy herself getting pushed around to see all the animals. We unbuckle her when we can and let her get up close to the railings/glass when appropriate. When we were in the dolphin area, she got out and was pointing to the dolphins as they zoomed by. It was pretty awesome to see her interacting with the animals and taking it all in. She's growing up and learning so much - I'm constantly amazed with her development. With Nat's help and these zoo visits, she'll likely become an animal expert and lover. (a dad can hope, right?!?!)
The highlight of our visit was CLEARLY the stop at Habitat Africa - where the giraffes were out and about. And, they couldn't have been happier. They were running around, playing, and generally goofing around. I guess that's what happens when you get let out of your indoor pen/arena after 5 months of winter.
Giraffes hold a special place in our world as Eloise's favorite stuffed animal/security blanket is her little "Giraffie" (that's what we call him/her). She sleeps with her every night and reaches out for her when she's half-asleep and Giraffie isn't snuggled next to her.
Nat took Eloise out of her stroller to show her the huge giraffes. I have to admit, they're pretty amazing creatures and the highlight, for me, of the day. We took a video and more photos, but I'll let Nat tell you all more about Eloise's interest in giraffes and Giraffie in particular!
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