Columbus Zoo & Aquarium
08/14/04: Just north of Columbus, (technically in Powell or Delaware, I think) lies the Columbus Zoo and aquarium. Whether it's the middle of the summer, or even the dead of winter, it's the perfect place to spend the day. (Personally, I prefer the winter. There's fewer animals out, but far fewer crowds.) The zoo is a hard thing to "review" so I'll simply show you a quick picture tour of some of the things you might see.
The Zoo is broken down into different regions, and they're trying to separate things by continent as much as possible. In the North America area, you'll see things like Bald Eagles, Bears, Otters, and Prairie Dogs.
In the Pachyderms area, you'll see Rhinos and Elephants.
Moving on the Herbivores & Carnivores area, you'll run into a few fun animals like Lions, Tigers, and Giraffes (oh my!) ...
When you take the tunnel to the other side of the zoo, you'll find the Aquarium Area and the Reptile House. You'll find all kinds of fish, reptiles, and you'll also find the Penguin habitat in the nearby area.
In the African Forest, you'll find Gorillas, Leopards, Okapi, and Bonobos.
In the new Islands of Southeast Asia area you'll get to see Orangutans and a Komodo Dragon. (I think they're pretty rare or something. I saw a sign about it when I was there, but it wasn't running around where I happened to see it.)
Finally, in Australia, you'll get to see common Australian animals like Koalas and Kangaroos, but you'll also see a variety of other Australian native animals. (The area was under construction last time I was there, but it's open now.)
As you can see, there's a wide variety of animals to see at the zoo, and I didn't even cover a fraction of them. Check it out for yourself. 2004 Admission rates are $9.00 for Adults, $5 for Children 2-11, and kids under 2 are free. Parking is $3. If you're really into saving money though, I suggest going for the annual pass. They range $54-75, depending on how many people you put on the pass. (For instance, it's $64 for a Family pass, which admits two parents, and all the kids in the family under 21.) It's a heck of a value, and it pays for itself after just a few visits. (It's also great on busy days. If the zoo is too busy, you can leave and not worry about wasting the money.) For more information, check the Columbus Zoo's official website at http://www.columbuszoo.org.
Whatever you decide, just make sure you check out zoo. The animals are always waiting, and they're lots of fun when you get there!
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