Lafayette Zoo

The zoo at Columbian Park in Lafayette has been closed for renovations but opened again this summer. There are still some of the old favorites - the monkeys, a Lynx, and prairie dogs - as well as some new exhibits. I took the boys to the park last weekend and we decided to pop into the zoo and check it out. (There is no admission charge - bonus!) Walking in, there are several animal statues and I like how child friendly everything. There are also sprouting water fountains that brought out lots of piggy toes from little guests who wanted to play in the water. Here is picture of Nicklas doing a penguin impression.



The prairie dog exhibit isn't fabulous but they have added some tunnels for the kids to crawl through, allowing them to pop up into the actual exhibit.



There is also a butterfly garden which excited Seeger as he reenacts butterfly metamorphosis on weekly basis since learning about it in preschool last year. (He starts as a caterpillar, eating the leaves off my plants, turns into a cocoon by wrapping up into a blanket, and the popping out of the blanket and "flying" around the house.)




My favorite new exhibit is the petting farm. In this photo, Nicklas is running from the tractor that Seeger is driving.



Both boys enjoyed the petting zoo (although Nicklas was a little leery about touching the animals) which had a miniature horse, a pig, and several sheep.




There is still construction going on so we're anxious to see what other changes take place. Everything so far has been a great improvement and tribute to some of the special treats one can visit in Lafayette.