This past weekend, Ayva, Terrence and I jumped in the car and headed to Sacramento for a quick overnight getaway. Every once in awhile it’s nice to just go, you know? We hit the road without telling Ayva where we were going and made our first stop at the sweet Sacramento Zoo. The zoo has been around for 60 years and boasts over 140 species. Last Saturday was Red Panda day, which meant that we were able to learn about the adorable raccoon like animals. Did you know that red pandas are not at all related to the giant black and white pandas that we all love? Or that panda refers to animals that eat bamboo? We didn’t know, either! Thanks to the teens working throughout the park and volunteer educators at different exhibits, we learned that and a lot more. 

We arrived at the Sacramento Zoo at around 11:30 am, and it was the perfect time to get there. The park wasn’t crowded at all, and we were able to see all of the animals without fighting other visitors for room to see. All throughout the park, there were stations set up where kids could complete activities to learn about red pandas and earn stamps towards a cute bookmark. The teenagers who were working the station were incredibly pleasant and super knowledgeable about the zoo. At each station, we received suggestions on which exhibit to check out next. It was really great to not to have to pull out the map once while we were there!

We saw a variety of animals at the Sacramento Zoo from owls to giraffes to everything in between. They all had a lot of open space to roam and play, and they didn’t seem at all phased (or impressed, ha!) by us visitors. We spent nearly 3 hours walking around taking in the animals and learning while we had fun. If you want to check out the Sacramento Zoo for yourself, get more information on their website, or their awesome, engaging accounts on Facebook or Twitter.