Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
gulls fly freely overhead. Other impressive exhibits include
The Swamp,
which
re-creates the bioregions of a Southern cypress swamp and an Illinois river scene
and discusses what people can do to protect wetlands, and
Habitat Africa!,
a
multiple ecosystem exhibit-in-progress that eventually will encompass 30
acres—about the size of the entire Lincoln Park Zoo. The thrills here aren't
always high concept: Some of my favorite exhibits are the Australia House,
where fruit bats flit around your head, and Tropic World, where you wander at
treetop level with monkeys. The dolphins at the
Seven Seas Panorama
put on
an amazing show that has been a Brookfield Zoo fixture for years. If you go on
a weekend, buy tickets to the dolphin show at least a couple of hours ahead of
time because they tend to sell out quickly.
First Ave. and 31st St., Brookfield.
&
708/485-0263.
www.brookfieldzoo.org. Regular admission $8 adults,
$4 seniors and children 3-11, free for children under 3. Free admission Tues and Thurs Oct-Mar. Summer daily
9:30am-6pm; fall-spring daily 10am-5pm. Take the Stevenson (I-55) and Eisenhower (I-290) expressways 14
miles west of the Loop. Bus: 304 or 311.
Lincoln Park Pritzker Children's Zoo & Farm-in-the-Zoo
All
ages.
After gazing upon the animals from afar in the rest of the Lincoln Park
Zoo, kids can come here for some hands-on experience. Kids have the opportu-
nity to touch many of the animals, including hedgehogs, rabbits, and iguanas,
under the supervision of zookeepers. There's also a very popular glass-walled ani-
mal nursery, where zoo docents and keepers care for the babies of more exotic
species—often, this means gorillas and chimpanzees—who are ill, born weak, or
rejected by their mothers. The adjacent outdoor portion of the Children's Zoo
houses owls, otters, and other small critters in winding, natural habitats. The
Children's Zoo also features an annex called
Conservation Station,
with inter-
active exhibits and workshop activities focusing on wildlife and environmental
preservation.
The Farm-in-the-Zoo is a working reproduction of a Midwestern farm, com-
plete with a white-picket-fenced barnyard. You can see live demonstrations of but-
ter churning and weaving. Thanks to the chicken coops, and stalls filled with
livestock, including cows, sheep, and pigs, even the aroma is authentic. Inside the
Main Barn (filled with interactive exhibits), the main attraction is the huge John
Deere tractor that kids can climb up into and pretend to drive. Allow 1 hour.
2200 N. Cannon Dr.
&
312/742-2000.
Free admission. Daily 9am-4:30pm. Bus: 151 or 156.
Lincoln Park Zoo
All ages.
One of Chicago's don't-miss attrac-
tions for kids, Lincoln Park Zoo occupies a scant 35 acres, and its landmark
Georgian Revival brick buildings and modern structures sit among gently rolling
pathways, verdant lawns, and a kaleidoscopic profusion of flower gardens. It's so
compact that a tour of the various habitats takes all of 2 or 3 hours—a conven-
ience factor even more enticing when you consider that the nation's oldest zoo
(it was founded in 1868) stays open 365 days a year and is one of the last free
zoos in the country. Lincoln Park Zoo has held a special place in the hearts of
Chicagoans since the days of Bushman, the mighty lowland gorilla who capti-
vated the world in the 1930s and 1940s and now suffers the ignominious fate of
a stuffed exhibit at the Field Museum of Natural History. The late Marlon
Perkins, legendary host of the
Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom
TV series, got
his start here as the zoo's director, and filmed a pioneering TV show called
Zoo
Parade
(
Wild Kingdom
's predecessor) in the basement of the old Reptile House.
The zoo has taken on an ambitious modernization, renovating and expand-
ing exhibits to reflect natural habitats. For years, the star attraction has been the
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