We had the best holiday weekend full of sunshine and barbeques and outdoor time. To kick things off for our weekend of fun, we started on Saturday by taking a trip into Boston to visit the Franklin Park Zoo. We took Jane last year around this time and she was just starting to walk around on her own, so I was excited for her to experience it at this new age where she’s zooming around and interested in everything. We met up with our good friends and got there right when it opened, ready to explore! Jane was so excited to look at the maps (she’s obsessed with maps) and figure out where to start.
Saturday was the first day the Wicked BIG Bugs exhibit opened and Zoo New England kindly gifted us tickets so we got to check it out. Jane and her little buddy wore some butterfly crowns and explored the pathway full of larger-than-life animatronic insects. Jane proudly stated that bees make HONEYCOMB, and she recognized the butterfly from The Hungry Little Caterpillar. It was a cool exhibit to walk through, and Jane was totally brave with the giant bugs up until the giant tarantula when she said, “I’m ok mom, I’ll stay here” and refused to walk by it, ha. But no tears, she just wanted to pass on 8-foot tall fuzzy spiders. I’m with her – I’ll take bees and butterflies over spiders too!
After we finished the Wicked BIG Bugs exhibit we explored the rest of the zoo. Jane was enthusiastic about the tropical forest since she loves monkeys (and I loved the break from the sun, it was a warm day!). The children’s zoo area was a favorite for the toddlers – they loved running around the interactive playscape areas and seeing the prairie dogs pop up out of the ground at their eye level. And we saved the very best for last: ice cream! Nothing like some sweet, sticky, melting ice cream cones and views of giraffes and zebras to kick off a summer of fun.
(PS: The Wicked BIG Bugs exhibit is open now through September 2nd; you can get tickets at the admission booth on site!)
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Thanks to Zoo New England for hosting us; this post was created in partnership with Zoo New England. All opinions, images and content are my own.
