The Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown offers the ideal afternoon escape for families and animal lovers. Our family took our first visit to this zoo the last Friday before school started and time flew as we explored exhibits featuring diverse mammals, birds, reptiles and more. The property, which extends over 16 acres, dates back to the 1920s and is run as a non-profit by the Norristown Zoological Society.
To get to the zoo, we opted to avoid major roadways (such as Route 476) and instead took easier back roads, traveling through Oley, Pottstown and the like on our way to Norristown. The zoo is located in Montgomery County, roughly 5 miles northeast of King of Prussia, and our trip took over an hour. We used one of our favorite ways to pass road trips as a family: listening to audiobooks. (Hint: classics children’s literature, such as Charlotte’s Web or My Side of the Mountain, along with modern hits such as Cornelia Funke’s Dragonrider, are of interest to a wide range of tastes and ages. You can download books to your favorite device or borrow them for free at the public library.)
We arrived at Elmwood Park in the early afternoon, and entered under an ornate gate embellished with sculptural elephants. Just inside the gate, a friendly employee sold us tickets (reduced rates are available for children, students and seniors). At her suggestion, we paid a small, additional fee each for the opportunity to feed a pair of giraffes later that day. We had about an hour before feeding time so we set out to explore the zoo.
Elmwood Park specializes in North and South American animals, and exhibits are arranged in habitats that are both natural in appearance and intentionally homelike for the animals. The front of the zoo holds an open-air exhibit of birds include a Bald Eagle. Tucked behind that is a small children’s play area, including a nest-style sliding board. (A second, larger play area is located farther back in the zoo). We also saw grasslands, prairie-areas and a bayou.
At the Petting Barn exhibit, familiar animals like goats, chicken and sheep filled pens. Another area held a playful trio of Red Panda brothers, climbing on a bamboo platform and happily wrestling each other. A zoo employee told us the pandas were one year old and still growing; Red Pandas are considered adults at two years of age. Other zoo employees were inside the exhibit, interacting with the animals while giving them flea treatments. We joined the group watching the panda siblings, then checked our time and headed to the giraffe exhibit.
Feeding the giraffes was definitely a highlight of our zoo trip, and worth the small added price. We joined a lineup of other visitors near the giraffe enclosure. One of the animals walked curiously to the fence near us, eagerly smacking its lips. There was no doubt this giraffe knew a meal was coming. The line began moving and we handed in our tickets, got two large, romaine lettuce leaves each and climbed a platform that put us on level with the large, gentle creatures’ heads.
An avid animal lover, my daughter informed that giraffes have the longest tongues of all mammals. We found this very believable as we fed the giraffes – their long, black tongues snaked out and carefully grabbed the offered leaves, which quickly disappeared in their mouths. My delighted daughter stood eye to eye with a giraffe before offering her final piece of lettuce. A few minutes later, we headed down the platform to make room for others in the line.
As the afternoon progressed, we saw mellow bison, chewing thoughtfully in their enclosure, and black-footed ferrets sleeping blissfully in their habitats. We observed the playful interaction of a pair of river otters, and also saw red fox and gray wolves, snakes and bats, an alligator and a pair of young jaguars. We heard that this pair, a male and female, are currently kept in adjoining cages, but the hope is that they will become friendly and possibly start a family one day.
The zoo also included lots of interactive exhibits, and my son noted that all of the signs by each animal included not only facts about that animal but its placement on endangered lists. His favorite animals by far where the small and lively squirrel monkeys, which were in constant motion in their large enclosure. Surrounding the exhibits are additional activities available for additional fees, such as carnival-style rides, a ropes adventure course, concessions and gift shops.
Elmwood Park Zoo publishes the Explorer Magazine twice a year, which includes pictures of events, introduces new animal friends and gives other updates on zoo activities. A limited number of magazines can be found in the zoo’s gift shop; Explorer is also available as a free download (elmwoodparkzoo.org). The website includes full information on zoo prices, hours and membership programs. Call Elmwood Park Zoo at 800-652-0332.
