What are the country's best zoos for families? To answer that question, we assembled a panel of experts and asked them to consider some essentials: Are there lots of fun things for kids to do? Can kids get up close to the animals? Are barriers placed low enough for a stroller-eye view? Are the signs easy to read? Selecting the finalists was no easy decision, but all those chosen offer an unmatched opportunity for your little cubs to cozy up to Mother Nature at her finest. On your next trip to the Big Apple, be sure to let your kids cut loose in Manhattan's most exotic oasis, the Central Park Wildlife Center.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Quality, size and accessibility make this zoo everything a family destination should be: fun, relaxing, even educational. In renovating this 130-year-old landmark, planners traded large animals with a need to roam for smaller species whose active natures thrill visitors.The result is a little Eden you can get lost in for an hour or a day, where every single attraction is a beautifully designed crowd-pleaser. And speaking of crowd-pleasers, a happy holdover from the old Central Park Zoo is the sea-lion pool, revamped into a 100,000-gallon tank with beaches, underwater-viewing windows and rock piles.
At the Tisch Children's Zoo, specifically designed for kids ages six and under, young visitors can leap on lily pads, climb on a giant "spiderweb" and hop into oversize turtle "eggs." And in the why-didn't-someone-think-of-this-sooner category, all the signs are designed like children's books.
SIZE: 6.5 acres, over 100 species, and more than 1,500 animals.
ADMISSION: $6 for adults, $1 for children ages 3 to 12 and free for children under 3.
DON'T MISS: In summer, make for the air-conditioned penguin house, where penguins and puffins plunge off rocks, then swim right up to the viewing glass. These kamikaze divers are even more active during their daily feedings. In winter, the place to be is the lush, aromatic "Tropic Zone," where you can stand near a waterfall and watch rare black lion tamarins frolicking among the trees.
KID THRILLS: The Central Park polar bears are so popular that the zoo has devoted a considerable chunk of its precious real estate to these big guys. Three levels of viewing let kids and parents get nose-to-nose with Gus, Lily and Ida, whether they're gliding and tumbling underwater or toying with fish-sicles (hollowed-out balls of ice with fish frozen in the middle) on land.
INSIDER TIP: Look for the rabbits that hide in the bushes at the Children's Zoo; some have become tame enough that if you sit quietly, they will come over for a gentle pat.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call 212-439-6500 or click here.
THE BRONX ZOO
The largest urban zoo in America, the Bronx Zoo (just north of its Manhattan sibling, which is also run by the Wildlife Conservation Society) incorporates conservation and education into everything it does. Families may need more than one visit to take it all in. Nobody has a better gorilla exhibit than the Bronx's indoor/outdoor 6.5-acre "Congo Gorilla Forest," home to 22 of these magnificent primates. At the Children's Zoo, kids can crawl through tunnels and pop their heads up into Plexiglas bubbles in a field of prairie dogs (call 718-367-1010 or click here).
