destination chicago :: brookfield zoo

Chicago is one of my all-time favorite vacation destinations.  From museums to restaurants to entertainment, there are endless opportunities for fun.  So when we decided to take a spring break trip to a driveable destination,our family unanimously chose Chicago.  We knew we wanted to spend quality time at a few places so we were pretty picky about where we wanted to go.

On our first full day, we headed to Brookfield Zoo.  Located just outside of the city, Brookfield Zoo was so easy to get to and was less hectic than some of the downtown attractions.  Even though it snowed on us, we stayed nice and warm since so many of the exhibits have indoor observation areas. We were all impressed with just how many animals are house at Brookfield Zoo! My littlest little guy loved the rhinoceros in the pachyderm house the most. My middle son was a fan of the big cats and the penguin house. And my daughter loved the sea animals at Pinniped Point–sea lions, seals and dolphins.  We also all loved Tropic World, the huge indoor primate and monkey habitat!

We were all shocked at the amount of animals in the zoo!  But we were possibly even more impressed with the extra attractions Brookfield Zoo has to offer.  I don’t know too many zoos that offer dolphin shows, but Brookfield does!  We had a blast watching the dolphins practice their natural behaviors including some amazing jumps.  If you have a dolphin lover in your family (and, honestly, I can’t imagine anyone not loving these beautiful animals), this is definitely a highlight of the zoo.  My daughter was thrilled!

My middle son’s favorite part of the zoo (and mine, too!) was the Hamill Family Wild Encounters.  He couldn’t believe that he actually got to pet an emu!  We also all had the chance to feed goats and  get up close to lots of adorable wallabies.  And we spent a lot of time in the parakeet exhibit feeding the parakeets.  All three of my kids loved when a bird would land on their stick of food.  And of course we spent some time feeding and petting the goats.  We all loved getting up close and personal with the animals!

My youngest son loved the heated bus that we could take to get to different exhibits.  And I was impressed with how knowledgeable the driver was!  We heard all about the zebra and bears.  On warmer days, instead of a bus there is an open air motor safari which takes you on a narrated tour of the entire zoo.  We can’t wait to go back in the summer to check that out!

Overall, we were all so glad we spent the day at Brookfield Zoo.  This is a true gem in Chicago and we will definitely go back on our next visit.  What would you most love about Brookfield Zoo?