We visited the Seattle Aquarium today, changing our plans from going to the Woodland Park Zoo due to the weather. Kristi, Emily and Josh joined our family today for the trip as well. The aquarium was unusually busy today, the line to get in had a wait of over 20 minutes! Membership does have its privileges... we just showed our card and waltzed in.
It was evident very early on that Ben thought of the Aquarium was a park, and he showed absolutely no interest in seeing any of the fish or doing the touch-tank this time around. He must have gotten his fill during our last visit. Ben and I stayed outside as I watched him run up and down the ramp, making friends with every family that came by. We were also treated to a feeding of the otters that Ben saw up close & personal.
Since I wasn't inside today, I can't tell you much more, but here are some pictures that Jean took:
Jean got some great video of a couple of the exhibits, and I've attached a couple of clips here. The first clip is of a Seahorse (Jean's favorite):
Here's a short clip of a blowfish swimming around its tank:
And here's a nice mixed Saltwater Aquarium caught on tape. Hopefully our tank will look like this in a couple of years...
Don't forget to support the Seattle Aquarium by becoming a member. There are many member benefits that come with joining the Aquarium, including:
Year-long unlimited access to the Aquarium (named adults and if applicable children/grandchildren age 18 and under)
Five one-time use complementary aquarium admission tickets
50% admission discount for up to two guests per visit
10% discount at the Aquarium gift store.
Invitations to private member previews of new exhibits, Spring Member Appreciation Celebration, and Behind the Scene Tours
Nestled away in a residential neighborhood above Issaquah on Cougar Mountain is a hidden zoological gem – The Cougar Mountain Zoological Park. Run by the Washington Zoological Society, it turned out to be a great outing for the family. Armed with a free admission ticket courtesy of the Entertainment Book, we experienced the park’s cougars, lemurs, reindeer, wallabies, alpacas and a whole host of birds, on an overcast day.
Our trip started at the Cougar Exhibit with an presentation by one of the zookeepers Mary, a knowledgable, entertaining and self-proclaimed loud-mouth, who told us all about their two cougars. Merlin (15 years) came from California and Nashi (13 years) came from Minnesota. We found out that cougars are the least aggressive cat toward humans, and that they are the 2nd fastest cat in the world, capable of running 40 to 45 mph (the fastest cat is the cheetah, able to run 60-65 mph). Unfortunately, the Cougar Behavioral Enrichment was not held that day due to the arrival of a concrete pump for an upcoming exhibit.
We then visited the 2nd of the park’s 3 main exhibit areas – Magic Forest – which is home to the Lemurs, Emus, Cranes, Alpacas and Wallabies, along with the world’s largest collection of bronze animal sculptures. This is an interactive part of the park which our kids liked, with the ability to purchase zoo food ($0.50 per 12-15 pellets) to feed the animals. It seemed that by the afternoon most of the animals had already enjoyed their fill, as all but the Emus were less interested in the food than our 18-month old son.
The third exhibit area housed a great display of tropical birds - Macaws, African Grey Parrots, and Cockatoos, among others. Each of the birds was highly accessible in their exhibit, with the Macaws standing on outside perches.
Here's a quick video (please excuse the sideways angle... first time taking video with our digital camera and we forgot about the whole landscape/portrait issue with digital cameras).
Cougar Mountain Zoo Daily Activity Schedule The Zoo has a set daily activity schedule so you can plan your visits around their various demonstrations and lectures that occur throughout the day. Here’s their schedule, which is obviously subject to change without advance notice due to weather, staff availability or animal’s state of mind:
10:30am Reindeer Mini Lecture 10:35am Reindeer Exercise 11:00am Crane Mini Lecture 11:30am Lemur Mini Lecture 11:35am Lemur Behavioral Enrichment 12:00pm Wallaby Mini Lecture 12:05pm Wallaby Behavioral Enrichment 12:30pm Mammal Walk 1:30pm Bird Walk 2:00pm Cougar Mini Lecture 2:05pm Cougar Behavioral Enrichment 3:00pm Ratite Mini Lecture (Emus) 3:30pm MacCaw Mini Lecture
Cougar Mountain Zoo Admission & Membership Information The park is open January through November Wednesdays through Sundays, 9:00am to 5:00pm. They also hold the Issaquah Reindeer Festival December 1st through 23 from 10am to 4:30 pm. Be sure to check their most recent admission schedule and rates on their website:
Admission rates are:
Adults (13+) $9.50
Seniors $8.50
Children (2-12) $7.00
Under 2 years Free
Membership options allow you to support the zoo to maintain its broad education programs and to provide the best quality of life for the Animals which call the zoo home. Membership is affordable ranging from only $36 for a single adult to $64 for the family membership. Read more about Cougar Mountain Zoo Membership options on their website.
Celebrate your Birthday at the Zoo. For your kid's next birthday, why not skip the at-the-house party (and all the associated clean-up) and spend a day at the zoo? At a cost of only $96, you can host
a birthday party at the zoo for a group of 10 people (additional people
are only $8.00 each). Benefits include a guided tour of the zoo, a
touch & feel session for the birthday person with some of the most
unique and endangered animals in the world, as well as a special gift
from the zoo and a free zoo ticket for future admission. Additional information on Birthdays at Cougar Mountain Zoo is available on their website.
Couger Mountain Zoological Park Contact Information
Cougar Mountain Zoo 19525 SE54th Street Issaquah, WA 98027 Phone: 425.392.6278 Fax: 425.392.1076
