A Brief Visit to the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo

There is a quaint spot close to downtown Palo Alto, called the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo. The description on their website made it sound like it would be the ideal place for my girls to visit. So, we went a couple of weeks ago; toward the latter part of the day, a few hours before they closed.

Indeed, it was tiny, but the girls seemed to have fun. We probably won't return (well, that is, unless we find ourselves in the area again with nothing else to do), but I'm glad we got to visit once. What I did like about it was that everything seemed to be at their level (height-wise). They were able to manipulate most of the exhibits on their own and view the animals without much assistance from me. :) The "museum" featured exhibits about creating and harnessing all types of alternative energy (e.g., wind, solar, and water). There were other exhibits focusing on topics of inertia and randomness.

The zoo had some animals - nothing rare or eccentric - that got them excited. There was a couple of fish tanks with sharks, a flounder, etc. They also had some ferrets, rats and snakes, as well as a bobcat that was sleeping. The best part were the turtles and the lone goose swimming in the pond in the middle of the zoo.

Here are some pics for you to enjoy.

Lex and Ella discuss the animals that they just saw.

I told the girls to pose for me. Ella goes a bit overboard and Lex just looks at like she's crazy! :)

Don't know what this game is called, but it's one of those where you insert the disc through any of the open slots and watch it make its way down. Kinda like a lottery ball. Hehe. Anyway, Lex loved this one and played with it the longest.

Ella tries to figure out the wind machine.

Lex tries her hand at creating some wind power.

Big sis teaches little sis where to put the ball

Lex is a quick learner.