The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo is home to some 1,000 animals and spans over 40 acres in Fort Wayne’s Franke Park. Since its opening in 1965, the zoo has been attracting visitors young and old from all across the globe. Along with the many animal exhibits there are to see, there are several fun activities to involve the whole family in when you visit.

Here are some ways to get the most fun out of your trip to the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo:

• Buy tokens for rides
• Feed the animals
• Visit the African Journey
• Tour the Australian Adventure
• Walk through the Indonesian Rainforest

Rides and Animal Feeding

All over the zoo, there are machines that sell tokens for just $1.00 that can grant access to rides and purchase pellets to feed some of the park’s animals. Two tokens is enough to ride the Z.O.&O. Railroad, the Endangered Species Carousel, the Sky Safari ride, and the Crocodile Creek Adventure ride.

For one token, hand feed giraffes and goats. Six tokens is enough to purchase a ride along the pony trail.

Safari Trail

Take a stroll down the safari trail, professionally known as the African Journey, and visit animals that you’d find in the wild in Africa. Visitors get to experience a safari they can walk through, as they begin their journey at the grassy savannah, home to zebras, wildebeests, vultures, and ostrich. The path will then guide you through the kopje rock formations to view animals such as the African lion, spotted hyenas, honey badgers, bat-eared foxes, banded mongoose, and servals.

The African Journey also features a shaded African village, complete with de Brazza’s and colobus monkeys, lovebirds, and Amur leopards. It is here where you can also feed the reticulated giraffes by climbing up 14 feet to the feeding platform.

When you’re walking down the Safari trail, you never know what you’re going to see and experience. When we were in Fort Wayne, we had the pleasure of going on the Safari trail with our friend Keith, the owner of Fort Wayne Movers (https://www.moversfortwayne.com). We actually had a lion walk up and growl at us! It was thrilling!

Newly Remodeled Australian Adventure

Enter the brand new Australian Adventure by crossing the tracks at the Train Station towards the entrance. There, the 20,000 gallon aquarium gives visitors a close encounter look at clownfish, puffer fish, and a zebra moray eel while the 50,000 gallon aquarium showcases shark aquatic life such as blacktip reef sharks, a zebra shark, and schooling fish. Also, Stingray Bay is said to be a memorable experience.

Three new aviaries feature many types of Australian birds, from the lorikeets to the egrets. Cockatiels, parrots, Australian magpies, black swans, and more are also some of Australia’s wild birds that can be found along the trail.

The Australian Adventure is said to have some pretty close-up encounters with eastern grey kangaroos as they often hop across the path, and the adventure ends as visitors gaze upon hidden dingoes.

Rainforest Attraction

The Indonesian Rainforest contains many sights to behold at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo. Adventure awaits at the starting point of Dr. Diversity’s Research Station. It is here that zoo patrons can greet a Komodo dragon, malaysian walking leaf, tentacled snakes and an impressive 18-foot-long reticulated python.

Visitors will shortly find themselves in a dome shaped jungle, full of animals such as the wrinkled hornbill, silver-eared mesia, nicobar pigeon, leader sulphur crested cockatoo, green-naped pheasant pigeon, fire-bellied toad, and the black-breasted leaf turtle.

Meet the endangered Sumatran orangutans at Orangutan Valley and the endangered Sumatran tigers in Tiger Forest. The Indonesian Rainforest nears its end as its winds visitors down the Tree Top Trail, which features the Javan gibbons, and have fun with the kids on the Kids’ Tree House.

The charm of handicrafts has drawn so many people towards it, that these handicraft lovers love to explore the crafts of every place they visit. But how about dedicating an entire vacation to the love of handicrafts? Well, there are places around the world which boast of some of the most beautiful handicrafts in the world – excited to know these places – read on!

Madhubani:
The Madhubani paintings here are the soul of this district in Bihar. Tucked away in the north of India, these paintings have such life in them, that you would definitely love to explore this place and take back home what your eyes set on! The intricacy of these paintings combined with the bold colors used in them will surely win your heart. Not only this, but you would also find these Madhubani paintings adorning every tree in Madhubani – a cause taken up by Madhubani artists here to prevent deforestation in their district! The brush seems to be mightier than the sword!

Assam:
Assam boasts of the Muga silk – golden silk which cannot be found in the rest of the world. So if you intend to take back home something that’s very rare, it has to be the Muga silk sarees from Assam! Make your way into Sualkachi, Assam, and witness the creation of this golden beauty and then don’t forget to take one back home!

Munnar:
Munnar is known for some of the best handicrafts in the world – and if exploring these shops in Munnar is all you want to do, you surely need to dedicate a proper vacation to your cause! It is dotted with shops that boast of handicrafts that have been crafted and curated with so much detail that they won’t fail to amuse you – give it a visit once, and you’ll know why Munnar is here in this list!

Agra:

The marble-stone craft here in Agra is exponentially beautiful – delicate designs carved on the pristine white marble, only to be filled in with colors that so complement each other – just to create a piece of art that’s renowned all over the world! Agra is lined up with such shops, making walking through these streets an even joyous experience! Get yourself a piece of this stone to adorn your walls or a box of marble to keep your jewelry in!

Head into one of these places and explore to your heart’s content!