After I finished at Trek, I drove on to Seattle. The next morning, I went to the Woodland Park Zoo. Five days before I arrived, a gorilla named Amanda gave birth. Of course, I didn't get to see her, she stayed in her den. (Same thing happened 3 years ago when we went to the National Zoo after the panda gave birth and she chose to stay in that day. I was bummed, pandas are my fav… made obvious by my childhood nickname "Amanda Panda.") Oh well, I had to make do with a lively bunch of Orangutans.
FYI- If you haven't watched "Orangutan Island" on Animal Planet, check it out. It is adorable! My parents are addicted.


I spent a lot of time with the Education Department. As this is an institution with funds, they have over 30 Education Staff and Volunteers. This building is called the Zoomazium. It is dedicated to early childhood development, allowing parents and children to play and learn together.

This state of the art building included numerous play areas including this "mountain climbing" setup, complete with a rickety rope bridge, a rock climbing wall, and a multi-media tunnel. These areas are designed to allow children to experience "safe nature" so parents can step back and feel comfortable with their children exploring on their own.


This 3-story Ficus Tree hides a spiraling maze of stairs and ladders that lead to an awesome slide. Unfortunately, they said I was too tall to try it out! (They couldn't stop me from crawling through the tunnel thou!)