Get out there and play
Spend your weekend with the youngest members of your favorite zoo’s family. Lincoln Park and Brookfield zoos have had a bountiful spring with many little bundles of joy now on display.
In the city, head over to Lincoln Park Zoo for zoo babies of the feathery, furry and four-legged variety. The oldest of the zoo’s two new babies are the Red Wolf pups (pictured top right), born April 24. Four pups from the litter of six were sent to the Red Wolf Recovery Program in North Carolina to be released in the wild when they’re old enough, a first for the zoo. The zoo is also the new home to a Guam Micronesian Kingfisher, one of about 100 of the species in the world. Three Trumpeter Swan cygnets (pictured top left), the largest American waterfowl, hatched June 9. The zoo’s youngest residents, the Pied Tamarins, were born June 10.
Brookfield Zoo isn’t just celebrating its newest arrivals, it’s also celebrating its 75th anniversary. The zoo’s newest residents include the Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat joey, Adelaide (pictured bottom left), the Borean orangutan, Sophia, born Oct. 6 (pictured bottom right) and Thani, the white-cheeked gibbon, born April 3.
This Saturday, help Cookie the Major Mitchell’s cockatoo and Brookfield’s only remaining animal from its original collection dating back to 1934, celebrate his 76th birthday. Beginning at 10:30 a.m., help sing“Happy Birthday” in the Perching Bird House, sign a giant birthday card and receive party favors. To celebrate its own 75th anniversary, Brookfield Zoo is offering free admission to kids 11 and under June 29-July 1. During the celebration, visitors can buy 75-cent hotdogs, 24-ounce fountain cokes and ice cream from the zoo’s restaurants. On July 1, sing“Happy Birthday” to the zoo and eat free birthday cake from Meijer.
Lincoln Park Zoo is located at 2001 N. Clark St., Chicago. Admission is free. For more information, call (312) 742-2000 or visit lpzoo.org. Brookfield Zoo is located at First Avenue and 31st Street, Brookfield. Admission is , kids 3-11 and seniors 65 and older, free kids 2 and under. Parking is . For more information, call (708) 688-8000 or visit CZS.org.
Photos are courtesy of Lincoln Park Zoo and Brookfield Zoo.
Get your tickets here
If your family is heading to the Wisconsin Dells this summer to get wet and wild, we have the contest for you. Six lucky Chicago Parent readers will win a family six-pack to Riverview’s Waterworld, located in the Wisconsin Dells. For more information, visit riverviewpark.com. To win, visit our discussion board.
Get out there and play some more
You don’t need the Alps to feel Swiss this weekend. Head over to New Glarus, Wis., from Friday through Sunday for the 45th Annual Heidi Festival. The highlight of the event is Johanna Spyri’s classic play, Heidi, a story about an orphan Swiss girl, her bad-tempered grandfather and the Alps. The kids are sure to enjoy the live goats and kittens featured in the play. Four performances are scheduled at the New Glarus High School at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
Take in all of the flavors of New Glarus at Taste and Treasures on Saturday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Walk around and try mouth-watering samples from a large variety of regionally and nationally renowned restaurants. New Glarus shops offer various“treasures” that are hard to find anywhere else. Taste and Treasures’ entertainment includes a blues band, accordion music and alphorn blowing. For more information call (800) 527-6838 or visit swisstown.com.
Outside fun
Nothing says summer quite like biting into a fresh strawberry. From Friday-Sunday the Long Grove Historic Village is hosting the 27th Annual Strawberry Festival. The event has lots of food, fun, shopping and family-friendly entertainment, but best of all admission, parking and entertainment is free.
Try every type of strawberry dish you can imagine—from strawberry doughnuts on a stick to strawberry shortcakes. Parents can go browsing at more than 70 different stores in the area. Kids can play in the Towner Green children’s area. Kids of all ages (that includes adults) can get a stomachache at the ice cream eating contests at Timmy’s Sandwiches and Ice Cream on Towner Green at 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call (847) 634-0888 or visit longgroveonline.com.
Get out there and play
Let your kids’ imagination run wild with pirates, dinosaurs and horses from Playmobil. This week, one lucky Chicago Parent reader will win a Playmobil prize pack valued at 5. The prize includes the Large Pirate Ship, Pirate Captain, T-Rex with Velociraptors, Amphibian Vehicle with Deinonychus, Horse Farm Paddock, Horse Washing Station, Shopper Carrying Case, Green Racer, Soldier Fortress with Lighthouse and the Super Set Construction Site. For more information, visit playmobil.com. To win, visit our discussion board.
