While staying in Virginia, we couldn’t turn down the opportunity to tour our nation’s capital! So while staying at the Pohick Bay Regional Campground, we made several trips across the Potomac into DC. On our first trip, we checked out the Monuments and Memorials of Washington DC. This time, we checked out the Smithsonian National Zoo.
While we’ve been to several zoos on our journeys, this one was definitely memorable.
Geographical vs Class Organization
Visiting the National Zoo is like visiting the history of zoos. Originally, zoos were laid out by class, with a reptile house, bird house, aquarium, and mammal house. Modern zoos, however, are set up with regions. Animals from Africa are together while North American animals are in another area, same with Australian animals. The National Zoo has vestiges of the older system but has transitioned more or less to the new systems. However, they’ve done their best to preserve the original architecture of the old system. These pieces incorporate techniques in craftsmanship and concrete mosaics that have been lost.
The National Zoo is on a Hill!
One feature of this zoo that we wish we knew about when we got there was that it’s laid out on the side of a steep hill. By steep we mean a 200-foot change of elevation from one side to the other! The park also doesn’t have a set entrance, but several entrances adjacent to several parking lots. If one is aware of this, they can park at a bottom lot and work their way uphill. Then at the end of the day, their return to their car is downhill and not too bad. If, however, they park at the top of the hill, as we did, then they end up climbing the hill to get back to their car.
Keeper Talks at the National Zoo
Another thing that was missing from this zoo was “things to do.” When we were at the Red River Zoo, and again at the Gladys Porter Zoo, we were able to pay a few dollars and feed some of the animals. This was an amazing experience that helped us feel a better connection to the animals and helped add enrichment for the animals. The National Zoo does have “keeper talks” at various exhibits, and the times are posted on whiteboards near those exhibits. However, there was no central information area, and you had to find the boards to know what was going on. The only event that got a lot of advertising was a bird show near the bird house.
While the bird show was informative and engaging, it also felt a little ad-hoc. The show was put on in a makeshift area just behind the bird house. The show was so ad-hoc that the speaker system wasn’t even working that day. However, it wasn’t too bad of a problem as the crowd was small.
No Petting Zoo
One other oddity that the National Zoo had was a lack of a petting area in the kid’s zoo at the bottom of the hill. Most zoos we’ve been to with a kid area had a selection of domestic farm animals one could pet, brush, or even feed. While the National Zoo had the farm animals, they were all off in their paddocks with no opportunity for interaction.
Overall, it was an okay zoo, not the worst, but not the best. For a National Zoo, this was a little disappointing, but it still had enough to offer to make us want to come back sometime. Maybe your results will differ.