The Bronx Zoo Children’s Zoo Grand Opening

It’s June and it’s officially summer! Some families already have kids out of school, and some will be having their last days in the next few weeks. The first thing on our summer bucket list will be to celebrate The Bronx Zoo’s Children’s Zoo long-awaited grand opening. 

And since it’s summer, The Children’s Zoo has a ton of activities that gets kids out-and-about in nature. Not only can you encounter wild animals like the giant anteater, sloths and the world’s smallest deer, but if wild animals aren’t for you, there’s a new petting zoo and a recycled children’s garden. Starting this weekend,  The FarmOn! Foundation presents How Do You Make Your Garden Grow and will offer a ton of kid-friendly events every weekend, so read on and mark your calendars!

June 6-7: Meet Your Farmer: Seed & Soil

  • Get dirty and learn how to make your garden grow at the Bronx Zoo’s dig station.
  • Common Ground Farm will present “Eat a Rainbow”, a hands-on discussion about why it’s important to eat a variety of colors and foods, with yummy samples!
  • Watch a butter churning demonstration and discuss how dairy milk is transformed into cheese.
  • Join the “Green Bronx Machine” as they celebrate urban framing and learn about innovative ways to farm in the city

June 13-14: From Kitchen to Compost; Composting: Food Waste

 

  • McEnroe Organic Farm helps families learn the basics of composting your leftovers.
  • Meet the soil’s best friend, the earthworm (yes! it’s true!) with a fun activity and join in on storytime with Professor Snail and his friends and explore a worm composting bin.
  • Join the Green Bronx Machine and learn how to grow your own soil and create a small worm box, perfect for city living!

June 20-21: Father’s Day weekend | Celebrating All-Star Dads: Healthy Food & Recipes

  • Eat Local NY presents a fermentation workshop and talks about pickling and fermentation
  • French Culinary Institute chef, Lisa Witkowski presents healthy, seasonal recipes from the garden and shows kids how to utilize nutrition-packed ingredients for on-the-go fun snacks.
  • Have fun with dad by testing your skills with interactive farm games at America’s favorite farm yard competition including a bean bag toss and cornhole.
  • Meet Roger and Colby Carrot from Super Sprowtz on June 20 at 12:00-1:00pm and 2:00-3:00pm.

June 27-28: Celebrating Pollinator

  • Bee storytime from favorite author, Lela Nargi
  • Fancy some honey?  The zoo will host honey tastings from Eat Local and explain the importance of pollinators
  • Play Pollinatorpalooza! Children can find their inner bee, butterfly, or hummingbird as they learn the language of the bee to get their job done. They’ll also learn simple ways to help these special animals in their very own neighborhood and become official Pollinator Protectors.

And if that’s not enough, every weekend in June will also include

  • Hands-on activities to celebrate the opening of the Bronx Zoo Children’s Zoo with craft projects at the Dancing Crane Pavilion
  • Re-Usable the Musical will be featured. It’s a one-of-a-kind show, where a young girl named Kazumi takes a musical journey to learn about protecting our animals in the wild with actions we take at home. This show teaches kids how to protect the planet using the five Rs: Refuse, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, and a very special and important R: Remember.  This show occurs in the Asia Theater at 12:30, 1:15, 2:00,2:45, & 3:30.

Want to try some at-home gardening projects? Try these out with your little ones: Kitchen Scrap Gardening and Planting a Window Box. For more information, read about events at The Bronx Zoo.