Visit Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium in Pittsburgh

I'm a huge animal lover, and Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is one of my favorite attractions to go to in the summer here in Pittsburgh. According to the Zoo web site, the zoo provides a home to more than a thousand animals, everything from tigers to exotic fish. The zoo is a 77-acre facility, with 8 different habitats for the animals. I'm going to walk you through the habitats, and what you can find around the zoo to make your family outing a memorable one.

Asian Forest - home to the snow leopard, Siberian tigers, and bar-headed geese. This is the first exhibit you'll see when you walk into the zoo.

African Savanna - when I pass this habitat I think of The Lion King, you'll see animals like the lions, zebras, elephants, ostriches, giraffes and rhinos. The African Savanna is located on 16 acres of land, which is beautifully landscaped just like the African lands where these animals come from. There is an indoor elephant house, where they are bathed and spend the cooler winter months. This is nice if you are there in the winter months, because you can really get close to them, although the inside is kind of smelly!

Tropical Forest Complex - this is an indoor building, and it's very steamy and humid instead because it's supposed to imitate the jungle. You'll see many different species in here, including monkeys and orangutans, along with over a hundred plant species from around the world. Once you leave the building, right outside you'll see the gorillas on the left.

African Ravine - you'll see the cheetah and wild dogs here, which is a newer habitat near the Savanna.

Bears - a few different kinds of bears live here, including the Kodiak bear and black bear. Most of the time when I go to the zoo, the bears are sleeping! But don't try to wake them up, you could scare them!

PPG Aquarium - my favorite habitat in the entire zoo! This facility is beautiful, with state of the art tanks and even a crawl-through stingray tank! It also has its own gift shop inside. The aquarium is home to many different aquatic animals, including lots of fish, sharks, an octopus, sting rays, jellyfish, seahorses, electric eel, coral and my personal favorite, penguins! One of my favorite parts of the entire aquarium is the 2 story shark tank; I give a lot of credit to the divers who are brave enough to go in there!

Kids' Kingdom - this area allows kids to know what it feels like to be an animal! It also includes a walk throw deer and goat exhibit, along with a sea lion tank. There's also a large playground for kids to play in.

Water's Edge - this is the newest habitat at the zoo. It includes polar bears and sea otters, and in the future it will be home to walruses. I like this habitat because you can really get up close and personal with the animals. There are viewing windows in the tanks, and 2 underground tunnels where you can see from underneath.

Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium are open year round, except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day. The admission varies throughout the year. From April 1^st to November 30^th, the price is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and $8 for kids. From December 1^st to March 31^st, the price is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and kids. Children under 2 years are free all year round. Parking is always free at the zoo.

The hours during the year also vary. Spring hours (April 1^st thru the Friday before Memorial Day) are 9 am - 5 pm, gates close at 4 pm. Summer hours (Saturday before Memorial Day thru Labor Day) are 9 am - 6 pm, gates close at 4:30 pm. Fall hours (Tuesday after Labor Day thru December 31) are 9 am - 5 pm, gates close at 4 pm. Winter hours (January 1^st thru March 31^st) 9 am - 4 pm, gates close at 3 pm.

Pittsburgh Zoo offers rates for groups, which are nice for school field trips or any other group outing. You can even have your wedding reception at the zoo! There are several facilities you can hold a reception, including inside the aquarium and the garden tent. Weddings at the zoo are beautiful and unique, although quite pricey too.

There are many things you do to be part of the zoo, such as adopting an animal, zoo memberships, volunteer diving in the aquarium tanks, and contributing to the conservation fund. More information about this can be found on the zoo's web site. If you live in the Pittsburgh area, or will be visiting Pittsburgh from out of town, please plan to visit Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium. The zoo is located at One Wild Place, off of Butler Street in Pittsburgh. For more information, visit www.pittsburghzoo.com or call 412-665-3640 or toll-free at 1-800-474-4966.