The Columbian Park Zoo in Lafayette, Indiana is very small. It’s also completely free. We’ve now visited twice, and in our most recent visit we enjoyed it much more! Every exhibit offers an interaction opportunity. This is a great zoo for toddlers! They are also about to undergo big-time expansion. Their penguin exhibit will open Spring of 2020, with more expansion planned after that!
Highs:
- Wallaby Walkabout – The Australia section has a wallaby walkabout with several wallabies. There are also emus to look at. We really like that there are some windows through the walls that make viewing easier.
- Prairie Dogs – The small prairie dog exhibit has tunnel bubbles for kids to pop up in and look at the prairie dogs eye-to-eye – there’s even one that is adult sized!
- Otters – The otter exhibit is multi-dimensional, and has a tunnel for kids to crawl through.
- Farm – The petting zoo is full of goats – 18 baby goats as of June 2019; the farm also includes llamas and pigs. Bring your quarters to feed the goats!
- Butterfly house – This is a very small butterfly house, so you might not want to hang out here long – but there are lots of butterflies given the size.
- Animal Encounters – This costs extra, but worth it! Check out their offerings here.
Lows:
- Splash Pad – Because there is a waterpark next door, they just have a tiny splash pad with small fountains. I wish they had either gone full splash pad, or just put a large fountain to look at.
- Animal Ambassadors – The zoo has a large selection of animal ambassadors, but you can only see them via a special pre-booked encounter. The zoo has plans to build a new building where they can be viewed, so that will fix this, as it’s disappointing to not see these fun, engaging animals.
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