We were surrounded by skyscrapers. But yet we were in a red barn, climbing up into a John Deere tractor and learning about pigs. Just what were we doing? We were in the farm area at Lincoln Park Zoo for Pork-a-pa-zoo-la!
We live (theoretically) about 20 minutes away from Chicago, yet we rarely go downtown. It requires some planning and strategy to go downtown, which mostly about transportation, traffic, and the cost of parking. We didn’t plan wisely this time around, so we spent $36 on just four hours of parking in the zoo lot. Fortunately for us, Lincoln Park Zoo is still a free zoo, and so we hope some of our parking fee goes toward the zoo itself!
When we first walked into the zoo, we were able to sample some pork burgers…DaBurgers! I’ve used ground pork in my meatloaf before, but I never thought of using it to make burgers! They were delicious. Then we were off to the “farm,” where Lily and Emmy played with soybeans, learned about pigs, and climbed up into a tractor. (Ed had just as much fun climbing up into the John Deere as the girls did…in fact, I think he liked it more than they did!)
Since I’m an Illinois Field Mom, I introduced myself to the volunteers running the activities. A couple of people approached me first because they recognized me from the Illinois Farm Families website. That made me feel a little bit like a celebrity! I was able to talk to one of the farmers who spoke at the Ward Farm about pigs. It was a farm visit that I missed, so it was nice to be able to ask him some questions about raising hogs. The girls also made pig ear hats, which we had a lot of fun wearing. Emmy is pretending to be one of her favorite pigs in the picture below…can you guess which one? (Click HERE to find out!)
The farm exhibit at Lincoln Park Zoo is a permanent exhibit; but some of the activities were there just for the day. After we completed all our farm tasks, we went to visit other animals at the zoo. One of the animals kept eluding us; we went to his cage three times and just kept missing him. Lily insisted on going back one more time before we left to try again…and finally we saw the tiger!
Looks like lots of fun! I love the sensory table with soy beans and tractors!
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You are a celebrity! You are known in Norway!
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What a fun day! It's almost always worth the effort to go into the city.
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I recently visited the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, and my family loved it. 🙂 We hadn't been there since I was a kid…we usually go to the Brookfield Zoo. But I was super impressed, and I'm looking forward to another visit someday. Thanks for sharing!
We're about an hour away from Pittsburgh and we rarely ever go there. We've been meaning to take a trip to the Aviary.
Adaline would love this! She's have a horse party for her birthday and will be at a farm where she gets to ride real horses and pet baby animals 🙂
My husband LOVES pork. So much so, that for his 30th birthday he had a "Ham and Man" party where he invited his guy friends over to watch a game and ALL of the food was a different type of pork product. Blech. But he loved it 😉
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We are 2.5 hours away from Chicago. I love going there but dont like dealing with driving around town with the crazy traffic. Now, Im going to have to take a trip there. lol
I'm jealous. I want Pork-a-pa-zoo-la in my life!
It looks like you had an amazing time together! I would of loved to go there. What a fun family you have Ginny!
Sounds like you had a great time! Chicago is on my list of places to visit someday. I love that you are a recognized celebrity Ginny!