Columbus Zoo: Little Explorers Base Camp

Last week we were meeting a friend at the Zoo and she texted me saying, “We’re at Little Explorers by the pond.” I texted back, “What is that?” And before I got a reply, we stumbled right into this fun set up by the lake, right near the entrance! I have Little Explorers Base Camp on my Tuesday page as an idea of something to do, but we had never experienced it ourselves! There are only a few weeks left in the season, but I got a lot of questions about it on social media, so I thought I’d put together a post with the details.

Exploring pond life!

Little Explorers Base Camp is held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 AM until 12:00 PM throughout the school year. Each theme runs for two weeks and is held at a different location at the Zoo. Last week the theme was Around the Pond and all of the activities featured something related to pond life.

Fishing!

No registration is required for this activity – you just show up, play for as long as you like and move on when you’re ready. The stations were set up around the area and were really easy to navigate.

Learning about nests and birds!

Feeding worms to baby birds!

There were several staff members there who were really good with the kids, asking them questions about what colors they saw, what things felt like, etc. My kids were really engaged! If we didn’t prod them on to see the polar bears, they probably would have stayed forever!

Building a beaver dam!

You still have the opportunity to do this activity during the rest of May! The theme will be Pollinators and will take place at My House (the house you can walk through in the North American exhibit before you get to the petting zoo!) Little Explorer’s Base Camp will take place on these dates: May 16, 18, 23, and 25 from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM.

And just in case you haven’t heard, there are baby polar bears at the Zoo! Aurora has twins and Anana has one cub. Their names were just announced over the weekend! Anana’s cub is Amelia Gray, chosen by public vote, and Aurora’s twins are Nuniq and Neva, chosen by The Zoo and The Wilds staff.

When we visited last week the twins were nursing, so of course that meant they went right down for a nap and we only saw a head pop up once or twice! These pictures are from a few weeks ago, but I wanted to include them just for the cuteness factor! The twins and the cub alternate days of being out and can be out and about as long as they desire! The schedule is not as tight as it was for baby Nora so you have a good chance of seeing them without as long of a line! 🙂

Edited 1/4/2018:

Upcoming Dates for 2018:

Rockin’ Reptiles:  March 6, 8, 13, 15 at Reptile House
Tons O’ Fun:  March 20, 22, 27, 29 at Pachyderm Building
Barnyard Bonanza: April 3, 5, 10, 12 at My Barn
Celebrate the Sea: April 17, 19, 24, 26 at Manatee Coast
Outback Adventures: May 1, 3, 8, 10 at Australia Roadhouse
Backyard Explorers: May 15, 17, 22, 24 at North American Aviary

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