Today we had the pleasure of attending the 3rd birthday of Liam and Simon's friend, J. It was held at Little Ray's Reptile Zoo in South Ottawa, a place I'd heard of many times but that we hadn't managed to get to. It was quite a drive from our place in Gatineau, but definitely worth it.
Liam holding a scorpion. A SCORPION.
The birthday boy, somewhat unsure of the six month old baby Cayman.
Even Andrew got in on the action, touching the baby Cayman and
this something-or-other gecko (all I remember is that it has magnetic feet).
all those fuzzy hairs off its body AND INTO YOUR LUNGS. Super.
For the record, I held/touched each of those thing along with my boys. Simon wasn't too sure of it all, so I had to put on a brave face for him. Liam, however, needed NO encouragement. He was all, "LET'S FEED MORE DEAD MICE TO THE SNAKES!" (pictures to come). He was TOTALLY excited and FULL of questions and just reallyreallyREALLY enjoyed it.
It was a fun place for a kids' party, however I have no idea what the cost was. We were there early enough that, when the three year olds reverted to playing run-in-circles-and-scream (ah, a good ol' standby), there was plenty of room and we didn't have to worry about bothering other visitors. The fellow who was our guide/host/crocodile feeder was great with the animals and super with the kids. The birthday child is treated extra special (as it should be) and is able to assist the guide with feeding and holding many of the creatures. My only issues were with the smell (*gag* but unavoidable in a place like that) and the questionable cleanliness of some of the surfaces. This last bit may only have been as evident to me, with my still-sometimes-crawling toddler.
Over all it was a great morning and one that I'm sure to hear about for days weeks to come.
So cool! I would prefer not to do the actual holding, but can imagine how much fun that would be for the boys. So much to discover.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a great idea for a boy's birthday party! I'd be standing in the background but I'm sure the boys loved it. It would open their eyes to all kinds of things and make for all kinds of questions. You'll be reading a lot of books on all these creatures now. Their heads will be FULL of all kind of information about them. Love, Mom/Mora/Nana
ReplyDeleteI enjoy Little Rays as well. I have been there twice. I agree the smell is terrible, but I wonder how they can avoid it. So much moisture in there. I went in the summer once, on a really hot day and was gagging. But the boys (and hubby) love the creatures.
ReplyDeleteWow, fun!!.... I definitely enjoyed the pictures, but will leave the spider-holding to you pros. Looks like you all had a great time!
ReplyDeleteDid you know you can have Little Ray's come and give a birthday party in your own home? They will bring 8-10 animals and do a one hour presentation, complete with touching the animals and so on. And it's not too much -- I think around $100, which if you're having 10ish kids, is probably what you'd spend anyway.
ReplyDeletePlus, cleaner and less smelly :).
We had a year's pass to Ray's last year so we went many, many times. If you get a pass you get invited to a few of their special events, which is cool. Be sure to go back in the summer because they do a cool birds of prey show in outside in the back of the building.
You are one brave momma. Fantastic idea for a birthday party! Looks like fun for everyone :)
ReplyDeletegreat pics!
ReplyDeleteI've been to a b'day party where they came as Lynn said - it was perfect and my son loves it.
We just got a year pass so I'm looking forward to checking it out!!