PENGUINS!!!

Sarah and I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of penguins at the Kansas City Zoo.  For the last year, we've watched as diggers and cranes first dug holes for the huge refrigeration system and then began to slowly assemble the new penguin pavilion.  It has been a long wait, but the penguin exhibit finally opened this weekend!

 

As members of the zoo, we were able to attend a special viewing of the penguins on Friday night, after most of the rest of the zoo was closed.  So Daddy, Sarah and I jumped in the car and headed to the zoo after school!

 

We started our visit as we start every visit to the zoo - with a stop at Polar Bear Passage.  Berlin was inside, but Nikita entertained us as he played with a big blue barrel!  (You can't see it because he had crushed it to a pulp and pushed it under the rocks, but it's there!)

 

 

 

 

Only a polar bear could have kept me from tearing through the zoo to get to those penguins!  Luckily, Sarah was ready to move on pretty quickly, too.  Look at her pose next to the penguin decorations!  She's such a delicate little flower...

 

 

 

This sign said exactly what I was thinking - The penguins are here!  The penguins are here!

 

 

 

We followed the signs and got in line.  Things moved quickly, and we were entertained as we waited by zoo docents who had samples of penguin eggs and penguin feathers for the kids to see as they stood in line.  It only took about 10 minutes before we got to the large map outside of the new penguin house.  It was fun to see where all the penguins live - I had forgotten how many different places are home to these funny little birds! 

 

 

As we circled around the map, we first came to the warm weather penguin exhibit.  These little guys have the best of both worlds - their pool is half inside, half outside!  The weather was warm enough that they were enjoying some outdoor time when we got there.

 

 

Some of them were hanging out on the rocks.

 

 

Some of them were swimming around.

 

 

They were all 100% adorable!

 

  

 

From there, we were ushered inside to see the cold weather penguins.  The exhibit begins with a huge window overlooking the penguins' rocky habitat.  Sarah stood with her nose pressed against the window for a long time...

 

 

 

Again, some of the penguins seemed happy to hang out on land, while others played in the water.  All of the kids ooo-ed and ahh-ed when penguins jumped out of the water or dove from the land into the water.  Even I admit that it was LOTS of fun to watch!

 

 

We slowly headed down the ramp to the rest of the exhibit.  Everything else in the Penguin Pavilion allows for underwater viewing of the penguins swimming around.  And boy, was it fun to watch those guys swim!

 

 

 

 

 

The water was a little cloudy (I think the zoo staff are still trying to figure out how everything works best), but I know that this was Sarah's favorite part of the whole experience.  It may have been mine, as well!

 

 

 

All that waiting was totally worth it - these penguins are AWESOME.