Elmwood Park Zoo Comes to Plymouth Meeting Mall

Volunteers from Norristown's Elmwood Park Zoo were at the Plymouth Meeting Mall on Saturday with some creepy, crawly friends, as well as information on various zoo programs.  

The zoo, which exhibits animals from both North and South America, is a 16-acre facility that is small enough for families with small children to navigate in an afternoon.  

Mall-goers could engage in a number of learning experiences, such as inspecting animal skeletons and pelts. Kids could take home coloring pages, connect-the-dot games, and origami projects, as well as get up close and personal with an Eastern Box Turtle, named "Dude," and a Western Hognosed Snake.  

The ladies and gentlemen staffing the booth were very passionate about the zoo, and they enjoyed introducing kids and parents alike to the animals.  One volunteer, while holding the Hogsnosed Snake, professed a "squeamishness" when it came to reptiles, but used her former fear to help bolster the confidence of the more tentative kids.

The zoo volunteers also discussed their ZooParent Program, which allows individuals and community groups to "adopt" different animals in its facility.  ZooParents can adopt a variety of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, which allows the animals to continue to get the best care possible.  Many animals at the zoo were at one time injured, but after rehabilitation, the zookeepers have determined that the animals are safer in the continued care of the zoo.