Fostering curiosity in kids (and their parents) since 2011

Posts tagged ‘Out and About’

The Franklin Park Zoo in winter, or “What happens when you go up to a lion and say ‘baa’?”

I confess, I love visiting the Franklin Park Zoo in winter. True, the giraffes, the budgies, and the other warm-weather animals are in their winter enclosures and off-exhibit. You have to visit the farm animals in the barn, rather than in the much better ventilated outdoor petting zoo. The usually marvelous gardens contain only the dry stalks of last summer’s blooms. The carousel and other outdoor rides are dismantled. And there are no butterflies. But there are no crowds, either.

A father holds his daughter as they look at the T. Rex skeleton in the Field Museum.

“I thought T. Rexes only had three toes. What’s that back thing for?”

Last year, The Five-Year-Old had a chance to cross a major item off her bucket list. She met Sue. For those of you who do not have your own in-house five-year-old dinosaur specialist, Sue is the largest, most complete, and best preserved T. Rex skeleton ever found. When she introduced Sue to Daddyo, he noticed something peculiar. “Hey, I thought T. Rexes only had three toes. What’s that back thing for?”

Does garlic protect against vampires?

Given the number of haunted houses and other Halloween-related festivities on The Five-Year-Old’s calendar this weekend, it seems like a good time to review the literature on a crucial question. Does garlic protect against vampires?