Kongo visited the Santa Barbara Zoo last Friday as part of a first grade field trip.  The monkey has been a regular field tripper this year as he helped chaperone granddaughters and their classes all over the area.  This excursion was the last one of this school year.  (long sigh….)

Of course, how could that monkey not love going to the zoo with this little cutie?  (Note the teal fingernail polish).  The zoo excursion is one of the highlight outings of the first grade class.  They have been looking forward to this trip all year and Kongo has been reminded almost weekly for the last several months that he was going.

Kongo’s group of five intrepid explorers could pretty much go anywhere they wanted in the zoo (gift shops and playgrounds were “off limits.”).  Here they study the map to determine where they are going.

This field trip was an educational scavenger hunt and the class had a very specific list of questions they had to answer about a variety of zoo animals.  For a clutch of first graders, these young scholars were diligent about making sure they found every animal and answered all the questions.  They were a bit confused, however, when one of the pages tasked them with finding and counting all the “loins” in the zoo.  These kids were spelling bee wannabes and this one they didn’t get.  They did find some lions.

The Santa Barbara Zoo, located just one short block from the beach, is rated as one of America’s best small zoos.  The park has more than 30 acres of exotic plants, a large variety of animals, and plenty of things to keep first graders coming back for more.

There were almost as many adults on this trip as children so there was no danger of these curious little ones of falling into an exhibit!

The zoo even boasts its own railroad that takes visitors on a ride through the zoo and an opportunity to see the inhabitants from a different perspective.

The Humboldt penguins (from Peru and Ecuador) and a baby giraffe (named Buttercup) were first grade favorites.

The next time you’re driving up the coast don’t pass up an opportunity to visit the Santa Barbara Zoo.

Travel safe.  Have fun.