9 Facts of Queens Zoo

I've been to the Queens Zoo with my family numerous times in the past several months. We are WCS members so entrance is free. Even if you are not a member of the Wildlife Conservation Society, the entrance fee to the Queens Zoo is very affordable.

Here are 9 things you may find interesting about the Queens Zoo.

1. The Queens Zoo is located in Flushing Meadows Corona Park
2. The New York Hall Of Science is a neighboring attraction.
3. The Queens Zoo is home to two Lynxes, that meows like an owl's hoot!
   
4. 111 Street 7 train Subway station is the closest subway train
5. Playground for all Children is a neighboring free attraction.
6. Admission is free for WCS members.
7. The Queens Zoo contains a petting zoo, where you can feed many farm animals
8. The Aviary is my favorite feature of the zoo.
   
9. The Queens Museum and Theathre in the park are also steps away from the Zoo!
   

Have you been to the Queens Zoo? What do you know about it? What's your favorite feature of the zoo?

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Photo by law_keven

Help Save Zoo Funding

I recently received the following message from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). I wanted to share this information with my audience. I signed the petition several months ago and hope there is something we can all do to help.

An Urgent Message From Tiki Barber


Dear Friend:

As someone who cares about the environment, conservation, education, and economic development in New York City, I urge you to send a message to Mayor Bloomberg and the New York City Council to restore city funding to the Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium.

As a parent of two young children and a regular visitor to the Zoo, I know from first-hand experience that the Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium educate and inspire thousands of children and teachers and are essential to the cultural fabric of our city. These beloved institutions are an integral part of their communities and stabilize the city’s economy by providing well paying jobs and supporting local businesses. They work jointly with schools and area community groups to provide free or affordable access and programming for the most vulnerable citizens.

According to a 2008 national public opinion survey, 79 percent of Americans believe that zoos and aquariums are good for their local economy, and an impressive 80 percent believe that zoos and aquariums are important enough to local communities to be supported by government funding. But you don’t need a survey to tell you that. All you need to do is go there, as I do with my boys, and see the children’s faces light up. That tells you all you need to know.

New York City is great because of its great cultural institutions. Please join me in asking City Hall to recognize the important and unique role of cultural institutions like the Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium.

I hope you can do your part in support of this cause. Have you visited the NYC Zoos lately?

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Photo courtesy of law_keven

Our Visit To The Queens Zoo

Photo courtesy of law_keven

Last Saturday, December 6, 2008, started out as usual. I took my wife and older daughter to Chinese school. I made use of the 2-3 hours by reading and doing some excercises, not to mention a bite to eat from Carnation Bakery. I wanted to finish reading The Gargoyle, so I sat in the car to read for the first hour or so. I read up to the final chapter, but decided to stop. It was getting cold, I decided a bit of physical excercise would help. I walked to the nearby track field in front of the school and started doing my 8-lap brisk walk. When I finished all 8 laps, I felt warmer, and class was about to end for my wife and daughter.

My wife wanted to do something, so I suggested we visit the Queens Zoo. Since we were in Flushing, it was not very far away. We picked up some food and then drove to the Queens Zoo. Since it was my first time there, I got a little lost. After about 10 minutes of back and forth on the streets, I found my way down 111th street in Flushing, Queens. We found the parking lot that was adjacent to the zoo and parked there.

Until now, we have visited all the other NYC zoos, except the Queens zoo. We've been to the Bronx zoo, Central Park zoo, Prospect Park zoo, The New York Aquarium (where our 2008 zoo adventures all began), and now the Queens zoo. Its ironic that I've lived most of my life in Queens and this is the first time I have visited the Queens zoo.

Cost

Visiting the Queens zoo is not even that expensive. Adult admission is $6 and children's tickets are only $2. Children under 3 years get in for free, and seniors 65+ get in for $2.25. Admission includes a map of the zoo plus a red decoder card that helps explain what you are seeing at some of the exhibits. Since we are members of the WCS, our admission was free. I have mentioned it before but its worth repeating, I encourage you and your family to join the WCS. Membership will help enable your family visit the NYC zoos more often and also help fund the preservation of animals all around the world.

What You Will Find

So what animals can you find at the Queens zoo? Surprisingly, more than I thought I would find. The first exhibit we saw were the ducks. This stood out for me because I saw many mallard ducks that I'm used to seeing, but among them was one white feathered one. So I did what many people would do, I took a photo snapshot. We moved on to see what I thought was a bobcat, but it turned out to be a lynx. We visited some pumas, then noticed an exhibit about extinct animals, the dodo bird was among them. Next came an aviary that stood out, it was a spiraling path that led up, twisted around like a pretzel and then came back down. You can view many species of birds while walking along this spiraling path, watch out for bird droppings! We also saw pumas, bears, sea lions, among other animals. Then we walked over to the domestic animals section to do some feeding, the animals, not ourselves. We left the zoo happy but cold, which may have been the trigger for my current condition.

Location

The Queens zoo is located at 53-51 111th Street in Flushing, NY 11368. It is open 365 days a year, you can find the hours of operation on this page. As of today, it is open 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Do you love animals? Would you like your children to experience the joy of seeing animals in real life, not just in books and museums? I encourage you to join or contribute to the WCS. If you are a member of other wildlife groups, feel free to chime in and make yourself heard in the comments. I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for visiting, follow me on Twitter for additional links to tips and tricks. If you would like to contribute to Frugal NYC in any way, articles, ideas, posts, interesting links, advice, financial assistance, or anything else, feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add this to your RSS reader.

Travel in NYC

The "Staycation" term seems to be pretty popular in this current economy. In that frame of mind, I recommend walking any place you physically can. The neighborhood grocery, supermarket, bank, playground, library and any other place of interest to you.

Use a monthly metrocard if you commute during the week and like getting out to NYC spots during the weekend. Your cost per ride goes down significantly if you use it seven days a week.

Some places to visit that I recommend are:

• Central Park - Greatest park in NYC
• Bronx Zoo - Animals!
• Coney Island - Beach and Aquarium
• Wave Hill - Garden landscaping, great view of Hudson river
• Battery Park - view of Hudson

What are your thoughts and how do you save on travel in NYC?

Visiting NYC Zoos

If you are a NYC metropolitan resident and have kids or just like to visit the zoo, I have a great way to save some money. Join the Wildlife Conservation Society and you can pay one price to visit any of the four NYC zoos all year long, plus you get a WCS T-shirt free along with a magazine subscription.

Say you have a family of 4 visiting the Bronx Zoo two times a year, that amount in admission costs would equal the family membership costs. There is more, you get coupons for parking and for the rides at the zoo. In your spare time, you can visit the smaller zoos such as the Central Park zoo, Prospect Park Zoo or the Queens Zoo.

If you are like me and happen to be in the Central Park area quite often, you can use a clean bathroom at the zoo. The one at the zoo is a lot better kept than the public one. Its another great benefit to you, for helping the WCS. I know this post may sound like a commercial, but I am a believer in saving our natural resources and leaving a small foot print in the way we live. Saving or at least helping the animals we share the planet with in any way makes me feel a little better as well.

Do you have any tips for saving money for Children's activities? Are you a member of the WCS? Why did you join? Share your thoughts in the comments.