Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Honolulu, HI

[photo credit: Nancy Byun]

 What preschooler doesn't love going to the zoo?  Okay, there are some out there who may say it's stinky or not find the animals lazily splayed out under the Hawaiian sun all that interesting, but I'd so most kids love the zoo.  It's a great way to allow Noah to run about while we look at interesting things and ultimately tire him out for a good long nap. 

The Honolulu Zoo may not be nearly as cushy as some of the zoos on the mainland, but that's actually a blessing in disguise for families with preschoolers.  It's possible to actually walk/run through in a reasonable amount of time without a mind boggling amount of animals to seek.  In fact, over time, Noah and I have developed our own special route through, perfect for a quick morning field trip.

First, park in the Honolulu Zoo parking lot.  There's usually enough parking on weekdays.  But on the busier weekdays when families are visiting the beach nearby, you may have to cruise around a bit.  The good thing is this lot has a high turn over rate and people are constantly coming and going which gives you a good chance of getting a spot soon.  You will find metered stalls, but each quarter gets you an hour.  Two quarters should do it.

After getting your ticket or using your membership pass to get in (please click on link above for admission information), walk into the zoo and view the Flamingos.  Then go right, (away from the ducks) towards the elephant exhibit.  Before you hit the elephant exhibit though, there are bathrooms.if you need them.  The bathrooms in the zoo are far apart, so I usually like Noah to do his business here so we can move on without worrying about it.

After the bathroom break, see the elephants. There are usually two lolling around.  It's pretty exciting for a preschooler to see them fairly up close.  Noah likes it even better when they poop right in front of him.  yuck.  Then keep moving into the zoo, and when it forks (after the photo booth) stick to the right and view the various monkeys on exhibit.  Sad to say I don't know what kind of monkeys they are, but a few different types live surrounded by man made moats.  These moats have lots of fish.  These fish are a must see for Noah.

Then move onto the huge turtles.  You may have to look into some holes for these turtles.  During the middle of the day, they like to sleep in holes.  Keep going into the Reptile House.  (I know the Orangutan habitat for Rusti is off to the side at this point, but we always skip it just because Noah doesn't really care that Rusti is under his hammock yet again.  But please at least go see it once.  It's a great big piece of well kept land in where Rusti and Violet (his companion) roam free.)  

Once you get through the reptile house, follow the path over a bridge until you get to the Gharials (Noah calls them crocodiles because that's what they look like, just with a narrower snout.) Go right and you'll see the flower garden in front of you.  At this point, if we're spending a long day at the zoo, we'll keep going right to visit the giraffes and the hippos, but on a day like this past Saturday when we were trying to be quick, we headed left towards the playground and snack bar. 

After trouncing around the playground for a little bit, Noah usually notices the Kid's Zoo.  It's a glorified petting zoo, and I think they did a really good job.  There are ducks, pigs, a pony, guinea pigs, goats and even a fish tank your child can crawl through.  There are also a couple of hand washing stations that you can take advantage of.

Once we coax him out of the Kiddie zoo, we head towards the snack bar because by this time we've worked up a thirst.  I'll usually get him a shave ice as a treat to go along with the musubi or sandwich that I've packed.  I know, the shave ice cones at the zoo are HUGE and they get real messy.  But if you tell the lady at the machine to please make it small and only fill the ice to the top of the paper cone, she'll usually be understanding and do it for you.  Totally worth it because he doesn't get all sick on it either.

Finally, time to see the dragon!  After throwing our empty paper cone away, we head over to the final highlight of the visit.  The Komodo Dragon exhibit.  Noah is always fascinated by this enormous Lizard, but then, so am I.  Next you take the path in a straight line through the Nene exhibit, past the Bird Avery, Past the pheasants and finally you'll come upon some ducks.  Keep going, up the path and you'll find you are back at the entrance.  You've made a full circle and it's time to leave.

And there you go.  You'll find that you've seen a whole lotta animals, but it hasn't taken too long.  The last step is to coax the tired child to your car and watch him nod off as soon as you start the engine.