I have been wanting to get Will to the zoo for a while now and just haven’t been able to find the time on a day that wasn’t too hot. While the zoo wouldn’t be an activity you’d think of for a blind child they have a lot of sensory experience you just have to know where to look. Our zoo like most has a petting zoo area with farm animals. Will’s favorite song right now is Ole MacDonald. I wanted to be able to sing the song with the animal noises while he touched the animal.
The day we chose was a day we were trying to transition to 1 nap. Unfortunately the 1 nap he took was only about an hour long so it wasn’t the best day to begin with. When we got there I had a hard time finding the petting zoo on the map. I knew though that the kangaroo enclosure allows you to go in the area with the kangaroos so you can really get close and sometimes touch. We headed toward the kangaroos since I knew where that was. When we got there the section where you go in with the kangaroos was closed. I found out that after labor day the seasonal workers who are mostly high school and college kids aren’t there to work the attractions. So that was a let down!
On our way walking back we say a carrousel and Jon decided to take will for a ride on. There was music playing as well. We assumed between the music and the motion Will would be in love! I get bad motion sickness so Mom stayed on the sidelines for this one. As soon as they got on before the ride started Will was sobbing. It seemed like it took forever to get going but eventually they were on their way. Unfortunately the tears did not stop. Poor Jon held will upright on the horse crying for the entire ride. It was hilarious to watch from afar but I’m sure that felt like the longest ride ever for my boys.
After the failed carrousel ride we headed to “adventure cove” I thought if anything had a petting zoo that area would. Once we found our way there it as well seemed somewhat deserted. We were passing some employees so Jon stopped them and asked where we could pet some animals. They told us the Barn where the petting zoo was located was all closed up. But they pointed us in the direction of Sting Ray Bay where we could touch some sting rays. Up until this point Dad and I were feeling very discouraged. After all zoos are geared towards more looking than touching and we were starting to feel a bit depressed seeing all the animals and knowing Will couldn’t enjoy them. The Sting rays turned it all around for us. I held Will next to the edge of the pool and splashed his hand in the water. The rays immediately came up to us. He was hesitant at first and still shed a few tears but the longer we were there to more excited he was to feel them. At one point the ray put Will’s whole hand in it’s mouth, that was a little much for him but I loved seeing them interact with my little man. We spent so much time there dad bought Will a souvenir plush sting ray.
After that we decided to go to the giraffe enclosure were you can feed the giraffes lettuce. On our walk to the giraffe's we finally found the petting zoo!! While all the animals were in the pens some were close enough to the fence we could reach through the slats and pet. Dad spotted a worker and explained our son was blind and we were hoping to pet more animals. The woman kindly took the time to close up the barn and bring several animals out for Will to get 1 on 1 petting time with. First she brought out a goat, we pet her body and felt the ears. She even nibbled at Will's hand a little. He was smiling and giggled when he touched the ear. Next she brought out a chicken. Will LOVED the feathers!!! I made chicken noises while he wiggled his fingers in the feathers. He eventually tried to grab the chickens foot then pull the feathers and the chicken was less than thrilled with us so we said goodbye. Next she brought out a long curly haired goat with horns. Will felt her fur and her horn even tried to grab the horn and bring it to his mouth. I don't know how familiar you are with toddlers but especially for blind ones EVERYTHING goes in the mouth! We eventually said goodbye to the goat and thanked miss Kat. I hope she realized just how much that meant to us. The day would not have been nearly as enjoyable without her kindness.
We eventually made it to the giraffes but when we arrived there was only 1 at the feeding station. We bought our lettuce and the woman we bought lettuce from made a comment to Will. We explained he was blind so we were really hoping for a good sensory interaction were he could feel the tongue taking the lettuce from his hand. The woman walked away and before we knew it she came over to us with a young man who was explaining that the
giraffe currently at the feeding station was an older girl who was not a fan of being pet but we could try in addition to feeding her. When it was our turn I put the lettuce in Will's hand and she took it right out with her tongue which grazed his little hand and he got his serious look on his face when he's really thinking and taking it all in. While the giraffe was taking the lettuce from his hand she wasn't real interested in eating it. The young man came over and brought a buckets of food. While she put her head in the bucket Will and I were able to walk up and pet her cheek 2 or 3 times before she shied away. I was so grateful to the giraffe that she stayed there for us to touch her.
After the full day of animal interactions we got dad some dip n dots and called it a day. The day really took a turn for the better once we started opening up to the staff asking for help and explaining our needs. Sometimes it's hard to go up to someone, explain your child's disability and ask for special accommodations. It can feel a bit like your asking for special treatment which doesn't feel right. What I've learned is people want to help and want to go above and beyond for Will to have all the experiences he deserves and it's up to us as his parents to be his advocate and ask for exactly what he needs. We are looking forward to going on future zoo trips!
Will and Ms. Lisa at String Ray Bay