Our Spiderman Does the Zoo

"Philip, do you want to go to the zoo," his Gran E asked.  "No, I don't want to go to the zoo."

"That's what he said about the art museum,"  I reminded her.

"But he LOVES the zoo," my daughter said.  So we went to the zoo.

Once Philip got acclimated to being there, he became our Spiderman, just as his tee shirt proclaimed.  While we contemplated what animals to see, Philip revived and headed straight for the little park with its tree house and super slide.  After lots of climbing, jumping, and sliding (which is how he broke his arm but he remains fearless), he went for the interactive, action-oriented education center, past the snakes (which he said he wanted to see), and the lions and tigers and bears.

Philip climbed the honey comb and Spiderman's web, watched worker ants build nests and worker bees make honey, petted a soft guinea pig (so tenderly), showed off a bit on a TV screen, played a computer game tracking animals, played doctor for an ailing stuffed rabbit, and generally ran from one thing to another.  It's not easy for a great-grandmother to keep up with a five-year-old whirling dervish playing Spiderman, but I try.  Gran E went patiently around with her grandson, but even she needed to sit once in a while.

I enjoyed the animal sculptures, like the Elephant and bear sculptures; the colorful birds; and a fish tank with a bright blue and yellow fish that reminded me of Ukraine.  Philip stopped for a breather on that one; a Ukrainian fish, I told him. Then off he went to run, climb, take some spectacular jumps, and help the needy.  Our Spiderman!